FC Seoul lost to Jeonbuk Hyundai again.
Since the match against Jeonbuk on July 2, 2017, the team has had no win in 21 matches in the league alone. Including the two matches in the final of the FA Cup (former of the Korea Cup) in the 2022 season, the team has had six draws and 17 losses in 23 matches.
Why is Seoul so weak against Jeonbuk? I asked Lee Sang-yoon, a commentator who broadcasted this season's first showdown at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on April 20.
Q. He broadcasted on-site the match between Seoul and Jeonbuk in the eighth round of the K-League 1 in the 2024 season held at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. What did you think.
"Seoul" under Kim Ki-dong is not the complete team. Kim Joo-sung and Jesse Lingard have been sidelined due to injury. Kang Sung-jin, Lee Tae-seok, Baek Jong-beom and Baek Sang-hoon are currently participating in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup. They also need more time to regain coach Kim's touch. For Seoul, goalkeeper Choi Cheol-won's fatal mistake was painful. Jeonbuk has won the match by persistently digging into Seoul's weaknesses.
Q. Looking back on the first scoring scene of the day, was it goalkeeper Choi Cheol-won's mistake, or was Song Min-gyu's pressure and tackle timing great.
It was the goalie's mistake. Choi is a goalie who is capable of making good defense. When good, he blocks everything that he thinks is a loss. However, he made a similar mistake again following the match against HDFC in Ulsan last year. His weakness is his underfoot. Jeonbuk and Song Min-gyu analyzed it well, and as a result, they scored the first goal in the early hours. Coach Kim Ki-dong has two options.
Q. What options do you have.
Not all goalkeepers in the world are like Ederson, the Manchester City goalie. Choi has exceptional defense capabilities. His foot skills are not good compared to his ability to defend well. To be more cool-headed, he is not a goalkeeper who can be involved in the build-up. We have to choose here. Improving Choi's build-up capabilities through repetitive training is another thing. The other is maximizing Choi's stable defense capabilities and reducing the burden on build-up. Not all goalkeepers have to participate in the build-up. There is no right answer in soccer.
Q. Seoul turned the game around with consecutive goals by Ilyushchenko and Palosevic. What made you think that the team failed to continue the trend.
Jeonbuk has not had a good situation this season. Jeonbuk had no win this season before the match against Gwangju FC on Wednesday. It also experienced the lowest ranking (12th). But each and every movement of the Jeonbuk players in the match against Seoul contained confidence. The flow of soccer is really important. In this match, I was confident that I could win. The goals of Lee Young-jae and Jeon Byeong-gwan are clear examples.
Q. Can you tell me more specifically.
The goal in the match against Seoul is Lee's first point of attack this season. Lee appeared to gradually recover from the match against Gwangju on Sunday. He added confidence in the match against Seoul. Both of the shots Lee tried in the match against Seoul were effective shots. He also had the most shots on goal among the seven games he played this season. Jeon Byung-kwan's overhead kick. This was a goal that he could not even try without confidence.
Q. After allowing Jeon Byeong-gwan to score the come-from-behind goal, Seoul pushed Jeonbuk. However, the team failed to produce results. What do you think was lacking.
I'll be cool-headed. Jeonbuk has the best squad in the K-League. Ahn Hyun-beom, Moon Sun-min, Han Kyo-won and Lee Jae-ik joined the match against Seoul as substitutes. They are not strange even if they play as the main players. Let's look the other way around. In Seoul, Son Seung-bum, Kim Jin-ya, Hwang Do-yoon and Dongjin Park were replaced. The players they had to replace were Willian, Ryu Jae-moon, Palosevic and Ilyushchenko. Replacement resources should perform more than those who started. Currently, I think Palosevic and Ilyushchenko should play full-time in Seoul.
Q. Is there a reason.
There are no resources to replace Palosevic and Ilytsenko. In particular, I don't see a player who can play as decisive as Ilytsenko. The main striker can't score goals every game. In that case, another player has to burst. Watching the match against Jeonbuk, I thought a lot about Na Sang-ho, who played as an ace in Seoul until last year. Seoul makes good chances, but there are very few chances that lead to goals.
Q. Seoul is one of the most popular teams in Korean professional sports beyond the K-League. Such a team has failed to win 23 consecutive games against a single team. Looking back on the days as a player, how can a team be so weak.
"Why not?" (laughs). Players' skills are quite different. If they are in good condition on the day of the game, the gap in skills between professional players can be reversed. It is not a big difference. The biggest difference between the two teams is their confidence. Seoul might have tried not to care about the result of the previous game against Jeonbuk, but it would not have been easy. The jinx would have come stronger when the team allowed the first run and allowed the reversal. Seoul seemed to shrink as time went by. 토토사이트
Q: Seoul is playing at home for the second consecutive time. Other than restoring confidence, what are some essential factors that change the mood.
Cho Young-wook and Willian need to show consistent performance. They also need to play the role of troubleshooter. Ilyushchenko alone cannot take responsibility for scoring. When Ilyushchenko is blocked, he has to play the role of Ilyushchenko. Only when these players act as troubleshooter can the team atmosphere revive. When the team atmosphere comes to life, unexpected players like Jeon Byeong-kwan will add to their performance. I won't be the only one who came up with Na Sang-ho's name on this day.
