The British Daily Mail shed light on Kim's words with an article titled, "Lyngaard received a scathing rebuke from the Seoul coach for not playing hard." 토토사이트넷
Lingard, who was waiting on the bench in the third round of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 16th, was replaced by Aleksandar Palosevic in the 13th minute of the second half and played for about 32 minutes.
However, after the game, manager Kim surprised the reporters by confiding, "I thought about removing Lingard as a replacement again."
When asked why, Kim said, "If a player who only plays for a few minutes plays less than a player who has played for 90 minutes, he is not a soccer player," adding, "Do you play soccer for your name? Then you will bring in retired players."
"I think we need to talk about it accurately. We talk about it once a day. What Lingard says is a liquidation trick. That's what we need to do," he said. "We will change our habits so that we can quickly melt into our team."
Other British media GBN also reported, "Lingard did not perform properly after moving to FC Seoul," adding, "I was warned that 'the name value is meaningless.'
As a member of the Manchester United youth team, Lingard played in 232 games alone, scoring 35 goals and 21 assists. Including the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he played for the English national team until 2021 and accumulated six goals in 32 A-match games. He is the most valuable player in the history of the K-League, which marks its 41st anniversary.
Lingard, who was released as a free agent after the 2022-23 season at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League, pushed for a transfer to Saudi Arabia. He was close to joining RT Park led by coach Steven Gerrard, but the contract was canceled due to the Saudi Arabian League's rules on foreign players.
Still unable to find a new team, Lingard received love calls from various clubs this winter. Fifteen clubs hoped to recruit Lingard, including Italian teams playing in the UEFA Champions League.
However, Lingard drew attention by choosing FC Seoul, refusing to make a love call to the European team.
Lingard told a news conference that he had received a number of suggestions from other overseas clubs, but FC Seoul came to the training site with the contract details documented. "I decided to sign the contract at that moment," he said.
"My physical condition is not at my best right now, but I am feeling good. I want to meet my fans at the stadium as soon as possible. I have a goal, but it is important to earn three points while playing at the stadium. I have a dream to win a trophy at FC Seoul," he said.
Lingard's joining of FC Seoul is leading the K-League's box office craze in the early days of the season. In the second round against Incheon United, FC Seoul's home opener, 51,670 spectators joined the match, breaking the record for the largest number of spectators since the introduction of the promotion system in 2013. The previous record was 47,899 which was tallied at the Super Match (FC Seoul-Suwon Samsung) on June 18, 2016.
Lingard said, "I have been loved by fans since the first day of my arrival," and promised, "I will return the love and happiness I received through my performance on the field."
Lingard's challenge in the K-League, a former member of the English national team, was also a hot topic of interest in the U.K. Two British media outlets, Daily Mail and The Athletic, sent reporters for the opening match of FC Seoul. James, a reporter for The Athletic Steward who covered Lingard's home debut match, reported on-site coverage with an article that said, "Lingard, a man who was forgotten in England, rose to the Korean box office."
However, Lingard, who has not played since October last year, is raising his sense of play. He played 13 minutes in the opening match against Gwangju FC on the 2nd and was on the bench for three consecutive games until the match against Jeju United.
He showed a few flashes as a substitute, but failed to score offensive points in three matches. Lingard also failed to score offensive points in 17 Premier League games last season when he spent at Nottingham Forest.
Ki Sung-yueng, a captain from the same Premier League as Lingard who is known to communicate with Lingard the most within the Seoul team, said when asked about Lingard after the match with Jeju United, "He is adapting well. In fact, Lingard has experienced the best career in the history of the K-League. He has displayed good performances in international clubs and the British national team. Although it was in the past, I think such performance will have a great impact on our players. Lingard had a long hiatus of several months. It would be great if it happens overnight as people expect, but it is not easy for any player to change the situation in which he has not played for several months at once. The player next to him is helping him, and the coach is trying hard to help him in that area as well. Lingard is right in what he needs to show, but I think he should wait a little longer until he is ripe."
"The coach will be dissatisfied with some things like today, but if I take good care of and take good care of him in the team, he will definitely show a good performance because he has something. Of course, his own efforts are important. If the weather gets warmer and the team has more room in the stadium, I'm sure he will show good performance," he said.