This football show, 뭉쳐야찬다3, is something I would have not watched myself. I love football. I love playing it, and also watching it. But it feels like watching a reality TV show about the sport is overkill. The show being broadcast in Korean makes it inaccessible for me too.
But I have a favorite K-pop group, TAN, and one of the members, Bang Taehoon, plays football. He’s a goalkeeper (like me)! I was thrilled when I found out; it was when I saw footage of TAN at Idol Star Athletics Championships (ISAC) 2022, and Taehoon participated in the football tournament. Later on, during Taehoon’s Instagram livestream, I was able to confirm it by asking him in the comments, and he read my question. He also mentioned that he actually plays futsal more than football these days.
So why am I mentioning Taehoon? Well, he joined the cast of Mungchyeoya Chanda! I’ve been following the show over on YouTube for weeks via the JTBC Entertainment and JTBC Voyage channels! There’s also a delayed broadcast over on Netflix now. The show is called “The Gentlemen’s League” and there are English subtitles!
It’s quite a crazy experience to watch both coverages. I watch the current episode on YouTube without understanding the dialogue, then I also watch an older episode on Netflix and see all the details for the second time around, but with more context. It’s like watching a familiar movie but with somewhat fresh eyes. It’s a bit hard to explain, haha.
Despite the language barrier, I can definitely follow the actual football games in the show. How many times have I watched international livestreams of football games of our national teams? A couple of times, I guess. So this is nothing new to me anymore. Besides, football rules are universal. But of course it would be much more enjoyable if I could understand the commentary and the side comments of the players and coaches during the actual game.
Currently I support Taehoon, but I also found myself liking his teammates in the New Avengers (the show’s current resident team name):
- Lee Seokchan. He actually played in the previous season of Mungchyeoya Chanda on a different team, and during that particular game against the Avengers (the show’s previous resident team name), he stood out for his speed and agility. He applied for this current season and got drafted as a right forward. I do enjoy it whenever he outruns whoever is marking him because he’s really fast. There are a few things I would like for him to improve: his goal-scoring using a solid ground ball, and his ball-handling in tight spaces.
- Choi Jongwoo. He claims to be a famous amateur football player in Korea. I cannot verify it, but his performance in the games proves he’s very skillful. He’s a strong leftie and has good defending moves. I haven’t watched him enough to see if he has areas to improve on. I think he’s a solid player overall, I can’t complain at all. /Ah, he had a coaching point from Manager Ahn about marking a player during a corner kick. He was once beaten by a smaller player with a header that cost their team a goal. It was his fault to have not marked the player very well. He just hung on to his opponent without even trying to hit the ball with his head.
- Hong Beomseok. This guy is like a machine. He appeared as a finalist on Physical 100, and in Mungchyeoya Chanda 3, he was Top 2 in the Shuttle Run test. Amazing. He seems to be a silent but steady player, and I like that about him.
- Yang Junbeom. I haven’t really paid much attention to his playing style but I know as a centre back, he has good instincts and defending skills. I remember him wearing the captain armband in one game. I have yet to find out on a future (delayed) episode on Netflix if he was given merit or was appointed captain. I really have no idea, honestly. But I won’t complain if he’s captain, haha.
- Kim Jinjja. He is the most analytical and strategic of all the players. And I’m glad he’s not just all talk. He can definitely do what he preaches and has great quality passes.
- I will lump these players together: Lim Namgyu, Ryoo Eungyoo, Heo Minho and Lee Daehoon. They are members of the old Avengers team who were able to claim their spots in New Avengers. Their hard work deserves a round of applause. They don’t move like amateur football players anymore.
- I would like to mention Bang Taehoon here just because I watch him a lot in the show, haha. He’s a youth football player for 6 years until he had to retire from a knee injury, if I’m not mistaken. But he has played football in his spare time. Taehoon can be courageous and agile, but of course there’s still room for improvement. I would love for him to get more goalkeeper training. It would be great to see him catch the ball with more precision and confidence, rather than just deflect or punch it out of safety. I would love for him to work on his goal kick. I can’t pinpoint it but there’s something off about his form or posture when he kicks a long ball, like he’s not able to swing his leg very well because of it. His catching form needs some work too, his hands, his feet. I think he has a bright future ahead if he really wants to pursue this path. Only time will tell.
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