Hwang In-beom gets an assist in Olympiacos win as Hwang Ui-jo's exile continues

Hwang Ui-jo [NEWS1]

Hwang Ui-jo’s Olympiacos exile continued on Wednesday, with the former Bordeaux top scorer once again not in the squad for a 5-0 Greek Super League win over Asteras Tripolis.

Hwang Ui-jo was entirely excluded from the squad for the seventh consecutive league game. He has only played more than 11 minutes in three league matches this season.

Countryman Hwang In-beom again saw far more success, playing the full 90 minutes and assisting James Rodriguez for the second goal.

Hwang In-beom’s success with Olympiacos stands in stark contrast to Hwang Ui-jo’s performance, especially considering that Hwang In-beom was signed directly by the Greek club while Hwang Ui-jo is actually under contract with Premier League team Nottingham Forest and on loan in Greece.

Hwang Ui-jo, who has seen things go from bad to worse since he was shipped off to Greece in the summer, wasn't able to change his fortunes at the Qatar World Cup. Rather than stepping up for the national team like he has in the past — he scored a screamer against Brazil in a friendly six months ago — Hwang fluffed a crucial shot in the opening game against Uruguay and spent the vast majority of the next three games warming the bench.

That missed shot against Uruguay was the most visible thing Hwang Ui-jo did all tournament — former Liverpool midfielder and pundit Danny Murphy called it “awful” on the BBC — and he only saw a combined 30 minutes of playing time over the following three games. He had no involvement in any goals, a serious problem when you typically play as the national team’s sole striker.

After joining Olympiacos in the summer, Hwang Ui-jo has not scored a single goal in all competitions and has just one assist in a league game on Sept. 3. Considering that he spent the last two seasons as Bordeaux’s top scorer in the French Ligue 1, Hwang’s form has taken an exceptionally steep dive and, at 30, he may struggle to find opportunities to bounce back.

Hwang In-beom, who tends to play a deeper midfield role and is not known as a goal scorer, has one goal and three assists across all competitions so far this season.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]