K리그1・2의 최신 소식을 모두 확인 할 수 있는 공간입니다.
Among other things, attacking midfielders will be judged on how many goals they score. Lee Seung-woo scored the most in K League last season with 14, third overall, Cesinha was second with 12 with what was a fairly quiet year for his standards, and Ulsan's Jun Amano was third with nine. For Lee, 14 goals in his first season at K League was impressive, it was also his best goal tally so far in his career. Lee was also the team's top scorer in 2022.
1. Lee Seung-woo, Suwon FC - 14 (3rd overall)
2. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 12 (9th overall)
3. Jun Amano, Ulsan Hyundai - 9 (12th overall)
Assists, too, of course, will help determine what makes an effective attacking midfielder. Daegu FC's Cesinha racked up the most as an attacking mid with six, ahead of him were Lee Chang-min of Jeju United and Suwon FC's Murilo both with four. Interestingly, Cesinha wasn't Daegu's top assist maker in 2022 as Zeca managed seven. Lee Chang-min was fourth on the list of Jeju's top assist makers with Gerso, Joo Min-kyu, and Jo Seong-joon all ahead of him.
1. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 6 (10th overall)
2. Lee Chang-min, Jeju United - 4 (22nd overall)
3. Murilo, Suwon FC - 4 (24th overall)
Combined goals and assists, or goal contributions, or even gonggyeok (attack) points in Korean are another way to see how productive an attacking midfielder is. Cesinha, then, was the most productive in 2022 with a total of 18, behind him was Lee Seung-woo with 16, and Jun Amano with 12.
Cesinha and Lee Seung-woo were both top goal contributors at their clubs but Qazaishvili and Jun Amano were both behind Um Won-sang who had 17.
1. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 18 (4th overall)
2. Lee Seung-woo, Suwon FC - 16 (6th overall)
3. Valeri Qazaishvili, Ulsan Hyundai - 10 (22nd overall)
3. Jun Amano, Ulsan Hyundai - 10 (22nd overall)
[READ: 2022 K League 1 Review: Defensive Midfielder Top Threes]
The attacking midfielder may have struck the ball as sweetly as they possibly can and the shot may even be going in but sometimes goalkeeping heroics keeps them at bay. Young Pohang Steelers star Go Young-jun had the best shooting accuracy among the attacking midfielders in K League 1 last season with 46%, behind him was Jun Amano with just over 39%, and Lee Seung-woo in third with 37.5%.
1. Goh Young-jun, Pohang Steelers - 46% (11th overall)
2. Jun Amano, Ulsan Hyundai - 39.06% (19th overall)
3. Lee Seung-woo, Suwon FC - 37.5% (24th overall)
Many of K League's most prominent attacking midfielders have a penchant for shooting from distance. That's certainly the case for Lee Chang-min and Cesina who jointly dispatched the most shots from outside of the area last season with 72. The next best was Qazaishvili of Ulsan with 32.
1. Lee Chang-min, Jeju United - 72 (Joint 1st overall)
1. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 72 (Joint 1st overall)
3. Valeri Qazaishvili, Ulsan Hyundai - 32 (8th overall)
A deep completion is what Wyscout classes as a non-cross pass that is targeted to the zone within 20 meters of the opponent's goal. Think of it as a cut-back or a key pass that's basically in or close to the 18-yard box. Attacking mids are often the furthest player forward or the most composed in and around the box. They're the ones you want to be providing the right pass and the right time.
Valeri Qazaishvili is that player in K League 1. He ranked top as an attacking midfielder and overall for deep completions last year with 61, behind him was Lee Chang-min with 46, and Lee Seung-woo in fifth.
1. Valeri Qazaishvili, Ulsan Hyundai - 61 (1st overall)
2. Lee Chang-min, Jeju United - 46 (4th overall)
3. Lee Seung-woo, Suwon FC - 44 (5th overall)
Passing is one way to get the ball up the field but nothing gets fans off their seats quite like a mazy dribble from one of the team's flair players. Vako made the most dribbles in K League 1 last year with 215, ahead of Lee Seung-woo with 136, and Cesinha with 133.
1. Valeri Qazaishvili, Ulsan Hyundai - 215 (1st overall)
2. Lee Seung-woo, Suwon FC - 136 (6th overall)
3. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 133 (7th overall)
[READ: 2022 K League 1 Review: Centre Back Top Threes]
But, of course, the dribbles need to be successful ones. If you can't get past the opposition players then there's the risk of giving up possession. Incheon United's Elias Aguilar was the best at dribbling among the attacking midfielders in 2022 with a 59.74% success rate. Jun Amano was next with 59%, followed by Galego of Gangwon at 56.1%.
1. Elias Aguilar, Incheon United - 59.74% (10th overall)
2. Jun Amano, Ulsan Hyundai - 59% (14th overall)
3. Galego, Gangwon FC - 56.1% (30th overall)
Sometimes an attacking midfielder is the furthest forward, other times they have to drop a bit deeper to get on the ball. In doing so they can attempt defensive-splitting through passes. Lee Chang-min made the most out of the attacking midfielders with 54, Aguilar was next with 39, and then Cesinha with 36.
1. Lee Chang-min, Jeju United - 54 (3rd overall)
2. Elias Aguilar, Incheon United - 39 (4th overall)
3. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 36 (5th overall)
It's one thing to attempt a through pass, it's another for it to be accurate. Valeri Qazaishvili showed the best through passing accuracy in 2022 at 52.17%, Gimcheon's Ko Seung-beom was next at 47.37%, and Lee Chung-yong came third among the attacking midfielders at 46.67%.
1. Valeri Qazaishvili, Ulsan Hyundai - 52.17% (4th overall)
2. Ko Seung-beom, Gimcheon Sangmu - 47.37% (8th overall)
3. Lee Chung-yong, Ulsan Hyundai - 46.67% (10th overall)
We've talked about deep completions as being a key pass in or around the penalty area, but what about regular key passes? Well, Cesinha is top of the pops in this regard with 27 with some of the usual suspects behind him, Lee Seung-woo with 24 and Qazaishvili in third.
1. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 27 (1st overall)
2. Lee Seung-woo, Suwon FC - 24 (3rd overall)
3. Valeri Qazaishvili, Ulsan Hyundai - 15 (15th overall)
And finally, when they're not scoring or trying to have a pop from distance, attacking midfielders are also sometimes seen trying to get the ball into the box. Lee Chang-min did that more accurately than any other player in K League last season, attacking midfielder or otherwise, with 49.06%. Behind him was Cesinha with 44.74% and Pohang's Goh Young-jun at a little over 40%.
1. Lee Chang-min, Jeju United - 49.06% (1st overall)
2. Cesinha, Daegu FC - 44.74% (5th overall)
3. Goh Young-jun, Pohang Steelers - 40.48% (12th overall)
