“I want to be an unpopular director, not a popular director.”
‘Black Shark’ coach Park Sung-bae 먹튀검증 (48) has returned to his alma mater, Soongsil University, with a different coaching philosophy. He played for Jeonbuk Hyundai, Gwangju Sangmu, Busan I-Park, and Suwon Samsung before hanging up his boots after a brief stint overseas in his later years. In total, he scored 55 goals and 20 assists in 243 games in the K League.
Since then, Park has gained experience as a coach at the Korea Football Association, the U-20 national team, K League 1 Suwon Samsung, and K League 2 Ansan Greeners. In 2021, he took his first head coaching job at Yangju Min Football Club in the K3 League, where he helped them defeat K League 1 Jeonbuk in the FA Cup.
Park, who has coached in a variety of leagues, decided to take on the challenge of coaching at the university level. “It’s very fresh to come to the university stage,” he told ‘eDaily,’ adding, “The players have a strong will to win and their eyes are shining.”
The fact that it was his alma mater, Sungsil University, fueled his desire to challenge. “I always had the college stage, especially Sungshil University, in the back of my mind,” Park said, “I thought that the professional stage is different from the college stage and my alma mater. I’m about to turn 50,” he laughed.
He also explained the background of his appointment, saying, “I came to the university stage with the idea that this is the last time. I wanted to take my students and juniors to the next level. I want to overcome the mountain of employment together and give them something bigger.”
“I shouldn’t be doing this, but honestly, I talk about ‘latte’ a lot,” Park said, comparing the environment to when he was in school, saying, “The environment is much better than when I was in school.”
“When I went to school, the dorms had mold and rusty equipment,” he says, “but now the school has made a big effort and there are nighttime workout facilities and the fridge is always stocked with water and drinks. The locker room is also similar to a professional team, so I feel like I need to do better,” he said, emphasizing his sense of responsibility.
Park began his official duties as the head coach of Sungsil University last month on the 12th, during which time he was away for his Class P license training. Nevertheless, he recently impressed at the 18th Taebaek Sanggi, the first and second-year college soccer tournament.
The team made it to the quarterfinals, defeating the previous year’s champion, Sun Moon University. In the quarterfinals, they lost to another favorite, Jeonju National University, in a penalty shootout.
“Sun Moon University won not only the last tournament but also this winter,” Park recalled, “and when we played them, we knew it was going to be a tough game because they were so strong.” “The players quickly understood the tactical instructions and went above and beyond,” he added.
Despite praising the players for their achievements in just over a month, Park emphasized the importance of ‘pushing’. “You have to push the players when you’re working, but you have to make them understand after training,” he said, “That’s my philosophy, and that’s the hard part.”
He has a unique sense of responsibility and mission. “A player who has been playing soccer for more than 10 years