“I think I can say that I’m ready to go anywhere if the opportunity presents itself.”

National team midfielder Hwang In-beom (27-Olympiakos) was cautious when asked about a move to another team.

“The transfer market hasn’t even opened yet and the news about me and other Korean players is hot,” he told reporters at the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on Thursday during the Hana One Q K League 2023 Round 16 match between Daejeon Hana Citizen and Incheon United, before adding, “I don’t think it’s polite to say that I want to leave (Olympiacos) unconditionally right now. However, I’m ready to go anywhere if given the opportunity.”

Hwang, a native of Daejeon, was honored by the city of Daejeon as an ambassador for the Hometown Love and Donation Program. Hwang, who played for the Daejeon Citizen, was thrilled to see so many people in attendance at his hometown team’s game. “This is a very special team for me, and I watched their games whenever I had time, even in Greece,” he said. “There are still the same fans I saw when I was a kid. When I was playing, Daejeon was going through a dark period, and it’s great to see the fans who supported them then smiling and cheering now,” he smiled.

After playing for Daejeon and winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, Hwang joined the European ranks with Vancouver Whitecaps (Canada) before moving to Rubin Kazan (Russia) in 2020. He returned to South Korea in 2022 to play briefly for FC Seoul before moving to Olympiakos in the summer transfer window that year.

For Hwang, the biggest takeaway from the season was staying injury-free and playing consistently. “If you include the A national team, last season was the season I played the most games since my debut, which means I played a full season without getting injured,” he said. “I learned how to take care of my body as a player through last season. I think it will help me a lot in my future career.”

This season has been one of chaos for Olympiacos. The team changed coaches four times and never really found its footing. Despite this, Hwang In-beom has been trusted to play consistently, regardless of the managerial changes. Now, there are rumors that the Bundesliga is eyeing him up, and he could be on his way to a bigger stage. 안전놀이터

It’s clear that Hwang In-bum wants to play on a bigger stage. But that’s only if he gets the chance. “There are certain leagues where fans would like to see a Korean player,” he says. “There are certain leagues where fans would like to see a Korean player,” he says, “and I’m ready to go anywhere without hesitation as long as there’s no problem, but I played one season with Olympiacos and was loved so much. If I don’t get the chance, I’ll do what I’ve always done and do it better, so I can prove that the choices I made were not wrong.”