Why Cho Yu-min is no longer Daejeon Hana Citizen captain

Daejeon Hana Citizen have named their captain for the 2023 Hana 1Q K League 1 season and it is not Cho Yu-min, the club's skipper last term. But, manager Lee Min-sung has said that Cho hasn't been stripped of the captaincy or demoted, rather it is for his own benefit.

Daejeon Hana Citizen on Friday announced the team's new captain for the forthcoming season with Ju Se-jong chosen to lead the Purples for their first season back in the top flight. Lee Chang-geun, Kim Min-duk, and Lim Dug-keun will serve as vice-captains.

A name omitted from the list is last year's captain Cho Yu-min. Manager Lee Min-sung has revealed why the Asian Games gold medal winner is no longer his skipper. Speaking to Daily Truth News 24 Lee said:

"Cho Yu-min did very well for me (as captain) but I think he felt a lot of pressure in that role. He's a player that kept having to leave the team for international duty. I spoke to him and he said that he would do whatever I asked him to. Ju Se-jong is a player with a career who can over from Cho Yu-in. Even though he joined midway through last season he became a key player so I decided to burden him with the captaincy (laughs). Lee Chang-geun, Kim Min-duk, and Lim Dug-keun are vice captains. [Lim] Dug-keun will be the captain of the B team."

From left to right: Kim Min-duk, Ju Se-jong, Lee Chang-geun, Lim Dug-keun

Lee Chang-geun and Ju Se-jong, as elder statesmen with hundreds of matches under their belts between them, were one of the most vocal players in the Daejeon dressing room last term and so naming the pair as part of the wider leaders' group makes perfect sense.

Kim Min-duk was vice-captain last season too, taking over from Seo Young-jae who admitted that the pressure was too much for him.

Daejeon Hana Citizen begin their first season back in the to flight since 2015 on Sunday, 26th February with a home fixture against Gangwon FC - a rematch of the 2021 promotion-relegation final which Daejeon lost 4-2 on aggregate.