Moreno on First Squad: 'Analyzed 1,700 Players, Picked on Performance, Not Reputation'

[Anchor]

Newly appointed national football team head coach Roberto Moreno has announced his first roster. He selected a large number of K League players, including FC Seoul's MVP candidate Jeong Seung-won, and offered an impressive explanation true to his reputation as a tactician, revealing that he selected the players after analyzing data on 1,700 individuals.

Reporter Lee Jeong-Chan has more.

[Reporter]

Coach Moreno, who earned high marks during the open recruitment process with detailed analytical data on South Korean players, showcased his identity as an analyst while announcing his inaugural roster.

To select the 30 players for the upcoming four A-matches, he used an analysis program to gather information on 1,700 South Korean players, narrowing down the list to fit the "4-4-2" formation most widely used in the K League over the past two years.

[Roberto Moreno / National Football Team Head Coach: The key criteria are performance, not reputation. It is clear that desire and passion must be shown.]

Accordingly, building on core players such as Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, and Kim Min-jae, K League standouts like Incheon defender Kim Keonhee and Gimcheon Sangmu's Park Tae-jun received surprise call-ups, while 2006-born prospect Kim Min-su, who recently joined Scottish powerhouse Rangers, received his first-ever national team call-up.

[Roberto Moreno / National Football Team Head Coach: They have clear positions in their teams and have shown solid performances. Above all, I checked their performances over the last 10 matches.]

The fates of closely watched K League stars varied. While Jeong Seung-won of league leaders Seoul donned the Taegeuk mark again after one year and two months, Jeonbuk's Lee Seung-woo was left off the list once more.

Addressing suspicions regarding reliance on artificial intelligence, Coach Moreno reiterated that it is not true.

(Video by: Yoo Dong-hyuk | Video Editing by: Park Jung-sam | Video Source: YouTube 'Selección Española de Fútbol (SeFutbol)')
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.