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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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| Yonhap News |
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Jesse Lingard (32, Seoul), who has a name value that the K League has not had in the past 40 years, is changing the 'question mark' toward him to 'feeling mark' after four months of joining the team.
Multiple soccer officials who met at the K-League site in the last two to three weeks poured out praise for Lingard with one voice. The reactions are 'I didn't know that a big star who played for England Premier League (EPL) prestigious Manchester United came to the K-League and played so hard ', 'It's good to see the player trying to use his teammates around him somehow', and 'I think he loves Seoul more than the existing Seoul players'.
There are many officials who say, "I was wrong." When Lingard joined Seoul in February, he would have visited Korea for non-football purposes, and he thought Seoul was also recruiting for marketing purposes. At that time, the fact that Lingard had a personal clothing brand and an e-sports team attracted attention, and Lingard uniforms were sold like hot cakes. At that time, not a few soccer players predicted that they would return to England without meeting the contract period.
Contrary to high expectations, Lingard, who failed to establish himself at the start of the season, was away from the ground for about two months from mid-March to mid-May after undergoing procedures to deal with a hit knee injury. Expectations for Lingard have cooled in line with the time when Seoul, where head coach Kim Ki-dong newly appointed, has been sluggish. You can tell by looking at the change in the number of spectators. On March 10, a whopping 51,670 spectators were filled in the match against Incheon, where Lingard's home debut in Seoul was held, but the number of spectators returned to previous years' levels at 20,000 at home games in April and May. In mid-June, a British media outlet even rumored to be moving to Leicester City, and Lingard countered that it was a rumor.
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| Yonhap News |
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| photo courtesy of the Korea Professional Football Association |
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Concerns gradually grew outside, but at that time, the solidarity between Lingard and Seoul players and Lingard and coaches became stronger internally. In situations where points are needed, they often use a strategy to secure one point by locking them or make changes with a combative player. It was not unreasonable to decide to remove Lingard from the starting line-up with relatively low pressure intensity. However, coach Kim rather entrusted Lingard, who recovered from his injury, to escape from the slump. He started eight consecutive games from the 13th round against Daegu on May 19 to the 20th round against Jeonbuk on the 29th of last month. Lingard was the exception in the rotation in a tight schedule of three or four days apart. He expressed his desire to adapt faster to the team and the league and to be centered on the team. Lingard, who is usually thorough in self-management, easily managed the murder schedule in the hot weather in Korea. It has changed significantly from the beginning of the season when he was struggling after playing only 45 minutes in the first half.
Lingard, who even took over as interim captain in the game where captain Ki Sung-yueng was injured, remarkably revived his form (performance) as he played more and more. It caught the opponent's defense off guard with a higher level and instilled creativity in the Seoul offense. I also worked with my colleagues. In the match against Suwon FC, he helped Kang Sung-jin score the first goal of the season with a clever play that passed forward. Four days later, in the match against Gangwon, Choi Joon calmly kicked the penalty he got and scored his K-League debut goal. Players who played, players who sat on the bench, and staff all gathered by Lingard's side to congratulate him. It is a scene that gives you a glimpse of how loved Lingard is in the locker room in Seoul. Fans cheered Lingard's 'Piri' ceremony after the game. Lingard did not stop here, and he started in the last match against Jeonbuk and led the team to a 5-1 victory by playing on the ground for about 83 minutes until the 38th minute of the second half. Seoul, along with Lingard, enjoyed a double celebration of winning three consecutive league wins for the first time in three years and four months and winning the match against Jeonbuk for the first time in seven years.
At the time of joining, Lingard said "Football and personal business are one thing. Football is the most important thing to me. I want to win the trophy here." Lingard is certainly leaving his mark in the K League.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
