FC Seoul vs. Suwon: A Recap

(From FC Seoul's FB Page)

It was a wet, windy, miserable day for football, but the game was a glorious spectacle for the 23,308 spectators who were lucky enough to witness Cha Du-ri's "happy ending".  A footballing legend who made such wonderful adverts, he has had a long and storied career.  FC Seoul will miss his presence and whatever he lacked in speed and stamina this year, he made up for in leadership (I am assuming).  It is too bad that he could not have taken part in the Super Match because it was indeed, super.

(From FC Seoul FB)

With a scoreline of 4-3, seven goals of varying quality were provided.  Seoul looked world class for about 70 minutes and then reeked of desperation for the referee to blow for time the final 25.  This was Seoul's final home match for the season, and unlike last year's whimper against Seongnam in the FA Cup and the scintillating nil-nil draw against Pohang, it was a great way to close out the year

Choi Yong-soo's line up choices on the day were inspired, especially in midfield and upfront.  Molina and Takahagi sat and in their place were Lee Seok-hyun and Go Yo-han.  Adriano did not play because he had collected three yellows, so Yun Ju-tae got the nod.  Other than that, Seoul remained unchanged from the week before.

(From FC Seoul FB)

I am not sure what Seo Jung-won's strategy and words of motivation were, but Suwon came out flat and were bossed continuously by Seoul.  Even though the majority of possession did not result in a lot of chances, Seoul still looked like the team more likely to score.  They finally broke the deadlock and the first goal was quite an opportune one.

(This was one of  the options they might have discussed. From namu.wiki)

A ball forward to Yun Ju-tae that he could not control led to the goal.  CB Yeon Jae-min will still have nightmares about his part in the goal as he should have cleared it instead of trying to control the ball.  Yun was able to take the ball off him, round the keeper, and finish.

From Suwon's point of view, it was quite a shit goal.  No one knows what the hell the defender was doing and keeper Jung Sung-ryong was probably lucky that he did not make contact with Yun because if he had, he might have received a red for a reckless challenge.  Of course, from Seoul's point of view, it was a magnificent goal.

Just like what Seongnam did to Seoul, but better on October 18th, the pressing to get the ball back was admirable.  Seongnam's, of course, was much better but I still appreciate the effort that Yun put forth.  Also, his finish was not as easy as it seems.  He had to avoid the keeper and put it over the other onrushing defender Yang Sang-min.

The second goal was a thing of beauty.  Osmar struggled in the beginning of the game.  For a good bit of the first half with the rain, he was lucky not to be punished for some of the mis-kicks he had.  However, his interception and through ball to set up the second goal was brilliant.

I will not say much else about the third and fourth goals for Yun Ju-tae.  You really should watch the video.  His fourth one with his left though was my favorite.

(From FC Seoul FB page)

I can only imagine what Choi Yong-soo was thinking with his substitutions of Molina and Takahagi.  I am sure he was thinking of chasing the fifth goal and giving the stars a run out, but he was lucky that those moves didn't backfire.  At 4-2, he probably should have just shored things up in the midfield and brought on Kim Hyun-sung to win balls in the air and act as an outlet for the midfield and defense.

In the end though, Seoul won the game and that is all that mattered.  I was a bit disappointed at first to go from 4-1 to 4-3 and I really wanted to see Seoul get a 5th or 6th goal.  I think Choi did as well, and it almost cost us the game.

In retrospect though, it was a great game.  According to my friend, who is a neutral, this game was much better than last week's.  It was more open and attacking and end-to-end.

(From FC Seoul FB page)

Also, with four goals to his name, surely Yun Ju-tae will be ready to step up and start next year.  Is he better than Adriano?  I am not sure.  If you look at his finishing this game, absolutely- all four goals were quality.  However, as a whole, obviously not.

Then again, this shows how much work Adriano needs.  My friend, the neutral, doesn't think Adriano scores Seoul's first goal since he would have given up on the ball rather than chasing it down like Yun Ju-tae did.  This shows that if Adriano wants to keep his place, he will need to up his effort because eventually he will suffer a run where he doesn't score goals, and when that happens, he won't be much use to the team.

(From Seoul's FB Page)

Still, that is a problem for next year.  With a spot booked in the Champion's League and two victories over Suwon, completed with some style, the year has ended on a positive note.  I would like to see Seoul win their next two fixtures, but I also think it would be a great time for Choi to experiment and give some playing time to the guys who have not featured much.

It will be interesting to see who turns out in two weeks for Seoul in Jeju.  Until then, Seoul can thoroughly enjoy the international break.