Is the June Korean tour of Naples and Mallorca possible within the given schedule? Even if it is possible, it is questionable whether it will be able to make Korean soccer fans happy with 100% power. This is because there are many negative factors in June, when the game will take place.
Italian media reports are continuing regarding Naples’ Korean tour. On the afternoon of the 3rd, some Korean media reports are quoting the news, and it is said that Naples president Aurelio De Laurentiis has a great will for this Korean tour. Thanks to Kim Min-jae’s performance and the all-time pace of Napoli, which is running at the top of Italian Serie A in the 2022-2023 season, it is said that it is making the most of the situation where Korean fans are interested.
The match ㅋㅋㅋ벳 is likely to be held in the first week of June. Napoli and Mallorca will play the last official game of the 2022-2023 season on June 4 (Korean time). If the match is concluded, the two teams will have to board a flight to Korea immediately after the match is over and play the match immediately.
One of the reasons these two teams should have a match in June is also the future of Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in. The two players are in a state where a buyout transfer is possible if an amount of more than a certain amount is presented. It is very likely that he will leave for another team through the summer transfer window. This is why they insist on holding this game in June, even though other foreign clubs’ visits to Korea, such as Coupang Play, are concentrated in July.
The problem is that there are only a few dates available to play. From a physical point of view, the date for the match is impossible other than June 8th or 9th. It seems that the Napoli/Mallorca squad will set foot in Korea on the 5th at the earliest, but they cannot do that even after taking on the difficulties of adjusting to the jet lag for Korean fans. This is because the K-League 1 game schedule is set on the 6th and 7th.
That said, I can’t catch my breath and play on the weekend. Of course, K-League 1 and K-League 2 continue their rounds on weekends (10th and 11th). It is highly unlikely that the Korea Football Association, which is known to have clarified the K-League protection standards for overseas club visits, will approve the match between Naples and Mallorca so that it overlaps with the K-League match schedule. Therefore, the only days to play in the first week of June are the 8th or 9th.
If you move on to the next week, you will be given an A-match break. At this time, the schedule is empty. However, according to the explanations of various officials, the Korea Football Association has set a policy to disallow the hosting of foreign clubs’ visits to Korea in June. It is said that it is being guided to July.
Even if the Korea Football Association changes its policy and allows the game to be held during the A-match break, it is a problem. This is because the active national team players active in Naples and Mallorca have to return to their home countries and play an A match.
It is also a burden on the players. Assuming a normal schedule, players from Napoli and Mallorca will have to go from Europe to Korea after the season, play a game, and then go back to their home country. It is a very harsh schedule for the players, and the national team staff and associations that the players are in have no choice but to protest.
Even Kim Min-jae, who can be called a ‘key man’ in this visit to Korea, is said to be in a position where he has no choice but to skip the A team game in June because of basic military training. It ended in an incident, but in the situation of Kim Min-jae, who is said to have been under a lot of mental stress in the A match last March, a schedule where he has to start military training right after the Italian league schedule and the Korean tour schedule without having time to rest is not good.
Stadium rental issues are also not easy. Assuming the precedent in which overseas club visits to Korea mainly took place at Seoul World Cup Stadium and Suwon World Cup Stadium, K-League matches are scheduled for the 11th at these two places. FC Seoul will face Pohang Steelers and Suwon Samsung will face Incheon United. You may think that playing just one game is a big deal, but it is questionable whether FC Seoul and Suwon Samsung, who are having a fierce season, can accept this kindly. The turf problem is inevitable.
Munsu Stadium in Ulsan and World Cup Stadium in Daejeon, which have recently hit the jackpot, could be alternatives. However, the K-League is scheduled here as well. Jeonju World Cup Stadium is the only stadium with specs capable of hosting international matches that have empty schedules that week. However, it is burdensome in many ways to play overseas clubs in Korea outside the metropolitan area. Considering that these games are structured to bring in as many fans as possible to the soccer field and generate profits, it is difficult to choose a local event where there are not many successful cases of overseas club visits to Korea.
In the midst of this, according to Italian media reports, Napoli president De Laurentiis is said to have started discussing a Korean tour with captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo. <Arena Napoli>, a media familiar with Naples news, reported, “The Korean tour feasibility study is starting. However, for the tour to be possible, the consent of each national team and players is essential. It will not be easy to gather all the players.”