2025 Season Review: FC Seoul

A sixth-place finish for FC Seoul in 2025 represents a disappointing campaign. It will also be remembered as the last for Jesse Lingard, who departs after two years with the club, and one which saw Kim Gi-dong quickly become the villain, with the pressure firmly on.

What Went Well

It requires an extremely glass-half-full approach to find what went well for FC Seoul in 2025. The capital club took a step backwards from 2024, two, actually; finishing sixth, having earned a fourth-place spot and ACLE qualification last year. Finishing in the top half, despite a lot of unrest and a lack of consistency, is really the only positive domestically, but a club like FC Seoul shouldn't be looking at sixth place as something to feel too pleased about. The club's form in the ACLE is decent, too, and are on course to reach the knockout rounds, which, if nothing else, should help fill the club's coffers.

What Didn't Go Well

There were a lot of individual errors - which even the manager lamented in a recent press conference - that cost them points, particularly in the goalkeeper department. Kang Hyun-mu was supposed to be the safe pair of hands the team was missing, but he made some costly errors and wasn't dropped quickly enough. By the time he was, it was too late. The signing of former Korean international Gu Sang-yun speaks volumes about where Kang now stands in the pecking order. 

Key signings didn't perform as expected, either, such as Anderson and Jeong Seung-won, whose form in a Suwon FC shirt didn't follow them to Sangam. Seoul didn't get the striker they needed, and when they did bring one in (Marko Dugandzic), the manager continued his habit of digging foreign players out in the press by saying he wasn't even on their list. A player who was on their list, Patryk Klimala, never got going due to injuries. Was there a clear style of play and system? Lingard dropped very deep very often to pick the ball up, seemingly frustrated with how slow Seoul were to move from back to front. There wasn't enough intensity in Seoul's play.

Seoul had underwhelming home form with just seven wins from 19 matches and six losses, and with Ki Sung-yeung's ugly exit really angering the supporters, there's a bit of a dark cloud looming over Sangam.

Young Player of the Year

Hwang Do-yoon, midfielder

One positive was the real emergence of Hwang Do-yoon in central midfield. After making nine appearances last year, the 22-year-old went on to feature 34 times in the league this season, keeping Ki Sung-yeung out of the team. A tidy passer, confident on the ball with good close control, and someone who weighed in with some assists - four in total with one goal. Even with the U22 rule scrapped in K League 1 for next season, and with Hwang about to turn 23, he has staked a claim to be in Kim Gi-dong's first XI on merit.

Team MVP

Jesse Lingard, forward

It would be easy to say Jesse Lingard, as the club's top scorer with 10 goals as well as four assists, but Seoul didn't have anyone else who could dig them out of trouble or inspire the team. Goals and assists in tight games earned FC Seoul 11 points, not to mention the goal and assist in a 4-1 win over Pohang - scoring the opener and teeing up Dugandzic for the third on the stroke of half time. He wasn't just the team's MVP; he has been the club's MVP, helping to stir this stumbling giant and get it back on solid footing. The club will have benefited from the merchandise and ticket sales, not to mention the extra exposure beyond Korean shores. His departure is a real shame, but can you blame him? 

Most Disappointing Player

Anderson, left winger

There are two main candidates for the most disappointing player, both of whom arrived from Suwon FC. Jeong Seung-won was largely deployed in a different role than he was at Castle Park, where he was much more advanced, so some mitigating circumstances would explain Jeong's more modest numbers in terms of goals and assists. But Anderson was supposed to be the big-name summer signing, a dribbling specialist who was guaranteed goals and assists. But he is another who didn't really get going in an FC Seoul shirt.

Most Important Decision of the Off-Season

What will be crucially important is how much time the board gives Kim Gi-dong. The current situation feels somewhat similar to Hwang Sun-hong in 2017, interestingly, two former Pohang managers. It seems as though the majority of the match-going supporters want Kim gone, but, as per a statement, he will be in the dugout when the new season starts. If Seoul don't start well, it may turn too toxic to be remotely salvagable.