Lee is not absent from the driving force behind FC Seoul’s rise to the “Witong” (final round A, 1st to 6th place) for the first time in five years.
German striker Ilyuchenko (34) is the hero of the match. After suffering a severe slump last year, Ilyuchenko is enjoying his second heyday this year along with Kim Ki-dong (53), who knows him better than anyone else. In his sixth year in Korea, Ilyuchenko aims to become the top scorer.
After scoring the first winning goal at home against Suwon FC on the 29th to lead the team to a 1-0 victory, I am happy to score goals as a striker and compete for the top scorer. What is more pleasing is that I brought three points as I helped our team win,” he said.
Ilyuchenko, who was substituted at the start of the second half, scored the first goal in the 21st minute of the second half with a header that only changed the direction of Jesse Lingard’s corner kick. It was the moment when Ilyuchenko, who scored his 14th goal in the league, became the lone top scorer. Ilyuchenko is tied with Mugosa of Incheon but plays less than one game.
“Everything comes from training. Even after the team’s training is over, I get trained to try to get a header on a cross. I just do my best when I get good timing and good feeling,” said Ilichenko, who has scored five of his 14 goals this year.
What drew attention, however, was a sense of companionship rather than the winning goal. Ilyuchenko received a penalty kick (PK) in the 37th minute of the second half, but gave up to Lingard who stood at the penalty spot with the ball. It was a surprise that Ilyuchenko was able to take a step ahead in the race for the top scorer. Lingard missed the PK, which made it all the more regrettable.
Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong said, “I also wanted Ilyuchenko to kick. Ilyuchenko said, “I gave up because Jesse had the ball.” He is a player with character for the team rather than individual greed. I don’t know if he thought Jesse was kicking better than him, but what is clear is that he has become a Korean player.”
“Actually, I wanted to wear it, but I also wanted Jesse. In the last game, Jesse put in a PK, but I couldn’t. It can happen in soccer, and I can miss it,” Lee said. “Actually, before Jesse was kicked, I thought, ‘I want him to put it in.’ It’s because 2-0 makes it easier to win. I saw disappointment on Jesse’s face right after he missed the game. I thought I should defend hard because I still have time.”
“I want to show the best performance with Lingard in the remaining six games. Lingard had an injury early in the season, and I needed time to show my skills early on. As time goes by, the two of us are getting better. I’m an important player, and Jesse is also an important player,” he added.
It was clearly different from most goaltenders trying to stand out only for themselves. Nevertheless, the fact that he was at the top of the scoring list explains the speciality of Ilyuchenko.
Coach Kim said, “Ilyuchenko also accepted to use it as a replacement card, not as a starter,” adding, “Instead, I promised to make you the top scorer this year, but I have a responsibility to keep that promise.”
On the contrary, Ilyuchenko is concerned about Seoul’s performance. Having shown poor performance earlier this year, Seoul rebounded with five consecutive wins and succeeded in advancing to the Final Round A, its first goal. The next target is tickets to the Asian Club competition and challenge to win the title. 먹튀검증
“We are eight points apart (from Ulsan HD, the leader of the league) with six more games to go. Everything is possible in soccer. It is difficult to say that our goal is to win the title right now, but we have a possibility. Realistically, we need to win six games, but we will do our best to keep winning,” Lee said. “I will at least be in the top four (the Maginot line in the Asian Club competition). Soccer is a team sport. I will do my best in six games with my teammates.”