Reporter Ahn Hong-seok = ‘National striker’ Hwang Eui-jo (31) joined professional football FC Seoul and briefly returned to the K-League after 6 years.
The Seoul club announced on the 5th that it had recruited Hwang Eui-jo from Olympiacos in Greece. The length of his contract was not disclosed, but it is said to be a short-term loan of six months.
As a result, Hwang Ui-jo left Seongnam FC and joined Gamba Osaka in Japan and stood on the domestic stage for the first time in 6 years since 2017 when he first entered overseas.
The reason Hwang Eui-jo, who played in Europe, came to Korea for a while is because he is currently in a situation where he has virtually no place to go in Europe.
Hwang Eui-jo moved to Nottingham Forest (England) from Bordeaux (France) in August of last year and immediately transferred to Olympiacos, which has the same owner, on loan.
However, his position in the team was very narrow due to his sluggish performance, such as only 1 assist in 12 official games at Olympiacos.
It was necessary to find a new team to play in, but it was difficult to find a new team in Europe due to FIFA rules that allowed players to play official matches with only two clubs in a season.
However, there is an exception rule that if the league schedule transfers to another team, it is possible to play in a third club, so Hwang Eui-jo searched for a club in a league that operates on a spring and autumn basis, unlike Europe.
It is known that American professional football (MLS) clubs also showed interest, but Hwang Ui-jo eventually chose to play on the K-League stage for a while through a lease contract with Nottingham Forest and Seoul.
For Hwang Ui-jo, who was important to quickly improve his performance, the K-League was the first choice because he did not have to go through a separate adaptation period.
For Seoul, where strengthening offensive power this offseason was the main task of reinforcing power, it was a pleasure to be able to use Hwang Ui-jo even for six months.
Seoul scored only 43 goals last season, and was second only to Seongnam (37 goals), which was relegated to the bottom among 12 K-League 1 teams.
The Seoul club explained, “This transfer is the result of the club and the players coming together for the development of Korean football.” 메이저사이트
“(Joining Hwang Eui-jo) is expected to take Seoul and the K-League to the next level,” he said. I am determined to pour out.”
Hwang Ui-jo, who joined Seongnam in 2013 after attending Poongsaeng High School and Yonsei University, has grown into a striker representing Korea by playing in 140 K-League games by 2017, recording 35 goals and 8 assists.
In particular, at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, which was highly anticipated after being selected as a wild card, he took the lead in winning Korea’s gold medal by becoming the top scorer with 9 goals in 7 matches.
Hwang Eui-jo, who joined Bordeaux in the summer of 2019 and succeeded in advancing to the European stage, scored 29 goals in Ligue 1, including 6 goals in the 2019-2020 season, 12 goals in the 2020-2021 season, and 11 goals in the 2021-2022 season. .
Hwang Ui-jo will join the second winter battery training in Seoul, which will be held in Kagoshima, Japan from the 6th, and team up with fellow strikers such as Ilyuchenko.