메이저사이트 “I want to create the perception that Seoul is a scary team.”
Hwang’s contract with FC Seoul runs until June 30. That’s exactly one month away.
After playing for Nottingham Forest (England) and being loaned to Olympiakos (Greece), Hwang found himself out of position and moved to Seoul. With FIFA rules only allowing transfers to leagues that operate on the spring and fall calendar, Seoul head coach Ahn Ik-soo reached out to Hwang. He joined the team on a six-month short-term loan.
No one knows if he will return to Nottingham, stay in Seoul, or go to another team. Ahn Ik-Soo doesn’t want to put any pressure on Hwang Ui-jo to decide where to live.
When we caught up with him recently, he said, “Time is flying by. It’s already been four or five months since I came to Seoul. I have about a month left on my contract,” he said.
“My first goal before deciding where I want to live is to create the perception that Seoul is a team that competes at a high level and is a scary team. The future is something I will think about later. For now, I think it’s important to play well in the remaining games. I saw that Nottingham also stayed up, so I’ll talk to my agent about it.”
Hwang has made 14 appearances this season, scoring two goals and providing two assists. Aside from the goals and assists on the stat sheet, Ahn and his players say the impact he brings to the team is significant.
“Unlike the younger Uijo, he’s matured and has a sense of responsibility. He also has a team spirit. He’s doing a good job as a Korean soccer legend. We are working hard to show our maturity.”
“We’re scoring every game, and our young defenders are doing a great job. Also, in the middle, (Ki) Sung-yong and Osmar and (Lim) Sang-hyeop are protecting well. I think the harmony is working well. In a way, we have the strength to hold on, and if we continue to have that strength, I think we can continue to attack from higher positions in the future,” he said encouragingly.
However, as a striker, he can’t help but feel frustrated that goals aren’t coming. It’s not just Hwang Ui-jo, either, with Park Dong-jin on three goals and Ilyuchenko on one.
“I’ve been talking to Ilyuchenko a lot since the beginning of the season,” says Hwang. I’m sure he’s frustrated with his lack of playing time and thirsty for more. I tell him that if he goes to a midweek game on the weekend or next week, he will be able to score, and we also talk about how he can improve during and after the game,” said Hwang.
“Everyone wants to score goals. I’m going to prepare well for the next game because I think the training will pay off.”