If four consecutive wins instilled “hope” in FC Seoul, five consecutive wins presented “the possibility” of winning. Seoul is likely to change its course to “win” by skipping its original goal of advancing to the top split.
Seoul secured a 2-0 complete victory in the 28th round of “Hana Bank K League 1 2024” against top-ranked Gangwon held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 24th, continuing its five-game winning streak. Seoul, which has achieved five consecutive wins for the first time in eight years since July-August 2016, added three more points to rank third on the day of the match with 45 points (13 wins, six draws and nine losses). Seoul narrowed its gap with top-ranked Gangwon (50 points) from eight to five points. Depending on the results of the next two matches, it has reached a position where it is close to surpassing the lead. Jesse Lingard of Seoul, who has won the FA Cup with Manchester United, said after the match against Gangwon, “The victory is starting to show.”
It is a remarkable turn of events compared to June when Seoul was in ninth place, a 14-point gap with the first-runner Ulsan, in the 17th round. Seoul, which had only four wins and 18 points in 17 games at the time, has won nine and 27 points in its last 11 games. No other team has won more points than Seoul in the same period. Seoul has shown a balanced performance through offense and defense, with 21 points and defense. It has recently given up just one goal in five consecutive wins against Gimcheon (1-0), Incheon (1-0), Pohang (2-1), Jeju (1-0), and Gangwon.
Manager Kim Ki-dong’s resourcefulness, player management, and quick adaptation of recruiters to take the helm of Seoul this year have achieved fantastic harmony, which has paid off for five consecutive wins. Manager Kim showed off his exceptional ability to constantly motivate the entire first-team squad, from the “best name value in K-League history” Lingard to veteran Ki Sung-yueng to rookie Kang Joo-hyuk. When a large number of teams are struggling in the heat, change of tactics, and bad luck, Seoul plays on the ground like a team that just started the season. “I was overwhelmed by Seoul,” Gangwon coach Yoon Jeong-hwan, who had won four consecutive games, raised his arms.
Seoul has built a squad that can surpass the Asian Champions League and even win the championship, with recruiters such as goalkeeper Kang Hyun-moo, center back Yazan, and winger Lucas quickly melting into the team. Except for defensive resources such as Choi Joon-Yazan and Kim Joo-sung and Kang Sang-woo, almost all midfielders and strikers are classified as “rotation resources.” Since the level of selection and replacement resources is not significant, it is possible to maintain almost a constant concentration for 90 minutes. “Willian” was criticized for not participating in defense properly at the beginning of the season, but after being trained by head coach Kim, he transformed into a “team player” dedicated to the team. From the standpoint of the opposing team’s defender, he will experience a “nightmare” against Willian, who was replaced by Cho Young-wook while he was tired of marking Cho Young-wook running non-stop. In the match against Gangwon, Cho Young-wook instead of Kang Joo-hyuk at half-time, Kang Sung-jin instead of Lingard at 23rd minute in the second half, and Willian instead of Lucas at 31st minute in the second half were deployed. Coach Kim made great achievements during his time in Pohang, winning the FA Cup with a thin squad, runner-up in the Asian Champions League, and runner-up in the K League 1. The environment has changed, but he has not gone anywhere with his know-how.
Seoul provided high-quality ingredients so that Kim could make the “cooking” he wanted. It recruited a total of 11 players last winter and this summer. It is the first time that Kim has achieved five consecutive wins in his entire career. 메이저놀이터
Coach Kim has not spoken out about “winning,” but it is not a mission that is impossible to win in the current league trend such as the Age of Discovery. Pohang, which had been on a good track, has fallen into a swamp for four consecutive years. Gimcheon, where the discharge occurred, and Ulsan, where the coach changed, are having difficulty maintaining the same performance as in the first half. Suwon FC was more negative than positive in the summer transfer market. Gangwon was almost the only team in the lead without any obvious weakness, but it was hampered by Seoul. For Seoul, it is important how to overcome the three consecutive games against Daejeon and Daegu from the match against Jeonbuk on the 1st of next month.