Jeonbuk, FC Seoul kick off fight for FA Cup trophy Thursday

Football

Published: 26 Oct. 2022, 16:07

Jeonbuk, FC Seoul kick off fight for FA Cup trophy Thursday

From left to right, FC Seoul head coach An Ik-soo, FC Seoul forward Na Sang-ho, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors defender Kim Jin-su and Jeonbuk head coach Kim Sang-sik pose for a picture next to the FA Cup trophy on Monday during a media event at KFA house in central Seoul. [NEWS1]

FC Seoul and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will face off in the FA Cup finals this week, with the first leg to be played in Seoul on Thursday and the second in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Sunday.

While perennial contenders Jeonbuk are looking for some redemption after missing out on the K League trophy this season, Seoul are seeking their third-ever trophy and first in seven years after narrowly escaping the K League relegation playoffs this year.

"As head coach, I take heavy responsibility for failing to defend our K League title this year," said Jeonbuk head coach Kim Sang-sik during a media day on Monday.

"I wish to defend our club's honor at the FA Cup and I will do my best to win."

With only the top nine clubs guaranteed to stay in the domestic league without playing a promotion-relegation playoff this season, Seoul squeezed into the top nine after their final match of the regular season with a 2-0 win over Suwon FC on Saturday.

Despite Seoul finishing the regular season in ninth place while Jeonbuk finished second, Seoul managed to hold Jeonbuk to two draws in the three matches played by the two clubs this season.

Seoul first held Jeonbuk to a 1-1 draw on May 5 then, a month later, Jeonbuk beat Seoul 1-0 on July 6. Seoul was able to hold Jeonbuk to another 0-0 draw on Sept. 7.

Seoul will be looking for their third-ever FA Cup after having won in 1998 and 2015. They finished runners-up in 2014 and 2016.

However, Jeonbuk Hyundai does have more experience at the FA Cup, having won four times in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2020, while finishing as runners-up in 1999 and 2013. They have the second-most FA Cup trophies, alongside the Pohang Steelers and the Jeonnam Dragons, after the Suwon Samsung Bluewings with five titles. Jeonbuk will be looking for their their fifth win and first in two years,

"We understand that the head-to-head record is all in the past and that this is different because this is the FA Cup final," said Kim. "I hope that we win the first leg 1-0 then go on to win the second one 2-0."

Despite being the winningest team in FA Cup history, the Bluewings had an unprecedentedly poor season in the domestic league and are now facing relegation if they cannot beat K League 2 club FC Anyang in the playoffs.

Back in the FA Cup, the defending champions are the Jeonnam Dragons, who last year became the first K League 2 club to ever win the FA Cup after beating top tier club Daegu FC.

Last year's FA Cup final was a nail-biter for both Jeonnam and Daegu fans. After losing the first leg of the final 1-0 on Nov. 24, 2021, Jeonnam pulled off a 4-3 win to tie the score on aggregate in the second leg and won the FA Cup trophy thanks to the away goals advantage.

It was the first time in FA Cup history that the final was decided on the away goals rule, and the seven goals scored in the final game mad it the highest-scoring FA Cup final match.

However, the Dragons were unable to copy that feat this year after K League 3 club Busan Transportation Corporation FC beat the defending champions in a penalty shoot-out in the round of 16 in May.

The FA Cup is not part of the K league season, but is a knockout competition hosted by the Korea Football Association, with the winner earning a ticket to the AFC Champions League.

With both clubs playing one match at home and one away, the first leg of the final will be played on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul, and the second will be played on Sunday at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju at 2 p.m.

BY YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]