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| Ki Sung-yueng poses at the Seoul World Cup Stadium after signing with FC Seoul, Tuesday. His back number is 8. / Courtesy of FC Seoul |
FC Seoul used to be a top contender of K League 1, but that is now an old story.
Seoul won the South Korea's top-tier football league in 2016, but has since failed to replicate its past glory. The capital football club is now placed 11th in the 12-team league after a Saturday game against Pohang Steelers. If Seoul finishes this season in its current place, it will have to face a relegation dogfight.
Despite its ever-worsening situation, however, a glimmer of hope has surfaced for Seoul as the team announced Tuesday it has completed signing former national team captain Ki Sung-yueng. It said Ki completed medical testing and join the team's training soon after.
Ki had been eager to join his old club earlier this season, but Seoul was not enthusiastic about acquiring him at that time. Football columnist Kim Hwan said it was not money but an FC Seoul official's comments during the negotiation that made Ki failed to rejoin the team in February.
Things have changed now.
Passing one third of the season, Seoul has fallen to 11th place in the sheet, and shows no signs of improvement in performance. Conceding 26 goals this season, Seoul is the most goal-allowing club of the season so far.
Seoul's weak link isn't just its defense line but also its offense as well. The team's top scorer Park Chu-young has scored only two goals this season. Its head coach Choi Yong-soo played the team's captain Go Yo-han as a forward, but Go has yet to score any goal or record an assist to date.
Seoul also shows heavy dependence on the team's veteran midfielder Osmar Ibanez Barba, 33. The team has won three games this season. Of its three wins, Seoul failed to win any games without Osmar. Osmar was subbed out in the second half because of injury during the K League 1 12th round march against Pohang last weekend.
Savior?
A number of experts said Ki will undoubtedly make a difference once he comes out on the pitch. No players in Seoul's midfielder line have played on the international level other than the team's captain Go.
"Taking account of the performance of Ulsan Hyundai's winger Lee Chung-yong who just joined the team this season after a decade-long career in Europe, Ki is likely to bring some differences to Seoul," sportscaster Park Jong-yoon said.
"Ki's quality will definitely help the team's performance. His long ball ability has been proven even at the international level. Good news for Seoul."
Some experts, however, expressed concerns about Ki's current form.
"Ki only played one game as a sub with RCD Mallorca this season. He then had to spend most of his time at home in quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe. He will definitely bring a difference to Seoul's midfielder line, but it could take some time for him to regain match-playing form," another expert said on condition of anonymity.
Kim estimated Seoul's offer to Ki at around 800 million won ($672,000) for this season. Jeonbuk Motors' fullback Kim Jin-su was the highest-paid footballer in the K League last year at 1.43 billion won.
FC Seoul has three wins and eight losses with one draw so far this season.
