With the season coming to a close last weekend, it's time to take a closer look at how the year unravelled for FC Seoul in 2023. Here, we take a month-by-month look at how it all went down for the capital side, and try to identify some key moments of this year's season.
Pre-season
Despite managing to reach the F.A. Cup final in 2022, it was no secret that FC Seoul were in desperate need of some fresh blood if they were to make any inroads into Korea's top six, and potentially challenge for the Champions League qualification spots. In addition, first team regulars Cho Young-wook, Lee Sang-min and Yoon Jeong-gyu were all off to join Gimcheon Sangmu and would need replacing as a matter of urgency first and foremost.
The club moved quickly to bring in reinforcements in the wing-back positions, poaching Park Soo-il and Lee Si-young from relegated Seongnam FC. Veteran winger Lim Sang-hyub followed shortly after on a free from Pohang Steelers.
Long-standing goalkeeper Yang Han-bin announced that he was off to Osaka for a new challenge having spent 9 years at Seoul, making room for Choi Chul-won's recruitment from K2 side Bucheon. Kwon Wan-kyu was brought in as additonal defensive cover, while Willyan was snapped up from newly promoted Daejeon on loan.
Hosam Aiesh was recruited from Sweden and touted as a highly-rated winger who could bring some much needed fire-power to a side that was certainly lacking in such, while a rogue move for Jeonnam Dragons' forward Kim Kyeong-min followed shortly after.
Despite new players arriving in numbers the fans were still somewhat unsettled by the overall quality of the new recruits, and felt that the squad hadn't really been improved that much at all. That was until rumours began to circulate about national team forward Hwang Ui-jo's interest in moving to FC Seoul on a short-term deal. The confirmation of his acquisition on a loan move from Nottingham Forest sent the fanbase into a frenzy, with expectations suddenly sky-high that he would fire the club towards K-league glory.
In a somewhat bizarre move Stanislav Iljutcenko was named captain of the club with Han Chan-hee, Kim Jin-ya, Kim Ju-sung and new signing Lim Sang-hyub all being named as vice-captains for the season. Ahn Ik-soo had garnerned something of a reputation for questionable managerial decisions over the course of his tenure at FC Seoul, but choosing a striker he had no intention of playing along with fringe and newly signed players as the group to captain the side for such a crucial season seemed fairly ominous (if not absurd) from the outset.
February
Evidently looking to recoup some funds after such a spending spree, the club released a new set of commemorative kits to celebrate the 40th year since it's original founding back in 1983. With prices starting from 100,000 won before any markings, it certainly left a sour in the taste in the mouth of fans whom had already forked out for a new set of strips just a year earlier from the club's new manufacturers Pro-specs.
That didn't stop the fans from flocking to the World Cup stadium on the opening day however, with a brilliant strike from debutant Lim Sang-hyub and a headed effort from Kim Ju-sung helping the home side pick up a 2-1 win over local rivals Incheon United.
W: 1 D: 0 L: 0
March
Seoul began March with a trip to newly-promoted Gwangju FC, comfortably seeing them off 2-0 thanks in part to the home side being reduced to ten men. Champions Ulsan Hyundai were next up at Sangam, with Seoul losing 2-1 after initially going ahead and looking the better of the sides early on. Choi Chul-won will wish to erase this day from his memory forever after howler of an error allowed the visitors to score the winner after he bizarrely picked up a backpass before gifting the ball to an attacker in the box to slot home.
Seoul managed to bounce straight back from the disappointment suffered at the hands of Ulsan with a 2-1 away win in Jeju, thanks to Palo's injury time winner. Alarm bells were once again ringing with regards to goalkeeper Choi however, as another schoolboy error from him had let Jeju back into the game at a time when Seoul were seemingly cruising.
W: 2 D: 0 L: 1
April
Baek Jeong-beom was drafted in between the sticks for the first game of April away at Daejeon. He was sadly unable to fair much better than Choi however, with the league's newcomers putting Seoul to the sword in a 3-2 defeat. Seoul managed to respond accordingly as they thrashed Daegu 3-0 at home in their next game in front of a bumper crowd of 45,000. This was in no small part down to the half-time performance of singer Lim Young-woong, with a small army of grannies filling up the seats of Sangam to see him perform. The game also saw Hwang Ui-jo get off the mark from the penalty spot to open the scoring for Seoul.
We took a break from league action for the next game and made the short trip over to Gimpo to take on the recently re-formed K2 side in the FA Cup. A youthful Seoul side full of players making their debuts struggled against the lower-league opposition, and were eventually beaten via a penalty shoot-out to send us crashing out at the first hurdle, much to the fans' embarrassement.
The side's consistent lack of consistency was starting to already wear thin with some portions of the fan base, while a 1-1 draw away to Pohang in the next game did nothing to quell this. Ahn Ik-soo's decision to sub Palocevic and Lee Tae-seok half-way through the first-half raised even more eyebrows than the side's overall performance.
But nothing picks a Seoul fan's spirit like a Supermatch victory, which is exactly what was served up in the next game at Seoul World Cup stadium. Goals from Na Sang-ho, Hwang Ui-ji and Palocevic saw the home side crush the visitors 3-1, and help calm the niggling doubts about the quality of Ahn Ik-soo's management, for the time being at least.
In true Seoul fashion we were brought crashing back to earth in the very next game, conceding in injury-time to lose 3-2 on the road at Gangwon midweek, before being given fresh (false) hope yet again that weekend with a comprehensive 3-0 away victory over Suwon FC to close out a busy month for FC Seoul.
W: 3 D: 1 L: 2
May
Seoul's total lack of consistency was never more apparent than in May. The side were unable to put any type of back-to-back form together in the month's five games. Jeonbuk were the first visitors to Sangam, playing out an entertaining 1-1 draw with fan favourite Park Dong-jin getting on the scoresheet for the home side.
Manager Ahn Ik-soo decided to put his position as head coach under yet more scrutiny shortly after the Jeonbuk game with the announcement that Osmar would be taking over the captaincy from the illogically frozen-out Stanislav Iljutcenko, despite the season only being eleven games deep. Ahn had made similar decisions on two occasions in the 2022 season, captaining Ki Sung-yueng and Na Sang-ho on separate occasions before rescinding the arm-band later in the year, each time to no avail on the team's performances.
Osmar was able to get his first win as captain in the very next game however, as Seoul saw off Gwangju 3-1 at home thanks to goal from Na Sang-ho, Willyan and Park Dong-jin. Seoul were humbled the following week via a 3-2 defeat on the road at Ulsan, followed by a 1-1 draw at home with Jeju. They eventually were able to end the month with a victory thanks to a piece of individual brilliance from winger Willyan. The Brazilian picked up the ball from inside his own half before scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win over Gangwon at Sangam.
W: 2 D: 2 L: 1
June
Despite the side's inability to put a proper run of form together, Seoul somehow found themselves 2nd in the league table at the beginning of June. This was largely aided by the other teams in the league being as equally inconsistent with their results, but meant that Seoul were still firmly in the race for a Champions League spot. Instead of capitalising on this though, Seoul slumped to a 1-0 defeat away to Daegu followed by 1-1 draws away to Incheon and home to Pohang, with the latter's away equaliser coming in the 95th minute of play to rub added salt into the wound.
It was clear at this point that the club needed to freshen things up, whether it be a change of head coach or the playing staff. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite the manager's time and we instead saw Han Chan-hee leave the club after failing to nail down a starting berth, with young midfielder Lee Seung-mo joining in a straight swap deal with Pohang Steelers.
Lee would see his first minutes for his new club in the following game, which just so happened to be the second Supermatch of the season at Suwon. Seoul would go on to win this one 1-0, thanks once more to the individual brilliance of Willyan scoring a dramatic late winner to see off their fierce rivals once more. This game would also be the last in Seoul colours for Hwang Ui-jo with his loan deal ending shortly after. Hwang took time after the game to address the travelling fans, thanking them for their support during his time at the club. Hwang scored 4 goals in 19 appearances in his time at FC Seoul.
W: 1 D: 2 L: 1
July
Seoul were unable to gain any momentum from their victory in the Supermatch, as they played out a dull goalless draw at home to Daejeon in their next game. An even worse performance followed with a 2-1 defeat away to Jeonbuk. The scoreline flattered Seoul in what was probably their most abhorrent performance of the season to date. With angry fans beginning to ask serious questions of the management, Ahn Ik-soo was handed yet another miraculous lifeline, as Seoul bounced back in style with a historic 7-2 home victory over Suwon FC the following game, with five players getting on the scoresheet.
Once again unable to build upon an excellent victory, Seoul struggled to break down a poor Gangwon side in a 1-1 draw at home. A usually fickle FC Seoul fanbase showed an uncharacteristicly decent memory in terms of the bosses shortcomings for a change, as boos echoed around Sangam following a 1-0 defeat to Incheon in the following game. Na Sang-ho's miss from the penalty spot in the first-half certainly heaped more unwanted pressure onto the manager as he hung onto his job for another week.
Park Dong-jin was allowed to leave the club on loan to Busan I'Park for the remainder of the season following the announcement of Norwegian forward Björn Johnsen's arrival on a free transfer. While the fans were happy to accept the much needed extra firepower, questions were once again being raised with regards to Iljutcenko's lack of involvement, and whether the manager was trying to push him out of the club.
W: 1 D: 2 L: 2
August
Seoul's poor form showed no sign of improvement as the side ended the month of August without a single win from four games. Pohang scored an almost carbon-copy of their injury time equaliser from earlier in the season as they drew 2-2 at Sangam in the first game of the month.
Daejeon put on a blistering performance to beat Seoul 4-3 at the Purple Arena in the next game, before Daegu became the latest side to snatch late points from Seoul in yet another poor display at Sangam, ending 2-2. This would end up being Ahn Ik-soo's last game in charge of FC Seoul, with the bewildered boss handing in his resignation immediately following the game.
Rather than bowing out graciously, Ahn opted to gesture and shout obscenities towards the Seoul fans at the end of the game, after supporters had revealed a banner quoting the boss from a previous interview in which he stated that 'without winning games there is no value for the fans', something he took exception to on this occasion. FC Seoul legend Kim Jin-kyu, whom was already part of the coaching staff at the club, was appointed interim manager shortly after.
Despite having been in absymal form for a number of weeks, Seoul did manage to display some degree of 'new manager bounce' in their next fixture, producing a hearty display to draw 2-2 with champions elect Ulsan at home. Yet another piece of individual magic from, you guessed it, Willyan saw the home side equalise in the 96th minute to give the fans some much needed respite from the mediocrity that they had been subjected to in the weeks and months prior.
W: 0 D: 3 L: 1
September
Despite Lee Han-beom announcing his depature to Danish FC Midtjylland at the start of the month, things seemed to be looking up following Kim Jin-kyu's appointment. Fan favourite Stanislav Iljutcenko was immediately reinstated back into the squad along with a number of highly rated fringe players after being frozen out under the Ahn dictatorship. There was even a cameo for club legend Go Yo-han in the third Supermatch of the year in Suwon, as Seoul made it three wins out of three against their adversaries with a 1-0 victory thanks to Iljutcenko's early strike.
The joy (as is so often the case for Seoul fans) was to be shortlived, as Gwangju managed to hang on to an early 1-0 lead to go home with all three points following a poor display from the home side. Seoul somehow managed to bounce straight back in their next game though, with Lee Seung-mo leading the charge with a brace in a 3-1 away victory over Jeju, as they looked to keep their Champions League hopes alive.
Another disappointing draw in the following game away to Suwon FC meant that Seoul needed to draw or better against Jeonbuk at home in the final game before the split to finish inside the top six and remain in the running for Champions League places.
W: 2 D: 1 L: 1
October
Despite not having beaten Jeonbuk since 2017 Seoul fans were optimistic of getting a positive result as the 'Jeolla Boys' were going through one of their own worst runs of form in recent history.
This optimisim was to be sadly unfounded for the Seoul faithful, as Jeonbuk comfortably saw off Kim Jin-kyu's men 2-0 to condemn the capital side to yet another bottom half split finish, thus ending any hopes of continental football for at least another season.
With the season over in terms of Champions League incentives, the atmosphere around Sangam seemed to lighten. The pressure was now finally off now with the team mathematically safe, whilst also being trapped below the glass ceiling of the top half. Even Ji Dong-won was able to make himself useful, scoring his first goal of the season in a 2-1 home win over Gangwon in the first game post-split.
Seoul went on to beat Suwon FC away in a thrilling seven goal encounter in their next fixture, mounting two late comebacks to win 4-3 in the dying minutes of the game, with Bjorn Johnsen scoring his first goal for the club since his arrival in the summer.
W: 2 D: 0 L: 1
November
Sadly that would be the end of any excitement for fans of FC Seoul for the remainder of the season, as the side seemingly slid back into the same old patterns that were set by their former manager. The team seemed completely void of ideas and impotent in attack as they drew 0-0 away to Jeju in the following fixture. (A result that always inspires added frustration considering the length of the journey that the away fans have to make to witness it.)
The players had one final chance to redeem some pride for the fans after yet another awful season as they took on Suwon Bluewings at home in the fourth and final Supermatch of the season. With Suwon clinging on for dear life in the K-league 1, Seoul had the opportunity to relegate their most fierce rivals to the chasms of K2 for the 2024 season, no doubt bringing with it celebrations similar to that of a championship winning side for the home fans. Sadly, however, this is FC Seoul.
Suwon produced a dazzling performance to win the game 1-0 in a packed out Seoul World Cup stadium, with the Seoul players looking as if they would rather be anywhere else on the day. To add to the embarrassment, the behaviour of the club's coaching staff during a mass brawl sparked by a moment of petulance from Ki Sung-yueng brought nothing but further shame on the club. Coaches were seen throwing punches and pulling the hair of Suwon players as the referee struggled to keep the game under control in discgraceful scenes on the last home day of the season.
W: 0 D: 1 L: 1
December
The final game of the season saw Seoul travel south to take on Daejeon in a dead-rubber game in which a win would see neither side alter their final league standings. With a number of players suspended following the fracas against Suwon, Kim Jin-kyu wisely opted to field a string of younger players, giving some their full first team debuts. Seoul wonderkid Kang Seong-jin scored two goals as the sides drew 2-2, with a last minute goal from the home side breaking Seoul hearts for one last time in 2023.W: 0 D: 1 L: 0
