FC Seoul head coach Ahn Ik-soo has announced his resignation from the club.
“This is the end of my role,” Ahn said at an official press conference after the Hana OneQ K League 2023 Round 27 home match against Daegu FC at Seoul World Cup Stadium on Sept. 19.
The match was a 2-2 draw between the win-hungry FC Seoul and Daegu FC.
“I think it’s time for a change if Seoul is to progress further. I apologize for quitting without achieving what I wanted,” Ahn said, bidding farewell after nearly two years in charge.
When Ahn took over in early September 2021, Seoul had fallen to the bottom of the K League 1 and were facing relegation for the first time in their history, but they rebounded under him to finish as high as seventh in the Final B. They would return to Final B in 2022.
Seoul returned to the Final B for the 2022 season, finishing ninth, and are currently fourth in the top half of the K League 1 table this season, but a recent slump in form led to the coach’s abrupt resignation.
Seoul has drawn three and lost two of its last five league games, including a 2-2 draw with Daegu on Sunday.
With the draw, Seoul (48 goals) are now on 39 points, level on points with Gwangju FC (35), but have reclaimed the fourth spot they lost to Gwangju the day before on goal difference. However, their winless streak extended to five games (three draws and two losses).
With 17,800 fans in attendance at Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul became the first team in the 12-team K League 1 to reach the 300,000 mark this season with a cumulative attendance of 302,650.
Daegu (35 points) also picked up a point, pushing Jeju United (34 points) down to ninth and up one spot to eighth. Daegu also extended its winless streak to six matches (four draws and two losses).
Seoul took the early lead. In the eighth minute, Han Seung-kyu’s mid-range shot hit Daegu’s right post and beat goalkeeper Oh Seung-hoon. The goal was recorded as an own goal by goalkeeper Oh Seung-hoon.
Daegu broke the deadlock in the 24th minute with a header from Lee Geun-ho. Lee scored a header after battling with the goalkeeper for a high aerial ball in front of the goal, and it was recognized as a goal after a video assistant referee (VAR) review for a goalkeeper charging foul.
Daegu regained the lead in the 41st minute when Seoul’s Kim Shin-jin scored from a free kick, but Edgar’s header from Sejingya’s cross in the 36th minute of the second half forced the game to a hard-fought draw.
Leaders Ulsan Hyundai secured their first win in three games as they defeated rivals Jeonbuk Hyundai in the third ‘Hyundai Family Showdown’ of the season with a late goal from Uhm Won-sang.
Ulsan held on for a 1-0 win at home against Jeonbuk at the Ulsan Munsuguri Stadium on Monday, with Uhm Won-sang scoring in the 26th minute of the second half. 온라인바카라
First-place Ulsan (60 points), which had been winless in its last two matches (one draw and one loss), bounced back from the brink by defeating third-place Jeonbuk (41 points) and became the first of 12 K League 1 teams to reach the 60-point plateau this season.
In addition, 30,756 spectators attended the Munsu Stadium, making Ulsan the first team to reach 30,000 spectators in a home game this season (previously 20,000 against Jeonbuk in the first round).
