Hwang Hee-chan returned from a career-high season in the Premier League and held his first in-house event. I had time to communicate with many soccer fans through the ‘Hwang Hee-chan Football Festival’.
Last winter, he signed a new five-year long-term contract with his current team, Wolverhampton, but he also strengthened his determination to keep moving forward.
In an interview ahead of the ‘Hwang Hee-chan Football Festival’ held at the Bucheon City Hall lawn square on the 22nd, Hwang Hee-chan said that he would like to continue to have time to communicate with fans.
Hwang Hee-chan performed his best since transferring to Wolverhampton, recording a career-high 12 goals and 3 assists in the Premier League in the 2023-2024 season.
Hwang Hee-chan performed his best since transferring to Wolverhampton, recording a career-high 12 goals and 3 assists in the Premier League in the 2023-2024 season.
It was his first double-figure score since breaking into the Premier League, despite missing a month and a half due to a hamstring injury at the end of February.
Hwang Hee-chan held an event to communicate with fans for the first time, and on this day, over 2,000 fans gathered and had time to communicate with Hwang Hee-chan.
Meeting with fans at the Hwang Hee-chan Football Festival
In January 2024, he was called up to the Korea national soccer team and participated in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup.
Hwang Hee-chan missed the first two games due to a hamstring injury, but showed his strength by appearing in the third game against Malaysia.
In particular, in the quarterfinals against Australia, when the team was down 0-1, he scored a penalty kick equalizer in the second half of extra time, sending the game into overtime and laying the foundation for advancing to the semifinals.
Hwang Hee-chan actively met with fans during this year’s pre-season by holding a festival where he could communicate with fans for the first time.
On this day, the event venue set up on the grass plaza of Bucheon City Hall was crowded with more than 2,000 fans, according to the organizers.
Despite the pouring rain from the morning, fans’ love for Hwang Hee-chan was very great.
Hwang Hee-chan said, “I am so grateful that so many people came to visit us despite the hot and rainy weather.
“I’m also very happy to be able to hold a big festival in Bucheon, the city I grew up in and love,” he said. “I hope I have the opportunity to continue communicating with my fans.”
How do you feel about hosting the Hwang Hee-chan Football Festival event?
First of all, I would like to thank you so much for coming so many times despite the hot and rainy weather.
And I am very happy to be able to hold a big festival like this in Bucheon, where I grew up and love.
We will do our best to share good times with as many citizens and fans as possible, so I hope you enjoy it together and make many good memories.
What do you want to show at today’s event?
I came with my national team friends (Baek Seung-ho and Lee Jin-hyeon), so I think you can look forward to it and I will do my best to show you fun soccer.
Looking at Hwang Hee-chan, what would you say to young prospects who dream of becoming soccer players?
When I was young, I dreamed of watching the national team players and K-League brothers, and today, seeing young people, I feel like I have come a long way. If young people see me and can dream like that, I would be very happy and glad.
I also went to Kkachiul Elementary School in Bucheon, and while playing soccer hard at Kkachiul Elementary School, I became a national team player and a Premier League player. I want to give young people hope that they can do the same.
If I learn hard and do well today, I think I will be able to become a national team player, a K-League player, and a great player in the future.
Preparing for the new season First of all, I rested well for the first week after the national team game.
So, starting this week, I’m starting to prepare again for the next season and I’m working out, but I took the weekend off to prepare for the festival and it’s really fun to meet my fans while resting.
Now I’m training in the areas I was lacking in last season, and next season will of course be the best stage, so it won’t be easy, but I want to become a better Hwang Hee-chan than last season.
I am working hard because I have a strong desire to always show a good performance to the fans who support me until the early hours of the morning, so it would be nice if you continue to support me in the future.
Do you want to play Wolverhampton in Korea?
Many big companies invite other European teams, so other big clubs come to Korea and play preseason and games.
I think it would be great if various media outlets and companies invite our team and provide a lot of support, and it would be great to play in Korea in front of many fans. I hope we have a good opportunity.
Do you have any attack point goals for next season?
To be honest, I have no desire to score a few goals.
I want to show the best version of myself that I can, and of course I want to do better than I did last season.
Of course, it may be a burden, but rather than a burden, it’s something I’ve done naturally, and I’ve always done those things to get to this point.
That’s why I really want to overcome myself and show a better side of myself.
Why do you train specifically for futsal in the off-season?
While playing in the Premier League, I have experienced many good players, both on my team and on opposing teams, and they seem to have really good skills.
I saw a lot of techniques that were difficult to see in soccer.
These days, various tactical and such skills are changing a lot.
So, I thought I needed to acquire more of those skills and there were some areas I wanted to acquire, so I found a new teacher and started training hard.
I think it’s important to have a variety of things, so I’m trying many different things.
These days, if you look at good players in England or other big leagues, they are really using a lot of futsal techniques that have not been used much in soccer before.
I think those aspects really help the players a lot.
I felt a lot of those things while playing in the league, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to use them on the pitch, but I think it’s most important to have those skills.
I think that knowing how to do something but not using it and not being able to use it because you can’t are very different.
I think I’m learning new skills because I want to do as many things as possible and have as many options as possible.
Are you planning on continuing this event in the future?
Of course, I wish I had the opportunity to continue communicating with my fans like this.
To do that, I need to get better at soccer, so I have to focus on getting better at soccer.
And when I have time like this, I want to spend as much time as possible to communicate and enjoy with my fans and create good memories.
What is your ultimate goal as a player?
In fact, I don’t think the Premier League is a league where you can continue to play even if you have a lot of contract time left, and I’ve seen a lot of cases like that.
I have a strong desire to perform well and play as long as possible in the Premier League for as long as I can.
First of all, I have to do well this season in order to have the next season, so I think I have a strong desire to show my good side once again and do well this season.
by 토토사이트