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 leaves after two years at the club, and the one who saw Kim Gi-dong quickly become the bad guy, with a lot of pressure.
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What went well
It takes an extremely glass-half-full approach to find what went right for FC Seoul in 2025. The capital club took a step back from 2024, two, in fact; finishing sixth, after achieving a fourth place and ACLE qualification last year. Finishing in the first half, despite a lot of trouble and a lack of consistency, is really theonly positive at the national level, but a club like FC Seoul should not be happy with sixth place. The club’s form in the ACLE is also decent and is on course to reach the knockout stages, which, at the very least, should help fill the club’s coffers.
What didn’t go well
There were a lot of individual errors – which even the coach deplored during a recent press conference – which cost them points, especially with the goalkeepers. Kang Hyun-mu was supposed to be the safe pair of hands the team was missing, but he made costly mistakes and wasn’t let go quickly enough. By the time he was, it was too late. The signing of former Korean international Gu Sang-yun speaks volumes about Kang’s current position in the hierarchy.
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Key signings also failed to perform as expected, such as Anderson and Jeong Seung-won, whose form in a Suwon FC jersey did not follow them to Sangam. Seoul couldn’t find the striker they needed, and when they did bring in one (Marko Dugandzic), the coach continued his habit of bashing foreign players in the press by saying he wasn’t even on their roster. One player who was on their roster, Patryk Klimala, was never able to start due to injuries. Was there a clear play style and system? Lingard very often dropped very deep to recover the ball, seemingly frustrated by the slow pace with which Seoul moved from back to front. There wasn’t enough intensity in Seoul’s game.
Seoul have had a disappointing run of form at home with just seven wins in 19 matches and six defeats, and with Ki Sung-yeung’s ugly outing really irritating the fans, a small dark cloud hangs 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 has played 34 times in the league this season, keeping Ki Sung-yeung out of the team. A neat passer, confident on the ball with good close control, and someone who contributed with a few assists – four in total with one goal. Even with the removal of the U22 rule in K League 1 for next season and with Hwang about to turn 23, he is claiming his place in Kim Gi-dong’s first XI on merit.
It would be easy to label Jesse Lingard as the club’s top scorer with 10 goals and four assists, but Seoul had no one else to bail them out or inspire the team. Goals and assists in close games earned FC Seoul 11 points, not to mention the goal and assist in a 4-1 win over Pohang – scoring the opener and kicking off Dugandzic for the third just before halftime. He wasn’t just the team’s MVP; he was the club’s MVP, helping to shake up this stumbling giant and put it back on solid footing. The club will have benefited from merchandise and ticket sales, not to mention the additional exposure beyond Korean shores. His departure is a real shame, but can we blame him?
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Most disappointing player
Anderson, left winger
There are two main candidates for most disappointing player, both arriving from Suwon FC. Jeong Seung-won was largely deployed in a different role than at Castle Park, where he was much more advanced, so some extenuating circumstances would explain Jeong’s more modest numbers in terms of goals and assists. But Anderson was supposed to be the marquee summer signing, a dribbling specialist who was guaranteed goals and assists. But he’s another one who didn’t really start in the FC Seoul jersey.
Most important decision of the offseason
What will be critically important is how much time the board gives to Kim Gi-dong. The current situation somewhat resembles that of Hwang Sun-hong in 2017, interestingly, two former Pohang managers. It appears the majority of fans want Kim gone, but, according to a statement, he will be in the dugout when the new season begins. If Seoul doesn’t get off to a good start, it could become too toxic to salvage.
