Suwon Samsung and Suwon FC, professional soccer teams based in Suwon, are walking opposite paths at the beginning of the K League 1 2023 season. ‘Prestigious’ Suwon Samsung fell to the bottom after 7 games without a win, and even the coach was sacked, while Suwon FC, which was classified as a relative underdog, is promoting a recent winning streak.
Suwon Samsung is at the bottom as of the 18th. They haven’t had a single win since opening. After losing to the promoted team Gwangju FC from the opening match, they started off shaky, drew with Jeonbuk Hyundai in the second round, and then lost to Suwon FC 1-2 and Daejeon Hana Citizen 1-3.
The winless streak continued in April. After drawing with Gangwon FC, Suwon lost to Ulsan Hyundai and Jeju United, and is currently at the bottom of the league with 0 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses. Although it is early in the season, it is a painful report card considering that Suwon is a prestigious club that has never been relegated from K-League 1.
Eventually, the club pulled out a manager hard card. The club announced the day before, “We notified manager Lee Byeong-geun of the hardship through an interview.” For the time being, Suwon’s head coach Choi Seong-yong will lead the team as acting manager.
Director Lee Byeong-geun, a founding member of the club and a former ‘legend’, had to lay down the baton one day before his one-year tenure. Coach Lee Byeong-geun’s tenure of 364 days is also the shortest record among the seven coaches who have passed through the team. 메이저사이트
On the other hand, Suwon FC lost to Daejeon on the 9th, and on the 15th they took on Jeonbuk Hyundai, a strong player, and raised their ranking to 6th place. In particular, in the match against Daejeon in the 6th round, they scored a whopping 5 goals in the second half and achieved a thrilling come-from-behind victory. It was the moment when the fierce attack power, the team’s exclusive patent, finally exploded.
In the 7th round against Jeonbuk, the game ended with a scoreless victory and was on the rise. The defense, which was a weakness, was also strengthened. Goalkeeper Roh Dong-gun blocked Jeonbuk’s Park Jin-seop and Song Min-gyu’s shots in succession and put on a ‘savvy show’. Lee Seung-woo, who has established himself as an ace, also created threatening scoring chances throughout the game, including a volley shot in the extra time of the first half.
As if reflecting the general trend, joy and sorrow are mixed in the number of spectators at home games. On the 15th, when the Jeonbuk match was held, 9,221 spectators visited Suwon Sports Complex, the home stadium of Suwon FC, and recorded the highest number of paying spectators for the club. On the other hand, in the most recent match between Suwon Samsung and Jeju, the number of spectators was only 5,190. It is in stark contrast to the 1st and 4th rounds, which attracted more than 10,000 spectators.