Sport24’s description of Hwang In-Beom as a footballing ‘supercomputer’ certainly felt appropriate following Olympiakos’ 3-1 Greek Super League victory over rivals PAOK on Wednesday night.
Hwang, after all, is a footballer renowned for his supreme intelligence. His unique penchant for analysing a situation in double-quick time, completing thousands upon thousands of equations in the blink of an eye, before making the right decision at precisely the right moment.
Whether linking the play with those effortless, ‘tika taka’ touches or bisecting an opposition defence with a no-look assist, Hwang’s ability to store terabytes upon terabytes of data below his mop of jet-black hair makes him the undoubted brains of the Olympiakos operation.
“For the umpteenth time this season, Hwang In-Beom was one of Olympiakos’ top players,” Sport24 wrote after that PAOK victory. “The Korean midfielder didn’t score a goal, he didn’t have any assists. But he was the absolute leader of the red-and-white team.”
“It was rare attack that Olympiakos created a chance which did not pass through him. He completed 37 of the 43 passes he attempted. He was the leader for passes in the attacking third with 15 out of 18 completed.”
Rangers like Olympiakos star Hwang In-Beom
According to Greek reporter Georgios Sideridiss, Hwang is one of a number of Greek-based talents on Rangers hitlist ahead of the summer transfer window, alongside Panathinaikos duo Dimitrios Kourbelis and Fotis Ioannidis. Aris winger Luis Palma too.
If Palma is a readymade replacement for Ryan Kent, if Ioannidis would give Mick Beale the ‘different’ option he craves through the middle, then Hwang looks like the midfield metronome Rangers need if they are to improve their possession game and their ball retention.
Rangers have a habit of letting games drift; their lack of real composure in the centre of the park a common concern. The addition of a string-pulling, tempo-setting playmaker like, say, Reo Hatate at Celtic, could take the Gers to another level.
And Hwang, capped 43 times by South Korea, could be exactly that. A tally of just four goals and four assists in 33 games this season does not do his influence justice. At Karaiskakis Stadium, so much goes through him. Much in the same way fellow East Asian Hatate leads the dance at Parkhead.
Hwang is the conductor of the Olympiakos orchestra. His arrival at Ibrox would tighten up Beale’s beat while bringing rhythm to Rangers.
As Hwang himself explains: “I want to play a good role as a link between offence and defence in all situations.”
“I was very surprised by In-Beom,” team-mate Pep Biel tells Relevo. “I didn’t know him and I was surprised by how good he is.”
