(Yonhap Interview) Danish football club FC Midtjylland seeking to build sustainable presence in S. Korea: executives（韩联社专访）丹麦足球俱乐部中日德兰足球俱乐部高管表示，俱乐部正寻求在韩国建立可持续发展的业务。
SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Having enjoyed growing interest in South Korea thanks ...
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SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- Having enjoyed growing interest in South Korea thanks to their recent history of signing local players, Danish football club FC Midtjylland are now trying to establish a "meaningful and sustainable presence" in the country and seek an opportunity to develop young Korean athletes, the team's senior executives said Tuesday.
Jonas Lygaard, CEO of FC Midtjylland, and Ove Pedersen, the club's vice sporting director, recently visited South Korea as Midtjylland's under-17 club participated in the K League International Youth Cup. Hosted by South Korea's top professional league, the tournament brought together six youth teams from South Korea and six from overseas.
In an email interview with Yonhap News Agency, Lygaard said the tournament served as an opportunity to have Midtjylland's youth team compete against other international sides and also to learn more about South Korean football and the country as a whole.
This photo provided by the Danish football club FC Midtjylland shows the team's CEO, Jonas Lygaard. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
With South Korea internationals Cho Gue-sung and Hong Hyun-seok currently playing for FC Midtjylland, and another member of the national team, Lee Han-beom, having been with the four-time Danish Superliga champions from 2003 to 2026, Lygaard said these players have had "a major impact on awareness and interest in FC Midtjylland in Korea."
"The Korean market is extremely interesting and important to FC Midtjylland. At the same time, this was our first club visit to Korea, so one of our main objectives was to listen and learn," Lygaard said. "We wanted to better understand how Korean football is organized, how youth development works, the quality and characteristics of the players, and how we can build stronger relationships with clubs, schools, companies and other stakeholders."
Lygaard said he was "genuinely surprised by how much people already knew about FC Midtjylland" during his stay in South Korea but insisted interest alone will not be enough for his club.
"If we want to build a meaningful and sustainable presence in Korea, we need to take a dedicated and focused approach and invest in the right relationships and activities over time," he said. "We see significant potential for a long-term relationship between FC Midtjylland and Korea, both on the sporting and commercial side. But it is important for us to first understand the market properly and then develop our approach from there. We have met with a number of interesting people and organizations, and we now need to turn those conversations into a clear plan."
As Lygaard worked on the team's plans for South Korea, Pedersen, who coached Midtjylland from 1999 to 2002, studied young South Korean players carefully at the U-17 tournament. He said he came away impressed with their mentality, work ethic and respect for both opponents and coaches.
This photo provided by the Danish football club FC Midtjylland shows the team's vice sporting director, Ove Pedersen. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
When FC Midtjylland acquired Cho, Lee and Hong, they had already been playing senior football, all of them in their 20s. And given FC Midtjylland's strong tradition of developing young players, Pedersen said he was looking forward to a chance to work with younger South Korean players.
"We have never been afraid to give young players the opportunity to play at the highest level, and we have a proven track record of developing players who subsequently move to some of the biggest leagues in Europe," Pedersen said. "Our interest now is also to understand the next generation of Korean talent and how we can potentially work with younger players in the future."
During this summer's transfer window, FC Midtjylland made 86.3 million euros (US$96.3 million) in player sales, the highest single-window total ever by a Danish club. Dario Osorio, who had joined FC Midtjylland as a 19-year-old in 2023, moved to the Premier League club Crystal Palace in September for 28 million euros, the biggest player sale in the Danish league.
Cho Gue-sung of FC Midtjylland celebrates after his club's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the first leg of the round of 16 at the UEFA Europa League at City Ground in West Bridgford, England, in this March 12, 2026, file photo by EPA. (Yonhap)
"Because of FIFA regulations, international players can generally only move to a European club when they reach the age of 18, subject to the applicable rules and exceptions. That is one of the reasons why this trip has been valuable for us," Pedersen said. "We wanted to better understand Korean youth development, the players and the environment they come from. We will now evaluate what we have seen and learned before deciding on the right approach."
Asked what specific features he looks for when evaluating international players, Pedersen said, "For us, potential is very important. We want to identify players with something special and then create the right environment for them to develop both as footballers and as people."
Pedersen said Cho and Hong bring more than just their talent to the table.
"They are hard-working, disciplined and have a very strong mentality," Pedersen said. "They are also very committed to improving themselves. They are both players with qualities that fit very well into our team and our football philosophy. We believe there is still more development and potential in both players, and we are looking forward to seeing them continue to contribute to the team."
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(Yonhap Interview) Danish football club FC Midtjylland seeking to build sustainable presence in S. Korea: executives
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首尔，11月3日（韩联社）——丹麦足球俱乐部中日德兰足球俱乐部（FC Midtjylland）的高层周二表示，由于近年来签下韩国本土球员，该俱乐部在韩国越来越受到关注，现在正努力在韩国建立“有意义且可持续的存在”，并寻求机会培养韩国年轻运动员。
中日德兰足球俱乐部首席执行官乔纳斯·吕加德和俱乐部副体育总监奥韦·佩德森近日访问了韩国，中日德兰U17青年队参加了K联赛国际青年杯。该赛事由韩国顶级职业联赛主办，汇聚了来自韩国的六支青年队和来自海外的六支青年队。
吕加德在接受韩联社电子邮件采访时表示，此次锦标赛为中日德兰青年队提供了一个与其他国际球队比赛的机会，同时也让他们有机会更多地了解韩国足球和整个韩国。
这张由丹麦足球俱乐部中日德兰足球俱乐部提供的照片显示的是该俱乐部的首席执行官乔纳斯·吕加德。（照片非卖品）（韩联社）
韩国国脚赵玟星和洪贤硕目前效力于中日德兰足球俱乐部，而另一位国家队成员李汉范也曾在2003年至2026年效力于这支四届丹麦超级联赛冠军球队。莱加德表示，这些球员“极大地提高了韩国人对中日德兰足球俱乐部的认知度和兴趣”。
“韩国市场对中日德兰足球俱乐部来说极其重要且充满吸引力。同时，这也是我们俱乐部首次访问韩国，因此我们的主要目标之一就是倾听和学习，”莱加德说道。“我们希望更好地了解韩国足球的组织架构、青少年培养体系、球员的素质和特点，以及如何与俱乐部、学校、企业和其他利益相关者建立更紧密的联系。”
吕加德表示，他在韩国期间“对人们对中日德兰足球俱乐部的了解程度之高感到非常惊讶”，但他坚称，仅仅有关注度不足以让他的俱乐部取得成功。
“如果我们想在韩国建立有意义且可持续的影响力，就需要采取专注且投入的方式，并长期投资于正确的合作关系和活动，”他说道。“我们看到中日德兰足球俱乐部与韩国在体育和商业领域都拥有巨大的长期合作潜力。但对我们来说，首先充分了解市场至关重要，然后才能在此基础上制定我们的策略。我们已经与许多有趣的人士和机构进行了会面，现在需要将这些对话转化为一个清晰的计划。”
在莱加德为球队制定韩国之行的计划时，曾在1999年至2002年执教中日德兰队的佩德森在U17锦标赛上仔细观察了韩国年轻球员的表现。他说，韩国球员的心态、职业精神以及对对手和教练的尊重给他留下了深刻的印象。
这张由丹麦足球俱乐部中日德兰足球俱乐部提供的照片显示的是该俱乐部的副体育总监奥韦·佩德森。（照片非卖品）（韩联社）
当米迪兰特签下赵承熙、李耀祥和洪尚秀时，他们都已是成年队球员，年龄都在20岁左右。鉴于米迪兰特在培养年轻球员方面有着悠久的传统，佩德森表示他很期待有机会与年轻的韩国球员共事。
佩德森表示：“我们一直都乐于给年轻球员机会，让他们在高水平的联赛中效力，而且我们培养球员的成功案例也证明了这一点，许多球员最终都进入了欧洲一些顶级联赛。我们现在也希望了解下一代韩国足球人才，以及未来如何与他们合作。”
今夏转会窗口期间，中日德兰足球俱乐部通过球员出售获得了8630万欧元（约合9630万美元）的收入，创下了丹麦俱乐部单次转会窗口的最高纪录。达里奥·奥索里奥于2023年以19岁的年龄加盟中日德兰，并在9月份以2800万欧元的身价转会至英超俱乐部水晶宫，这笔交易也成为了丹麦联赛历史上最大的球员转会费。
这张摄于2026年3月12日的资料照片由EPA提供，照片中，中日德兰足球俱乐部的赵圭成在球队于英格兰西布里奇福德的城市球场举行的欧足联欧洲联赛16强首回合比赛中1-0战胜诺丁汉森林后庆祝胜利。（韩联社）
“由于国际足联的规定，国际球员通常只有年满18岁才能加盟欧洲俱乐部，当然也需遵守相关规则和例外情况。这也是此次行程对我们意义非凡的原因之一，”佩德森说道。“我们希望更好地了解韩国的青少年足球发展模式、球员以及他们所处的环境。接下来，我们将评估此行的所见所闻，然后再决定下一步的行动方案。”
当被问及在评估国际球员时会特别关注哪些方面时，佩德森说：“对我们来说，潜力非常重要。我们希望找到那些拥有特殊才能的球员，然后为他们创造合适的成长环境，让他们在足球和人格方面都能得到发展。”
佩德森表示，赵和洪带来的不仅仅是他们的天赋。
“他们勤奋刻苦、纪律严明，而且意志力非常强，”佩德森说道。“他们也都非常致力于提升自己。他们的特质与我们球队和我们的足球理念非常契合。我们相信他们两人都还有很大的提升空间和潜力，我们期待着他们继续为球队做出贡献。”
jeeho@yna.co.kr (完)
（韩联社专访）丹麦足球俱乐部中日德兰足球俱乐部高管表示，俱乐部正寻求在韩国建立可持续发展的业务。