FC Seoul’s ‘Living Legend’ Ko Yo-han (35) is finally back.
He was named in the starting line-up and substitutes’ list for the K League 1 16th round match against Daegu at DGB Daegu Bank Park on 4 April at 7pm.
It’s been a year and two months since he went down with a ruptured left Achilles in a home match against Gangwon on 6 April last year and ended up on the operating table. In the super match that followed his injury, Seoul fans wished him a speedy recovery by giving him a standing ovation in the first 13 minutes of the match, symbolising his number 13 jersey, with the words “I’ll be with you anytime, I’ll wait for you” and “I want to see you”.
After a gruelling rehabilitation, Ko returned to the field as fans had hoped. In a pre-match interview, FC Seoul head coach Ahn Ik-soo said, “Johnny has suffered a lot,” adding, “He’s not in perfect condition, but he loves FC Seoul,” and “I’m expecting him to do more for the team than his physical condition,” attaching special significance to the presence of the one-club man as a moral support.메이저사이트
“We have four players in the squad who are thirty-five years old. These are players who, whether they are playing on the pitch or not, are leading the development of the team, acting as mentors and leaders,” he said. “This is the foundation of our team, so it’s not about being on the pitch or not being on the pitch, it’s about being together,” he added.
FC Seoul defeated Daegu 3-0 in their first home meeting in April. With Daegu looking to bounce back in front of a full house at Anbang, Ahn looked at the big picture, saying, “We are not only concerned about the result of one game, but how we develop and how we play the football that our fans want,” he said. “We are still in the process and we need to work harder,” he said.
FC Seoul, who won the Fan Friendly Club Award for the largest attendance, faced Daegu in front of a full house at Daepak. When asked about the crowd explosion this season, Ahn smiled and emphasised the responsibility of being a professional. “It’s very encouraging, and that brings another responsibility. When we don’t have a lot of fans here, it’s hard to see what we’re not doing well, but when we do have a lot of fans here, it raises the bar on how we prepare. So we have to work harder to make sure we don’t disappoint the fans who come here. That’s our job,” he concluded.
“I joked with one of the players earlier,” said Ahn, who was reticent when asked which player he was most looking forward to seeing. “(Jeonbuk’s Cho Kyu-sung) scored a goal. It’s Ui-jo.” It will be interesting to see if Ahn’s joke, which provoked national team striker Hwang Eui-jo, will work in the Daegu-Seoul match, which kicks off at 7pm.