About 50 fans welcomed Hwang Hee-chan at his arrival hall. Some fans cheered while wearing Wolverhampton uniforms with Hwang Hee-chan's number and name written on them.
Hwang Hee-chan met with reporters and said, “I am so grateful that so many fans came and congratulated me. “I feel so happy and honored to always be supported like this,” she said.
This is Hwang Hee-chan's record for most points scored in a single big league season, including his time in the Bundesliga. Including League Cup goals, he has 13 goals and 3 assists in official games.
Hwang Hee-chan said, “I scored 12 goals in the EPL, and I think it was not a bad season. I gained more confidence through this season and was motivated to do better.” Hwang Hee-chan, who scored 12 league goals this season, scored his 20th EPL goal, surpassing Jeonbuk Hyundai technical director Park Ji-sung, who had 19 goals in total, and became the second highest scorer in the EPL by a Korean. Hwang Hee-chan said, “I am so honored. “Senior Park Ji-sung is the person who made me dream of playing in the EPL, and he is the person who fostered my dream of representing the national team as a soccer player. I was very happy and proud of myself to be able to surpass that person’s record,” he said. He continued, “But I know very well what a difficult path senior Park Ji-sung has had. He is someone I respect so much and I am so grateful. “He even contacted me after the season to say I did a good job,” he added. Hwang Hee-chan faltered during his participation in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup early this year due to a hamstring (muscle behind the thigh) injury in the second half of the year. He also regrets that he would have scored more goals if he had focused solely on his team. He said, “It may be regrettable to leave the good trend with the Asian Cup, but personally, the Asian Cup was a very precious tournament.” He added, “I think I tried to do better as (Son) Heung-min and I were among the top scorers in the EPL until December of last year.
. “Heungmin was a big motivation for me.” He said, “I was so embarrassed as a player when I came back after scoring three goals in the league last season. He was very lacking as a striker. So, going into this season, he wanted to play as much as possible without getting hurt. In fact, there was only one injury. At the same time, he seemed to have a good performance. However, I am not satisfied with this and my desire to do better in the future has grown,” he added. Hwang Hee-chan became famous this season by being called ‘Korean Guy’ by Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola. Ahead of the 2023-2024 season EPL 7th round match against Wolverhampton, coach Guardiola, who could not remember Hwang Hee-chan's name, referred to Hwang Hee-chan as 'Korean Guy'. Hwang Hee-chan made his presence known the next day by scoring the winning goal against Manchester City, leading Wolverhampton to a 2-1 victory. Coach Guardiola, who was attacked by ‘Korean Guy’, later spoke highly of the player, saying the exact name ‘Hwang Hee-chan’. Hwang Hee-chan, who recalled that time, said, “I was proud every time the opposing team coaches, including Guardiola and Liverpool manager Klopp, mentioned it before the game, and I wanted to do better.” Hwang Hee-chan, who scored again in the second match against Manchester City on the 5th, caught the attention of fans by whispering with Manchester City striker Erling Holland, a teammate from his time in Leipzig (Germany), after the game. Hwang Hee-chan laughed and said, “It’s hard to tell because it’s a secret conversation,” and added, “We talked about soccer and personal things. “He also recently sent a message congratulating me on winning.” Hwang Hee-chan, who cited the loss in the semifinals against Jordan in the Asian Cup as the most disappointing moment, said, “There were so many good games that 80-90% were good. “Among them, the most memorable one was the home game against Manchester City where I scored a goal and won
.” Although European players such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Hwang Hee-chan have made great performances, Korean soccer is going through its worst moment due to the failure to win the Asian Cup and the failure to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 40 years. Hwang Hee-chan said, “It was heartbreaking not to be able to go to the Olympics. Although we couldn't run together, I was also sorry that we couldn't be together. “But I think we can develop further through these failures.” Former Ulsan HD coach Kim Do-hoon, who took over as interim head coach ahead of the second round of the North-Central American World Cup qualifiers against Singapore (6th) and China (11th) in June, said, “I know this coach well as I was with the youth national team,” adding, “It’s very confusing. “It is a chaotic atmosphere, but since it is an important moment leading up to the final preliminary round, I will do my best as a player,” he said. He added, “I want to focus on winning. He also emphasized, “I have a strong desire to show better performance in home games.” Meanwhile, on this day, players from Boksagol FC, a soccer team for developmentally disabled people belonging to the Bucheon City Welfare Center for the Disabled, visited the arrival hall and welcomed Hwang Hee-chan. Hwang Hee-chan is supporting ‘Boksagol FC’, which is experiencing financial difficulties.
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