Stingy investments and failed player signings. The problems of Suwon Samsung were all revealed by Team Legends. But it was too late, and now it’s ‘K League 2’ Suwon.
Suwon drew 0-0 with Gangwon FC in the final match of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at Suwon World Cup Stadium on April 2. They couldn’t get the three points they needed to escape 12th place. A match between Suwon FC and Jeju United at the same time ended 1-1, confirming Suwon’s relegation.
On the field, Suwon’s relegation was confirmed by the club’s legendary acting head coach Yeom Ki-hoon. The former South Korean international joined Suwon in 2010 and has been playing at the Big Bird (Suwon World Cup Stadium) for 13 seasons. As stars of his generation were hanging up their jerseys one by one, he took the reins to save the team in crisis. But there was no turnaround. Suwon finished 12th, down from 10th last year.
Entering the post-match press conference, Suwon’s acting head coach, Yeom Ki-hoon, was speechless for a while. “I apologize to the fans for not being able to raise my head,” he said.
“It’s not enough to name one or two things here,” he said, “but I think the biggest thing is that there were too many changes in the players. “I think the biggest thing was that there were too many changes in the team, which confused the players and made it difficult for them.
Frequent coaching changes and player recruitment issues have had an adverse effect. Suwon has had four coaches (including an acting head coach) this season alone. Lee Byung-geun, who worked with the team to prepare for the season, packed his bags in April, and Kim Byung-soo stepped down after just four months. The players brought in by each manager failed to make an impact, and none of them were able to save the team. 아톰카지노 도메인
The last coach to take the helm, “Legend” Yeom Ki-hoon, raised hopes with a second consecutive two-win season, only to see the team relegated at his hands.
When asked to compare the team to 13 years ago, when he joined the Big Bird, he said, “It’s true that it’s gotten a lot worse. “It’s true that it’s gotten a lot worse,” he says, “and you think, ‘If only we had better players with bigger names.’ But our players did their best.” This statement is similar to what Choi Sung-yong said eight months ago. “It would be great to have outstanding national team players and foreign players, but these are the only resources we have available,” Choi said after the Super Match loss to FC Seoul, admitting that he had failed to build the squad early on.
Since the mid-2010s, Suwon’s investment has dropped significantly, and the team has remained in the middle of the pack in terms of salaries in the K League. When their rivals were ramping up their spending, they were content to maintain the status quo. That doesn’t mean they were spending wisely. Despite signing big-name players like Kim Bo-Kyung, Mulicic, and Acosti, their up-and-down performances made it difficult for them to add to the team. Kazuki, who joined in the summer, missed the final two games due to suspension, while Werikpopo finished the season without a goal.
It is yet to be determined whether acting head coach Yi Ki-hoon will accompany Suwon when he finishes his duties, but he said, “I was going to retire last year, and this year I became a playing coach, but I have no regrets about my choice. I really tried to do my best for Suwon. Even though I’m retiring under bad circumstances, I will continue to love and support Suwon. I will help where I can and cheer the team on to do better,” he said.