FC Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong said why he needed a “nervous war” with Lingard (31).
Two “big names” joined the team in the 2024 season. It was Kim and Lingard. Seoul, which experienced a dark period after failing to advance to the Final A since 2109, has recruited Kim, who has become one of the K-League’s best players from the Pohang Steelers. He has also been at the center of controversy by bringing in Lingard, who was a former member of the English national team and played an active role for Manchester United.
Seoul is ranked sixth this season, which lasted until the 25th round. It had difficulties in the beginning of the season, but gradually entered the mid-range as Kim’s style melted. From the second half of the season, Seoul is seeking to secure a place in Final A and move to a higher ranking.
Lingard’s stellar performance was one of the reasons. In the beginning, his performance hardly improved due to the eight-month hiatus. However, Lingard gradually recovered his signature concise and clever play and led Seoul to rebound with two goals in 14 games. Currently, he is recovering from a hamstring injury, but he must play a key role in his attack in the second half of the year.
Coach Kim, who conducted an interview at GS Champions Park in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, a club house in Seoul on the 6th, recalled when Lingard was recruited.
“As soon as I was recruited, I started thinking about how to have a war of nerves with Lingard and make him my side (laughs). I felt pressured to play well with Lingard at a time when fans were showing keen interest in him. In the beginning, I engaged in a search war. I tried to quickly grasp his personality from Kagoshima, the venue for the second winter training. As an interpreter for base stations was Lingard’s personality, he delivered various information including his family relationship, and how he felt when he was with West Ham and Manchester United. I approached him recognizing those aspects. He is an easy but difficult player (laughs).”
Indeed, there was also a nervous battle. After winning 2-0 in the third round against Jeju United, Kim strongly rebuked Lingard, who replaced him, saying, “I ran fast. Words are a good move for liquidation, but they must be shown through actions.” Kim’s remarks have become a hot topic not only in Korea but also in the U.K., Lingard’s motherland.
“Now that I think about it, I was physically ill. My knees hurt. It may be wrong to say that in public, but I had already checked Lingard’s data and physical condition. Lingard admitted it. I had to keep making him my side of the game, but as a result, the war of nerves was a success,” Kim said. After the interview, Kim had conversations with Lingard, and as Lingard understood what he meant, their relationship grew stronger.
Kim is a master of player management. He is famous for his push-and-pull skills. He shines more in matches with foreign players. Despite inevitable conflicts, he builds trust through the process. During his time with Pohang, he had frequent quarrels with Australian defensive back Grant (Tianjin). However, he eventually led Grant to the best performance.
“Grant misses me a lot right now (laughs). I get along well fighting with foreign players,” Kim said. “I also had a lot of fights with foreign players. Eventually, I got attached to him like this. I miss him even more because we get to know each other while talking about what’s in our minds. Foreign players have never meant anything to themselves. That’s my personality. If we talk about certain parts of the game, that’s it. Then, I focus on training again.”
Then, how would Kim view Lingard when he came to Seoul? Kim stressed that Lingard is different from the real image of a bad boy.
Coach Gam said, “Lingard has no star disease. Just because he was at Manchester United, his shoulders never go up. He always approaches first, buys meals for his juniors and takes care of them. He also gives them a lot of advice. He has no sense of authority at all. He always tells the players what he felt for the team. Palosevic said that Lingard would not even eat with him, but other players must have felt the same way. However, the players are also affected because Lingard approaches first and plays hard in training and games.”
Regarding Lingard’s good relationship with young players such as Lee Seung-joon (19) and Ham Sun-woo (19), he said, “He must have made a lot of trouble at that age (laughs). He seems to feel that he needs to take care of his younger friends more. I personally think that he will be more helpful because he recalled difficult times at Manchester United.”
When Lingard was confirmed to go to Seoul, suspicions abounded. Questions arose over whether Lingard liked e-sports and chose the Korean market for his personal business. However, Lingard is showing his sincere attitude toward the K-League and Seoul more than anyone else.
Coach Kim also said, “Lyngaard is really serious about soccer. Of course, even when he’s working hard, sometimes his facial expressions show when things don’t go well during training or games. Whenever he does, he tells him to control his emotions. If he does, even if he talks to his teammates, the meaning cannot be conveyed. So even after I made Lingard claim, he told me that action should come before words. If he tells me that, I will focus again and maintain my poker face.”
He also stressed that Korean players should learn about Lingard’s physical care. “Self-care is really good. If you have any problems with your body or pain, you come in in the morning for treatment,” Kim said. “I also take reinforcement training, come back after lunch, and exercise and treatment at the same time. I hope that the players will learn about their physical care after seeing this.”
Kim constantly communicates with Lingard. Due to Ki’s injury, Lingard has had more frequent conversations with him since he wore the captain’s armband. They also talk about training schedules and when he checked in at hotels during away games. “Kim is a master of human resources management,” Lingard said.
“How many days will Lingard rest if he wins this time, and when he comes back from vacation, he always trains twice. How about just once?” Kim said with a smile. “When I say, ‘It’s because you can’t let it go too far. It’s a bit different from British culture,’ he said, “Lingard said he didn’t know about that. He talks with me again while smiling like that.”
“I am curious about training in the U.K., how to manage the players and when they go to the hotel on the day before the game, so I keep asking and talking to them. Lingard visits me every day. When I sit in the manager’s room in the morning even though I didn’t call him, he looks at me outside the door. When I ask him to come in, he watches videos and talks with me,” he said, explaining his unique relationship.
Seoul is experiencing a “spectator bonanza” with the recruitment of Lingard. In the opening match against Incheon United, 51,670 spectators gathered, the highest number since the standard platform system at the time. The record was broken in the 11th round against Ulsan HD with 52,600 spectators entering, the highest number ever in a single K League 1 match. 스포츠토토
However, Kim was not satisfied with the “Lingard Effect.” “The Lingard Effect is right because we did not have good results in the beginning. When we first announced that we would recruit Lingard, we told the general manager that we should recruit him unconditionally for the sake of K-League success. We asked him to stop the game because more people would talk about it only when the K-League is successful. Now, however, rather than talking about the Lingard Effect, we want to hear that the number of spectators has increased due to the fun of the game,” Kim said, aiming for soccer in Seoul, not the Lingard Effect.
