“The FA Cup final, we have nothing to lose… I want to make our fans proud by winning”
Former FC Seoul midfielder Ki Seong-yong (33) has been at the center of the issue due to friction with fans after the recent match.
After losing 2-3 in the K-League 1 match against Daegu FC held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 1st, the angry fans in the home crowd chanted ‘Come out, coach Ahn Ik-soo.’ On hearing this, he quarreled.
Seoul had only one win (2 draws and 4 losses) in the last 7 league games. In particular, in the last 33 rounds of the regular round, they lost 0-3 to Daegu and met Daegu again in the first game of the round. final B, causing the anger of fans to peak, it was sweet
In the end, director Ahn Ik-soo came out and apologized for the fall, and this scene ended, representing the recent bad mood in Seoul.
After that, Seoul met Daegu again in the quarter-finals of the Korea Football Association (FA) Cup, held as an away match at Daegu’s DGB Bank Park on the 5th, but this time the defeat was not repeated.
They were tied 0-0 at 90 minutes of the first half and at the end of extra time, but Na Sang-ho’s ‘theatre goal’ exploded and won 1-0 to reach the final of the English FA Cup for the first time in six years.
The Seoul fans who filled the away crowd cheered, and Ki Sung-yong regained her laughter.
Ki Seong-yong, who met afterwards, said about the situation of the last game, “I am very sorry for the performance this year, not only for me, but for all the players.
In that sense, I also went and said I was sorry,” he said.
He said, “How frustrating would that be? If the team you support keeps losing, even if you’re like me, you’ll get angry.” I agreed.
Ki Seong-yong, who expressed his opinion that “it is nothing, but looks big from the outside and builds misunderstanding”, said “It is not about who is good and who is not’ n wrong, it’s a win-win relationship where fans, players, and clubs all have to walk together. I think it would be better,” he said.
Losing three runs in two consecutive games in ‘3 games’ against a team, which is a rarity in football, was not only upsetting for the fans as well as the players.
In the semi-final of the FA Cup that followed, Ki Sung-yong explained that such a mental arm was the driving force behind Seoul’s victory.
He kept the bench to build up his stamina for the league schedule, and then played in overtime to help them win.
Ki Seong-yong said, “If we lose to Daegu this time, we will lose 3 in a row to one team, but the will of the players to give up was strong and great.
Tactically, the back three brought stabilization in the defence, and other factors were a major motivation. ”
Seoul, which changed its atmosphere by escaping the game against Daegu, took advantage of the opportunity to ‘win’ the tournament.
Seoul’s official championship victory recently was the K-League Classic 2016 (Part 1), six years have passed.
The last FA Cup win was in 2015.
After Ki Sung-yong returned from Europe in 2020, he stayed in the B League Final and didn’t even come close to winning the FA Cup.
“Seoul has not won a championship since 2016, and their reputation or status has decreased a lot as they remain in the lower divisions of the league,” he said.
The fans’ pride has also dropped a lot,” he said.
Jeonbuk Hyundai, who will meet in the FA Cup final, is a team that has recently won the championship.
Moreover, they have not lost a single game against Seoul since July 2017.
However, Ki Seong-yong said, “The tournament is different. We have nothing to lose. The burden will be more in Jeonbuk, and Jeonbuk will struggle quite a bit.” He said with a smile, ” I hope the last day will come soon.”
He continued, “I think the fact that a lot of fans came to this game and gave their support despite it being a weekday is a huge boost for the players.
There are more important great games (with Suwon Samsung on the 7th), so we need the support of fans until the end.”
/happy news
