First Contact: Ansan's Tim Hartzell & Machop Chol on getting to grips with the K League

Ansan's new faces have brought a mix of international flair and optimism to Ansan following the club's dismal 2025 campaign. It has been a mixed start so far for the Greeners with a first opening win for over half a decade, but poor home form has continued. Nevertheless, Lee Moon-sik's attacking style has brought with it a lot of optimism for the season ahead. So, how have two of those new faces settled to life so far in the K League?

Tim Hartzell

Hartzell arrives in Ansan off the back of winning the Superettan (Swedish second division) title with Västerås SK. Making 20 appearances, the towering the centre back also showed his goal threat by pitching in some match winning assists as his side clinched the title by a single point.

Joining Ansan off the back of such a poor season last year, Hartzell reflects that he saw the results but there have been a lot of changes. In fact it was discussions with coach Choi Moon-sik that set the tone for that was to be expected, with a focussed and exciting plan for the season. Indeed the whole mood around the Wa Stadium seems different this season, with Tim stating there is "a very good mood in the team."

Of course arriving in a new country is always a challenge, in particular as Hartzell's career has been spent in Scandinavia. However, the support has been great, especially from Felipe de Paula who works as the team translator at Ansan. Felipe himself has K League 2 experience, scoring 5 times in a stint at Goyang Zaicro in 2017. Tim also notes the role of his agents, as well as the wider Ansan staff in ensuring that the transition to Korea was a smooth one.

In addition, Hartzell could also call upon friends in the league itself. Of note, he played with Bucheon midfielder Kazuki Takahashi at Swedish side AFC Eskilstuna. Kazuki assured Tim that he would have a good experience in Korea, offering positive advice with it being “a very good league.” This is echoed by other players and Tim’s own experiences with the K2 so far, noting that it is different from playing in Sweden and Denmark but it is “a high-quality league.”

One of the big differences with Scandinavia is the Korean summer, and Hartzell notes that he has heard a lot about it, but he is prepared and even looking forward to it! Of course, the challenge for Ansan in the K2 is a difficult one and Tim reflects pragmatically that the goal is to: “Stay humble and keep working hard.”

[READ: Kazuki Takahashi on the 2025 Play-off promotion chase]

Tim Hartzell clears the lines against Busan I'Park

Machop Chol

Born in Khartoum but raised in the US, Machop has played at Wake Forest academy, as did former Greener Burno Lapa, and was picked up for Atlanta United, scoring in the MLS against Toronto and New England. His football journey has also taken him to Lithuania with Zalgiris, and he has been called up 4 times by the South Sudanese team.

Machop managed his first goal in front of the home fans against Busan, reflecting that it “It felt good.” Indeed, the humble and pragmatic approach espoused by Hartzell is reflected in Machop who analysed his performance: “[I] Had some opportunities I wish I could have capitalised on but overall, a good feeling, but I just wish we’d have got a result today." His target for the season is to just focus on "helping the team and getting positive results."

Following defeat to Busan Machop noted that of course the team is down but “there’s many points to be happy about we played well in certain moments and also got some things that we can learn from as well.” Can Ansan push on this season? Machop thinks so, the team does not like to lose and “there’s a lot of hunger in this group.”

[READ: Bruno Lapa on the K League 2]