2024-03-18 21:59:41
The start of Jesse Lingard’s spell at Korean side FC Seoul earned the England international some strong words from the coach.
Right after his transfer to FC Seoul in February, the participation of the English offensive footballer broke Korean league records. 51,670 spectators came to his first home game in the new jersey. He doesn’t remember that much K League history.
But three games were all it took and the former Manchester United star is being heavily criticized.
The once brilliant graduate of the Red Devils academy has become a role model for many young footballers. He was able to make his way into the famous team, decided the FA Cup final with a goal and showed his skills even in the highest English competition.
But as time went on, his form declined. He recalled her briefly during a loan spell at West Ham, but left Manchester for good two years ago. He headed to Nottingham, but did not score a single goal in 17 games for Forest.
As is often the case, the 31-year-old player decided to revive his career with an exotic engagement. He signed for FC Seoul in February. The Koreans were expecting a goal machine from the famous name, but it hasn’t happened yet.
After a long break from competitive football that stretched from last April to his FC Seoul debut this month, it was understandable that Lingard would need time to get back up to game pace.
But the first start against Gwangju brought disappointment, Lingard came on the field as a substitute for the last 14 minutes. The fans did not get a goal from him, and in addition, he received a yellow card for an unnecessary slide in the setup.
He started at home against Incheon. But the lackluster performance forced coach Kim Gi-Dong to send the foreign superstar to the bench after only half an hour of the game.
FC Seoul’s coach ran out of patience with the English representative after Saturday’s duel with the Jeju team. Lingard started the match among the substitutes and did not enter the field until the 58th minute when the score was 2:0.
“Even though he came on as a substitute, he didn’t work hard and ran away from fights. A famous name has no meaning on the field,” the coach said just after winning the first game of the season, which is just starting in Korea.
It seems that legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was wrong in this player’s case. “This will be a great player one day,” he once said to the talented youngster.