Before heading to Qatar with the aim of helping South Korea claim their first Asian Cup title since 1960, Hee Chan Hwang was delighted to end his year on a high with Wolves.
The forward has been in outstanding form for both club and country throughout 2023, having led the way for the Old Gold in the scoring charts for the last 12 months, as well as guiding Korea through Asian Cup qualification and netting twice in his country’s last three internationals.
Although he was not able to get on the scoresheet in Wolves’ 3-0 win over Everton on Saturday, Hwang played another influential role in making it nine points from nine and is looking for even more success in 2024, and claiming an Asian Cup trophy for Korea would make it a perfect start.
On representing South Korea in the Asian Cup
“I’m very excited. We have a very good team, we have very good players, and at the moment we have been playing very well. That’s why I think every Korean is excited for the Asian Cup because I know how much this competition is for us.
“We haven’t won the Asian Cup for a long time – I heard it would be 64 years that we haven’t won, so that’s why I am determined to win and I will give everything for my country, as usual, and just like I do here at Wolves.”
Signing off with a superb performance 🫡
— Wolves (@Wolves) January 1, 2024
Good luck with @theKFA, Hee Chan! 🇰🇷👊 pic.twitter.com/YV2pB3nuDX
On beating Everton before jetting off
“I was determined to win because this was my last game before I go to the Asian Cup. That’s why I wanted to win so much, and we managed to do that.
“I enjoyed all 100 minutes, and now I will change to my national team. But I will, of course, always be with my teammates, I will be watching every single one of our games and I will cheering my teammates on too.”
On making it three from three in six days
“I think tactically we were perfect, and every player did everything perfect. We followed the gaffer’s tactics well.
“But every single game his tactics are amazing and we’ve just followed him. We’ve got nine points this week and that was a very important aim for us.”
On winning for Lemina
“We played for Mario and his family. This game was for Mario and we did very well. We spoke before the game about how we were determined to win for him and his family, and we did.
“We know Mario and he wanted to play with us, and he’s always with us. But before the game we spoke that if we score we would take his shirt and celebrate all together for Mario.”
On finishing the year on a high
“It was just amazing. I play with top players and a top coaching staff. Our coaching staff work very hard to make us a very good team and they give us everything. I want to say thank you to them, and we play for everything they give us.
“I wanted to score for the win, for myself, for the fans and for everything – I wasn’t able to, but we won 3-0 and it was a very important result for us.
“It was important that we finished the year well and I’m so happy to see a happy place here, and nine points in a week is very, very important and I’m so happy to win.”
