Upgraded ‘Vacuum Cleaner’

‘Must be Changed to Survive.’

The returned ‘vacuum cleaner’, Kim Nam-il (26, Chunnam Dragons) has changed.

Early this year, he sought to make his career in Netherlands but he got rejected and had to return home. He was haunted by the aftermath of the rejection for a while since returning home but now he is seeking a splendorous transformation. Like the eternal Libero, Hong Myeong-bo`s saying, “Glory is for those prepared”, Kim is striving hard to become a “prepared vacuum cleaner”.

Games, rest, practice, research, study….. One day is too short for him these days. He gets exhausted out of the K League that he has to play two matches a week, but he spend much of spare time in strengthening his week points. He does weight training till late night in order to gain physical strength that is needed to play in Europe.

“I thought I just need to play well at defense. But when I went to Europe, I realized I was the least competent player as a defending mid-fielder. I realized a defending mid-fielder is a position that requires not only to do defense but actively take part in offense,” said Kim.

So these days, whenever he gets time, he practices passing balls to the left and right and shooting decisively by himself day and night. Such efforts led him score the winning goal against Daegu FC on July 30.

At the match, Kim stirred the ground sweeping the whole ground. 43 minutes after the second half started, Shin Byeong-ho passed the ball to him and Kim dropped the ball by the chest and capitalized the chance by scoring a goal at a 15m distance. This presented a valuable 4-3 win to the team.

One of Kim`s daily routines is asking Chonnam Dragons to shoot video on his play at all the matches and watching the recorded tape over and over to find out weak points.

“Nam-il is now even more matured. He is active in distributing the ball and participating in offense. Above all, I like the fact that he is full of confidence now. He was in low spirits after failing advancing to overseas, but he got back on track and even more dedicated on soccer,” Lee Hoi-taek, Chonnam Dragons chief coach said.

There is another thing Kim does at night. He studies English and Japanese conversation.

“While I was in Netherlands, I realized the importance of foreign languages once again. I am not yet sure of where I will go, but to advance to a foreign country, foreign languages are must. I plan to learn at least two foreign languages,” he added

Kim is endeavoring to make the leap and transform. We will soon be able to meet upgraded Kim Nam-il.

Jong-Koo Yang yjongk@donga.com