It rained incessantly from the morning of Children’s Day. Record heavy rain was expected, but it wasn’t that much. Still, in the eyes of the children, the endless rain seemed to look brutal.
On Children’s Day, K-League matches are held without fail. This year is sure to be an underwater battle. Working hard on the wipers, I crossed the World Cup Bridge and arrived at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. As the kick-off time for FC Seoul and Jeonbuk Hyundai approached 2:00 p.m., the rain from the sky became thicker.
Seoul, which has a good atmosphere, and Jeonbuk, which is the exact opposite, met. Seoul has been at the bottom of the list for the past three seasons and has lost its reputation as a prestigious team. However, this season, they are competing in the top ranks with much better performances and scoring. On the other hand, Jeonbuk, the away team, was in a situation as dark as the sky. I broke up with coach Kim Sang-sik, who I had been with for 15 years since I was a player, and it was not easy to make a list of 18 people because there were 10 injured. The backup goalkeeper on the replacement list was Gong Si-hyeon, born in 2005. It has been a long time since the weight of the squad between Seoul and Jeonbuk leaned toward Seoul when they accepted the starting list.
The faces of the coaches of the two teams we met before the game were quite different. Jeonbuk acting manager Kim Doo-hyun emphasized professionalism with a serious expression. “I told the players to think about what they are playing for and to play for their intrinsic motivation,” he said calmly. Seoul head coach Ahn Ik-soo showed his composure, saying, “Even though Hwang Ui-jo and Osmar are not in normal condition, I thought they might be the players I want to see the most on Children’s Day, so I will show them in front of the fans.”
As it was an underwater battle, variables came out immediately after kick-off. Lee Tae-seok’s return after receiving a pass from Seoul’s Kim Joo-sung was a bit short, probably because of the rain, and Kim Joo-sung’s slightly slow reaction speed was added, and Gustavo snatched the ball and cut it into the goal with a right-footed shot. It was the opening goal that came 11 seconds into the game. It was the same record as the fastest goal scored by Incheon Bang Seung-hwan in 2007 against Pohang in the Samsung Hauzen Cup. 크크크벳
After that, Seoul led the game. Knowing that it was a great opportunity to catch Jeonbuk, who had not won in six years, the players ran to score. However, Jeonbuk players fought back with physical defense. As if trying to wipe out the humiliation suffered in the last 10 games with heavy rain, he blocked and blocked again.
Still, Seoul has borne fruit. It wasn’t until the 33rd minute of the second half that ‘Sangam Mad Dog’ Park Dong-jin succeeded in scoring an equalizer with a header based on his talent, his natural jumping ability. It was a copy of last year’s Children’s Day. Even then, he scored an equalizer at the end of the game against Jeonbuk and held a ceremony to prove his nickname. One difference is that this year, the same ceremony was held in front of home fans.