Will FC Seoul of the K-League 1 catch two rabbits and end this season with a successful ending.
Head coach Kim Ki-dong’s Seoul will play a home game against the Pohang Steelers in the 36th round of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at 4:30 p.m. on November 2 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
With two of the remaining three home games left, Seoul is on the verge of surpassing 500,000 home spectators this season.
Seoul has collected 434,426 fans in 16 home games this season, breaking the record for the most home spectators in a single season since the 2018 pay-per-view tally.
Following the upcoming home game against Pohang, 65,574 spectators will enter through the 37th round against Ulsan HD on November 10, opening the era of 500,000 home spectators for the first time in K-League history.
“It is an honor for me as a coach to surpass 500,000 home spectators,” Kim said at a media day held at GS Champions Park in Guri, Gyeonggi Province on Sunday. “I am proud that the Seoul club is leading the K-League’s spectator culture. I will try to attract 600,000 home spectators next year.”
“When I was active, there weren’t many spectators. It was because there were few factors that would appeal to fans,” he said. “I was touched when I was appointed as the head coach of Seoul this season and stood in front of 50,000 spectators. I would have been even more moved if I had been in that mood as a player.”
He added, “If the performance was good at the beginning of the season, it would have exceeded 600,000 home spectators, but I’m sorry I couldn’t.”
Captain Ki Sung-yueng, who returned from injury after four months, also said ahead of the 500,000-strong audience, “This will be an opportunity for our team to take another step forward. The era of 600,000 and 1 million spectators will come in the future.”
Lingard, who made his K League 1 debut this year after playing on the English Premier League (EPL) stage, said, “I can’t forget that many fans were hit at the airport when I first arrived in Korea.”
Seoul, which accumulated 53 points through the 35th round, is ranking fourth. Pohang is ranking fifth with 52 points.
Seoul’s next goal, which reached the Final A for the first time in five years, is to secure qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite (ACLE) in the 2025-2026 season. 먹튀검증
There are a lot of cases, but you have to finish the season as high as possible to get a chance.
In that sense, if you don’t win the home game against Pohang, it will not be easy to secure the right to participate in ACLE.
Coach Kim is in a tight balance with one win, one draw and one loss in the ‘Kim Ki-dong Derby’ against Pohang this season.
Coach Kim, whose lips were chapped while preparing for a showdown with his former team Pohang, joked, “It became the image of a coach agonizing over the preparation for the Pohang match,” and added, “We lost 2-4 in our first match against Pohang in April and went on a downward trend. Since then, I had a difficult time, but I will definitely win this time.”