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FC Seoul
FC Seoul logo.svg
Full name Football Club Seoul
Founded 1983; 41 years ago (1983)
(as Lucky-Goldstar FC)
Ground Seoul World Cup Stadium
Ground Capacity 66,704
Owner GS Group
Chairman Huh Tae-soo
Manager Kim Gi-dong
League K League 1
2023 K League 1, 7th of 12
Third colours

FC Seoul (Korean: FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. Since 2004, FC Seoul have played its home games at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul's Mapo District.

The club was founded as Lucky-Goldstar Football Club in 1983, by the Lucky-Goldstar Group, and was later renamed as LG Cheetahs in 1990. Due to the K League decentralization policy in 1996, the club was relocated to the Seoul's satellite city of Anyang for eight years, before returning to Seoul in 2004. FC Seoul have won six K League titles, two FA Cups, two League Cups and one Super Cup. Internationally, the club reached the AFC Champions League final on two occasions, in 2001–02 and 2013.

FC Seoul is one of the most successful and popular clubs in the K League 1, with financial backing from the GS Group. In 2012, the club was evaluated as the most valuable football brand in the K League. Their main rivals are Suwon Samsung Bluewings, with whom they contest the Super Match.

History

Founding and early years (1983–1989)

Lucky-Goldstar FC Piyapong Pue-on's Uniform, NMKCH
Piyapong Pue-on's signed kit on display at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History

FC Seoul was officially announced on 18 August as the new club and founded on 22 December 1983, and started out in 1984 as Lucky-Goldstar Football Club, owned and financially supported by the Lucky-Goldstar Group (later renamed the LG Group), with the Chungcheong Province its franchise and Hwangso (meaning bull) as its mascot.

In order to launch the professional football club, Lucky-Goldstar Group had a preparation period from 1982 and demanded that the original franchise should be Seoul. In the 1984 season, the club finished seventh out of the eight clubs. The club fared better in the 1985 season when they won the championship with the help of Thailand national football team player Piyapong Pue-on, who was the top scorer, as well as the top assistor.

Moving to Seoul and then to Anyang (1990–2003)

From the beginning of 1988, Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso pushed forward a relocation to Seoul At the end of the 1989 season, the Korea Professional Football League (renamed as the K League in 1998), worried about the financial stability of the clubs, invited a number of clubs to play in Seoul. Thus, the Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso, which had always wanted to be based in the capital, moved to Seoul Stadium (Currently Dongdaemun Stadium) in Seoul at the end of 1989. The club finished first season in Seoul as champions. The club changed its name to LG Cheetahs in 1991 to mirror the LG Twins, a professional baseball team also owned by LG Group. After several seasons in Seoul, the club was forced to move in 1996, as part of the K League's decentralization policy. This policy was carried out to stimulate the growth of football in the provinces. In addition, in 1995, Korea was bidding to host the 2002 FIFA World Cup. This warranted the construction of a soccer-specific stadium in Seoul. The three clubs based in Seoul – LG Cheetahs, Ilhwa Chunma, and Yukong Elephants did not want to recognize the decentralization policy. Ultimately, it proved necessary for the Korean government to issue an eviction order to the disaffected clubs. However, the government did guarantee if the clubs built a soccer-specific stadium in Seoul, the clubs could have a Seoul franchise and return to Seoul.

As a result, 3 clubs were evicted from Seoul to other cities. This entailed the move of the LG Cheetahs to the Anyang Sports Complex in the city of Anyang, a satellite city of Seoul, 21 km away. The club was now known as the Anyang LG Cheetahs. In the upcoming years, a solid base of supporters was formed, and it established a strong league rivalry with the Suwon Samsung Bluewings. This rivalry was partly fueled by the fact that LG Group and Samsung Group, which owned the Suwon club, were also considered rivals in the business world, especially in electronics. The club continued to grow and in 2000, they won their third Championship, behind the firepower of striker Choi Yong-Soo.

Return to Seoul and renaming to FC Seoul (2004–2006)

For the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, ten brand new stadiums of World Cup standards were built in South Korea. After the World Cup, the Korean World Cup Organizing Committee and the KFA actively supported the move of regional K League clubs into the new stadia. This was designed to avoid or at least minimize any financial losses through having to maintain a stadium in playing condition without regular income. However, due to the previous decision by the K League to exclude any member club from being based in Seoul, Seoul World Cup Stadium remained vacant, except as a host of some international friendlies. Thus, the city government of Seoul and the KFA both actively sought for a K League club to play at the stadium to take on the cost of maintaining the stadium. Initially, it was intended to create a new club, but when it later transpired that any club playing in Seoul World Cup Stadium would have to pay partially for the construction fees of the stadium, this would have placed an unreasonable burden on a fledgling club. Thus, the KFA tried to lure one of the current clubs to Seoul. The Anyang LG Cheetahs, with the financial backing of the LG Group, who not only viewed the move back to Seoul as a way to increase its advertising presence, but had the right to come back to Seoul because it had its franchise moved by force in 1996, as part of the K League's decentralization policy. Anyang LG announced in February 2004 that it would pay the share of the construction fees (which turned out to be 15 billion won, or at that time US$15 million). This proposed move provoked a significant amount of controversy from the Korean football fans as KFA and K League failed to launch a new football club based in Seoul due to a high Seoul franchise fee. Regardless, KFA and K League ultimately permitted relocation of Anyang LG Cheetahs.

Şenol Güneş years (2007–2009)

20090520 Gamba Osaka vs FC Seoul @Osaka Expo '70 Stadium 010
FC Seoul vs Gamba Osaka in the 2009 AFC Champions League

Şenol Güneş managed FC Seoul for a three-year period starting on December 8, 2006. The club started the 2007 season with three consecutive wins and a draw, including a 4–1 win over arch rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the Super Match. However, FC Seoul failed to qualify for the play-off phase of the season, but the club succeeded in getting into the final of the 2007 Korean League Cup. Before the next season, Park Chu-young, the ace of FC Seoul at that time, was transferred to Ligue 1 club Monaco. FC Seoul finished in a second-place in the K League regular season, and progressed to the play-offs. FC Seoul defeated Ulsan Hyundai in the play-off semi-final but was defeated by Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the final. Despite the loss, the club still qualified for the 2009 AFC Champions League. During the season, Dejan Damjanović scored 15 goals.

FC Seoul's 2009 AFC Champions League campaign began with a 2–1 win over Indonesian side Sriwijaya FC. In the next three games, FC Seoul obtained only one point in the matches against Gamba Osaka and Shandong Luneng. However, Seoul then defeated the title holders Gamba Osaka and qualified to the round of 16 after Sriwijaya's unexpected victory over Shandong Luneng. On June 24, 2009, FC Seoul beat Kashima Antlers 5–4 after penalties after a 0–0 draw in the round of 16 clash and advanced to the quarter-finals, but were beaten 4–3 on aggregate by Qatari club Umm Salal. FC Seoul's appearance in the AFC Champions League was its first since the Asian Club Championship era.

The Şenol Güneş era ended on November 25, 2009, with the manager returning to Trabzonspor.

K League and League Cup "double" (2010)

FC Seoul appointed Nelo Vingada as manager on December 14, 2009. Vingada won the K League and League Cup with FC Seoul. FC Seoul had 20 wins, 2 draws, and 6 defeats in the domestic league under Vingada's management.

FC Seoul recorded an attendance of 60,747 against Seongnam Ilhwa on May 5, 2010, at Seoul World Cup Stadium, which is the highest single-game attendance record in South Korean professional sports history. FC Seoul also recorded the single season (League, K League Championship, and League Cup) highest total attendance record – 546,397, and the single regular & post season (League and K League Championship) highest average attendance record of 32,576.

On August 25, 2010, FC Seoul beat Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 3–0 to become the 2010 League Cup winners. FC Seoul were also crowned K League champions by defeating Jeju United 4–3 on aggregate in the K League Championship final, thus achieving their first "double" in the club's history. The crowd of 56,769 in the second leg also set the record of the highest attendance in K League Championship history.

On December 13, 2010, FC Seoul wanted to extend Vingada's one-year contract but FC Seoul and Vingada could not come to an agreement over the salary conditions, resulting in Vingada returning to Portugal.

AFC Champions League final and the sixth K League title (2011–2016)

FC Seoul's former player Choi Yong-soo was hired to manage the club in 2012, after previously serving as the assistant manager and caretaker for the club in 2011. In 2013, FC Seoul lost the AFC Champions League Final on away goals rule against Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande. The AFC Champions League campaign has earned Choi Yong-soo the 2013 AFC Coach of the Year award, becoming the second South Korean in succession to win the individual accolade following the previous year's winner Kim Ho-kon. Choi left the club in June 2016.

On June 21, 2016, FC Seoul appointed Hwang Sun-hong as their eleventh manager in the club's history. On November 6, 2016, FC Seoul won their sixth K League title after defeating Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 1–0 in the final round of the season.

A period of oscillation (2017–present)

Hwang Sun-hong resigned on April 30, 2018. In the 2018 season, FC Seoul finished in eleventh place and had to play the K League promotion-relegation playoffs for the first time in their history. In the playoffs, they defeated Busan IPark 4–2 on aggregate, thus staying in the top flight.

On October 11, 2018, Choi Yong-soo was appointed as the twelfth manager in the club's history, having previously managed the club between 2011 and 2016.

During the 2020 season, FC Seoul lost five consecutive games for the first time in 22 years. Following a new departure by Choi Yong-soo, three different caretakers took turns managing the team, with Park Hyuk-soon replacing Kim Ho-young after just a month and guiding the team to the end of the K League season, which they finished in ninth place, before being substituted by Lee Won-jun; under his management, the team made a promising start in the group stage of the 2020 AFC Champions League, even obtaining a 5–0 victory against Thai outfit Chiangrai United, but then proceeded to lose all of their last three matches, thus being eliminated from the tournament. A difficult season was made even more devastating by the death of defender Kim Nam-chun on October 30, 2020, just a day before their last K League 1 fixture against Incheon United.

Club culture

FCSeoul070408
FC Seoul Supporters at North Stand of Seoul World Cup Stadium

Supporters

FC Seoul has a diverse fanbase, including former Lucky-Goldstar fans, LG Cheetahs fans, Anyang LG Cheetahs fans. FC Seoul's number-12 shirt is reserved for supporters of the club. The main supporter group of FC Seoul is Suhoshin (meaning "guardian deity"), formed in April 2004. There are also some minor supporter of groups

V-Girls and V-Man

V-Girls & V-Man are FC Seoul's cheerleaders. The V stands for victory. They cheerlead at the East Stand.

Stadiums

Seoul World Cup Stadium 01
Seoul World Cup Stadium in 2017

Since 2004, FC Seoul's home is the Seoul World Cup Stadium, which is the largest football-specific stadium in Asia. FC Seoul's players train at the GS Champions Park training centre, a purpose-built facility opened in 1989, located east of Seoul in the city of Guri.

In the past, FC Seoul played at Daejeon Stadium, Cheongju Civic Stadium, Cheonan Oryong Stadium (1987–1989), Dongdaemun Stadium (1990–1995), and Anyang Stadium (1996–2003).

Crests and mascots

FC Seoul has had different names, and consequently different crests for different periods of the club: Lucky-Goldstar FC (1983–1990), LG Cheetahs (1991–1995), Anyang LG Cheetahs (1996–2003).

There has also been different club mascots representing different periods. Former mascots were a bull and a cheetah. The club's current mascot, introduced in 2004, is named "SSID".

The "SSID" stands for Seoul & Sun In Dream. In the 2018 season, FC Seoul added another mascot, "Seoul-i".

A special crest for the club's 20th anniversary was used in 2003. The current crest has been used since 2004.

Kits

FC Seoul's home kits have red and black stripes, as in their crest.

FC Seoul wore both red kits and yellow kits in home matches from 1984 to 1985.

From 1988 to 1994, the club's home shirt's main colour was yellow, same as the Lucky-Goldstar Group's company colour at the time.

In 1995, Lucky-Goldstar Group pushed ahead with corporate identity unification and the company colour was changed to red. As a result, FC Seoul's jersey colour was changed from yellow to red as part of the unification project.

From 1999 to 2001, FC Seoul wore red and blue stripes but returned to all red in the 2002 season and In 2005, FC Seoul changed to red and black stripes and this colour has been in use since.

In June 2016, FC Seoul released the 1984–1985 retro jersey to commemorate foundation of the club and the first K League title.

First kit summary

Football kit
1984–1985
Worn red shirts
as first kit

0(1)
Football kit
1984–1985
Worn yellow shirts
as first kit

0(1)
1986
Worn red shirts
as first kit

0
1987
Worn white shirts
as first kit
(2)
0
Football kit
1988–1994
Worn yellow shirts
as first kit

0
1995–July 1999
2002–2004
Worn red shirts
as first kit
July 1999–2001
Worn red and blue stripe shirts
as first kit
2005–present
Wearing red and black stripe shirts
as first kit

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit supplier Shirt sponsor Shirt front printing Notes
1984–1985
Bando Fashion / Pro-Specs Lucky-Goldstar
럭키금성 / Lucky-Goldstar
  • Occasionally, Lucky-Goldstar wore a jersey which was manufactured
    by Prospecs in the 1984 season and 1985 season.
1986
Bando Fashion
1987–1994 GoldStar
금성VTR / GoldStar VTR, etc.
  • Socks were sponsored by Pro-Specs during the 1993–96 seasons.
  • Bando Fashion was renamed LG Fashion in September 1995.
  • For international matches, GoldStar Printing was written in English.
1995
Bando Fashion / LG Fashion LG Electronics
LG Chem
LG하이비디오 / LG HIGH VIDEO, etc.
죽염치약 / Jugyeom Toothpaste, etc.
1996
LG Fashion
1997
Reebok LG Information & Communications
프리웨이 / FREEWAY, etc.
  • Mobile phone brand
1998
Adidas LG Electronics
LG 싸이언 / LG Cyon, etc.
  • Mobile phone brand
1999
디지털 LG / DIGITAL LG
2000
LG Telecom
카이 / X
  • Mobile network operator brand
2001–2002 LG Electronics
싸이언 / Cyon
  • Mobile phone brand
2003
엑스캔버스 / XCANVAS
  • Television brand
2004
싸이언 / Cyon
  • Mobile phone brand
2005–2011 GS E&C
자이 / Xi
  • Apartment brand
Seoul Metropolitan Government
Hi Seoul
Soul of Asia
  • For the 2009 AFC Champions League
2012–2013 Le Coq Sportif GS E&C
자이 / Xi
  • Apartment brand
2014–2016 GS Shop
GS Shop
  • Online store brand
2017–2019 GS Shop GS Shop (first kit)
  • Online store brand
GS Caltex KIXX (second kit)
  • Filling station brand
2020 GS E&C 자이 / Xi (first kit)
  • Apartment brand
GS Caltex KIXX (second kit)
  • Filling station brand
2021 GS E&C 자이 / Xi (first kit)
GS Caltex GS Caltex (second kit)
2022–2024 Pro-Specs GS E&C 자이 / Xi (first kit)
GS Caltex GS Caltex (second kit)

Kit deals

Kit supplier Period Contract
announcement
Contract duration Value
Adidas 1998–2011
1998-02-10
1998–? $200,000 per year
2005-01-26
2005–2007 (3 years) Total $3 million
($1 million per year)
2008-02-25
2008–2011 (4 years) Undisclosed
Le Coq Sportif 2012–2021
2011-12-15
2012–2015 (4 years) Total $8 million
($2 million per year)
2016-02-17
2016–2019 (4 years) Undisclosed
2020-01-28
2020–2021 (2 years) Undisclosed
Pro-Specs 2022–2024
2021-12-27
2022–2024 (3 years) Undisclosed

Players

Current squad

No. Position Player
1 South Korea GK Baek Jong-bum
3 South Korea DF Kwon Wan-kyu
4 South Korea DF Lee Sang-min
5 Jordan DF Yazan Al-Arab
6 South Korea MF Ki Sung-yueng (captain)
7 South Korea FW Lim Sang-hyub
8 South Korea MF Lee Seung-mo
10 England FW Jesse Lingard
11 South Korea FW Kang Seong-jin
15 South Korea DF Kang Sang-woo
16 South Korea DF Choi Jun
17 South Korea DF Kim Jin-ya
18 South Korea GK Hwang Sung-min
19 Brazil FW Lucas Silva
20 South Korea DF Kim Hyun-deok
21 South Korea GK Choi Chul-won
23 South Korea MF Heo Dong-min
25 South Korea MF Paik Sang-hoon
No. Position Player
27 South Korea MF Min Ji-hoon
28 South Korea FW Son Seung-beom
29 South Korea MF Ryu Jae-moon
30 South Korea DF Kim Ju-sung
31 South Korea GK Kang Hyeon-mu
32 South Korea FW Cho Young-wook (vice-captain)
33 South Korea DF Bae Hyun-seo
39 South Korea MF Kang Ju-hyeok
40 South Korea DF Park Seong-hoon
41 South Korea MF Hwang Do-yoon
42 South Korea MF Park Jang Han-gyeol
44 South Korea DF Ham Sun-woo
70 Portugal FW Ronaldo Tavares (on loan from Estrela da Amadora)
90 Germany FW Stanislav Iljutcenko
94 Brazil FW Willyan
98 South Korea DF Yoon Jong-gyu
99 South Korea GK Seo Ju-hwan

Out on loan and military service

No. Position Player
South Korea DF Ahn Jae-min (at Gimpo FC)
South Korea DF Cho Young-kwang (at FC Osaka)
South Korea DF Choi Jun-yeong (at Seongnam FC)
South Korea DF Lee Si-young (at Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
South Korea DF Park Dong-jin (at Gyeongnam FC)
No. Position Player
South Korea DF Park Soo-il (at Gimcheon Sangmu)
South Korea MF Ahn Ji-man (at Yeoju FC)
Serbia MF Aleksandar Paločević (at OFK Beograd)
South Korea FW Jung Han-min (at Gangwon FC)
South Korea FW Kim Sin-jin (at Seoul E-Land FC)

Former players

Player records

Retired number(s)

12 – Supporters (the 12th Man)

Captains

Season(s) Captain Vice-captain(s) Notes
1984
South Korea Han Moon-bae
1985
South Korea Kim Kwang-hoon
1986
South Korea Park Hang-seo until September 1986
1986–1988 South Korea Jung Hae-seong since September 1986
1989–1990 South Korea Choi Jin-han
1991–1992 South Korea Lee Young-jin
1993
South Korea Gu Sang-bum
1994
South Korea Choi Young-jun
1995
South Korea Yoon Sang-chul until 4 August 1995
1995–1996 South Korea Lee Young-ik since 5 August 1995
1997
South Korea Cho Byung-young
1998
South Korea Kim Bong-soo
1999
South Korea Kang Chun-ho until July 1999
1999–2000 South Korea Choi Yong-soo July 1999–9 May 2000
2000
South Korea Kim Gwi-hwa South Korea Lee Young-pyo since 10 May 2000
2001
South Korea Lee Sang-hun until May 2001
2001
South Korea Son Hyun-jun since May 2001
2002
South Korea Choi Yoon-yeol
2003–2004 South Korea Kim Seong-jae
2005–2006 South Korea Lee Min-sung
2007–2008 South Korea Lee Eul-yong South Korea Kim Chi-gon
2009
South Korea Kim Chi-gon South Korea Kim Jin-kyu
2010
South Korea Park Yong-ho South Korea Kim Jin-kyu
2011
South Korea Park Yong-ho South Korea Hyun Young-min
2012–2013 South Korea Ha Dae-sung South Korea Kim Jin-kyu
2014
South Korea Kim Jin-kyu South Korea Koh Myong-jin
2015 South Korea Koh Myong-jin Spain Osmar until 30 April 2015
South Korea Cha Du-ri since 1 May 2015
2016
Spain Osmar South Korea Yoo Hyun first foreign captain
2017
South Korea Kwak Tae-hwi South Korea Park Chu-young
2018 South Korea Shin Kwang-hoon South Korea Go Yo-han until 3 July 2018
South Korea Go Yo-han South Korea Lee Woong-hee since 4 July 2018
2019
South Korea Go Yo-han South Korea Park Chu-young
2020
South Korea Go Yo-han South Korea Ju Se-jong
2021
South Korea Ki Sung-yueng South Korea Hwang Hyun-soo
2022 South Korea Ki Sung-yueng South Korea Na Sang-ho
South Korea Yang Han-been
until 12 August 2022
South Korea Na Sang-ho South Korea Yoon Jong-gyu
South Korea Cho Young-wook
South Korea Kim Jin-ya
South Korea Lee Sang-min
since 12 August 2022
2023 Germany Stanislav Iljutcenko South Korea Han Chan-hee Iljutcenko: until 9 May 2023
Han Chan-hee: until 21 June 2023
Spain Osmar South Korea Lim Sang-hyub
South Korea Kim Jin-ya
South Korea Kim Ju-sung
Osmar: since 9 May 2023
2024
South Korea Ki Sung-yueng South Korea Cho Young-wook

Honours

FC서울 2016 K리그 우승! 황선홍감독 박주영, 다카하기 인터뷰 1.13 minutes Scene
FC Seoul players celebrating after winning the 2016 K League Classic.

Domestic

  • K League 1
    • Winners (6): 1985, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2012, 2016
    • Runners-up (5): 1986, 1989, 1993, 2001, 2008
  • Korean FA Cup
    • Winners (2): 1998, 2015
    • Runners-up (3): 2014, 2016, 2022
  • Korean League Cup
    • Winners (2): 2006, 2010
    • Runners-up (4): 1992, 1994, 1999, 2007
  • Korean Super Cup
    • Winners (1): 2001
    • Runners-up (1): 1999
  • Korean National Football Championship
    • Winners (1): 1988

Continental

Records and statistics

Season-by-season records

Season K League League Cup FA Cup Super Cup ACL Manager
Division Teams Position Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1984 Div 1 8 7th 28 8 6 14 38 45 –7 33 South Korea Park Se-hak
1985 Div 1 8 Champions 21 10 7 4 35 19 +16 27 South Korea Park Se-hak
1986 Div 1 6 Runners-up 20 10 7 3 28 17 +11 27 5th (Pro) Did not qualify South Korea Park Se-hak
1987 Div 1 5 5th 32 7 7 18 26 55 –29 21 No competition Withdrew South Korea Park Se-hak
1988 Div 1 5 4th 24 6 11 7 22 29 –7 23 Winners (Nat'l) Did not qualify South Korea Ko Jae-wook (C)
1989 Div 1 6 Runners-up 40 15 17 8 53 40 +13 47 Semi-finals (Nat'l) South Korea Ko Jae-wook
1990 Div 1 6 Champions 30 14 11 5 40 25 +15 39 South Korea Ko Jae-wook
1991 Div 1 6 6th 40 9 15 16 44 53 –9 33 South Korea Ko Jae-wook
1992 Div 1 6 4th 30 8 13 9 30 35 –5 29 Runners-up (Ad.) Did not enter South Korea Ko Jae-wook
1993 Div 1 6 Runners-up 30 18
(10)
0
(11)
12
(9)
28 29 –1 59 4th (Ad.) Did not qualify South Korea Ko Jae-wook
1994 Div 1 7 5th 30 12 7 11 53 50 +3 43 Runners-up (Ad.) South Korea Cho Young-jeung
1995 Div 1 8 8th 28 5 10 13 29 43 –14 25 6th (Ad.) South Korea Cho Young-jeung
1996 Div 1 9 9th 32 8 8 16 44 56 –12 32 8th (Ad.) Round of 16 South Korea Cho Young-jeung
South Korea Park Hang-seo (C)
1997 Div 1 10 9th 18 1 8 9 15 27 –12 11 10th (Ad.)
3rd in Group A (P)
Semi-finals South Korea Park Byung-joo
1998 Div 1 10 8th 18 9
(8)
0
(2)
9
(8)
28 28 0 23 Semi-finals (Ad.)
3rd (PM)
Winners South Korea Park Byung-joo
1999 Div 1 10 9th 27 10
(8)
0
(4)
17
(15)
38 52 –14 24 Runners-up (Ad.)
4th in Group B (D)
Semi-finals Runners-up South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2000 Div 1 10 Champions 27 19
(17)
0
(5)
8
(5)
46 25 +21 53 Semi-finals (Ad.)
5th in Group A (D)
Quarter-finals Did not qualify Quarter-finals South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2001 Div 1 10 Runners-up 27 11 10 6 30 23 +7 43 4th in Group A (Ad.) Quarter-finals Winners Did not qualify South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2002 Div 1 10 4th 27 11 7 9 37 30 +7 40 Semi-finals (Ad.) Round of 32 Did not qualify Runners-up South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2003 Div 1 12 8th 44 14 14 16 69 68 +1 56 No competition Round of 32 No competition Did not qualify South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2004 Div 1 13 5th 24 7 12 5 20 17 +3 33 12th (Sam.) Round of 16 Did not qualify South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2005 Div 1 13 7th 24 8 8 8 37 32 +5 32 5th (Sam.) Round of 16 South Korea Lee Jang-soo
2006 Div 1 14 4th 26 9 12 5 31 22 +9 39 Winners (Sam.) Quarter-finals South Korea Lee Jang-soo
2007 Div 1 14 7th 26 8 13 5 23 16 +7 37 Runners-up (Sam.) Quarter-finals Competition
ceased
Turkey Şenol Güneş
2008 Div 1 14 Runners-up 26 15 9 2 44 25 +19 54 3rd in Group A (Sam.) Round of 32 Turkey Şenol Güneş
2009 Div 1 15 5th 28 16 5 7 47 27 +20 53 Semi-finals (PC) Round of 16 Quarter-finals Turkey Şenol Güneş
2010 Div 1 15 Champions 28 20 2 6 58 26 +32 62 Winners (PO) Round of 16 Did not qualify Portugal Nelo Vingada
2011 Div 1 16 5th 30 16 7 7 56 38 +18 55 Quarter-finals (RC) Quarter-finals Quarter-finals South Korea Hwangbo Kwan
South Korea Choi Yong-soo (C)
2012 Div 1 16 Champions 44 29 9 6 76 42 +34 96 Competition
ceased
Round of 16 Did not qualify South Korea Choi Yong-soo
2013 Div 1 14 4th 38 17 11 10 59 46 +13 62 Quarter-finals Runners-up South Korea Choi Yong-soo
2014 Div 1 12 3rd 38 15 13 10 42 28 +14 58 Runners-up Semi-finals South Korea Choi Yong-soo
2015 Div 1 12 4th 38 17 11 10 52 44 +8 62 Winners Round of 16 South Korea Choi Yong-soo
2016 Div 1 12 Champions 38 21 7 10 67 46 +21 70 Runners-up Semi-finals South Korea Choi Yong-soo
South Korea Hwang Sun-hong
2017 Div 1 12 5th 38 16 13 9 56 42 +14 61 Round of 16 Group stage South Korea Hwang Sun-hong
2018 Div 1 12 11th 38 9 13 16 40 48 –8 40 Round of 16 Did not qualify South Korea Hwang Sun-hong
South Korea Lee Eul-yong (C)
South Korea Choi Yong-soo
2019 Div 1 12 3rd 38 15 11 12 53 49 +4 56 Round of 32 South Korea Choi Yong-soo
2020 Div 1 12 9th 27 8 5 14 23 44 –21 29 Quarter-finals Group stage South Korea Choi Yong-soo
South Korea Kim Ho-young (C)
South Korea Park Hyuk-soon (C)
South Korea Lee Won-jun (C)
2021 Div 1 12 7th 38 12 11 15 46 46 0 47 Third round Did not qualify South Korea Park Jin-sub
South Korea An Ik-soo
2022 Div 1 12 9th 38 11 13 14 43 47 –4 46 Runners-up South Korea An Ik-soo
2023 Div 1 12 7th 38 14 13 11 63 49 +14 55 Third round South Korea An Ik-soo
South Korea Kim Jin-kyu (C)

K League Championship records

Season Teams Position Pld W D L GF GA GD PSO Manager
1986 2 Runners-up 2 0 1 1 1 2 –1 N/A South Korea Park Se-hak
2000 4 Winners 2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 4–2 W South Korea Cho Kwang-rae
2006 4 4th (semi-finals) 1 0 0 1 0 1 –1 N/A South Korea Lee Jang-soo
2008 6 Runners-up 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 N/A Turkey Şenol Güneş
2009 6 5th (round of 6) 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 2–3 L Turkey Şenol Güneş
2010 6 Champions 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 N/A Portugal Nelo Vingada
2011 6 5th (round of 6) 1 0 0 1 1 3 –2 N/A South Korea Choi Yong-soo (C)

K League promotion-relegation playoffs

Season Teams Outcome Pld W D L GF GA GD PSO Manager
2018 2 Remained 2 1 1 0 4 2 +2 N/A South Korea Choi Yong-soo

Managerial history

FC Seoul FAN PARK 01
Gallery of all-time club managers at FC Seoul Fan Park
  • For details on all-time manager statistics, see List of FC Seoul managers.
No. Name Appointed From To Season(s) Notes
1
South Korea Park Se-hak 1983-08-12 1983-12-22 1987-11-19 1984–1987
  • First manager of FC Seoul.
C South Korea Ko Jae-wook 1987-12-01 1987-12-01 1988-12-26 1988
  • Caretaker manager in 1988, before being promoted to regular manager in 1989.
2 1988-12-27 1988-12-27 1993-12-31 1989–1993
3 South Korea Cho Young-jeung 1993-11-23 1994-01-01 1996-11-05 1994–1996
  • First manager who was a former FC Seoul player.
  • First manager who resigned in the middle of season.
C South Korea Park Hang-seo 1996-11-05 1996-11-05 1996-12-01 1996
  • Caretaker manager in FA Cup, one match in charge.
4 South Korea Park Byung-joo 1996-12-10 1996-12-20 1998-11-25 1997–1998
  • Won the first FA Cup for FC Seoul.
5 South Korea Cho Kwang-rae 1998-10-22 1998-12-01 2004-12-15 1999–2004
  • The club's longest serving manager (six seasons).
6 South Korea Lee Jang-soo 2004-12-30 2005-01-10 2006-12-02 2005–2006
  • Won the first League Cup for FC Seoul.
7 Turkey Şenol Güneş 2006-12-08 2007-01-08 2009-11-25 2007–2009
  • First foreign manager of FC Seoul.
8 Portugal Nelo Vingada 2009-12-14 2010-01-03 2010-12-13 2010
  • First (and only) manager to win the double.
9 South Korea Hwangbo Kwan 2010-12-28 2011-01-05 2011-04-26 2011
  • First manager who resigned in the middle of the league season.
C South Korea Choi Yong-soo 2011-04-26 2011-04-26 2011-12-08 2011
  • Caretaker manager in 2011, before being promoted to regular manager in 2012.
10 2011-12-09 2011-12-09 2016-06-22 2012–2016
  • First manager to win K League both as a player and as a manager.
C South Korea Kim Seong-jae 2016-06-23 2016-06-23 2016-06-26 2016
  • Caretaker manager in 2016; left after one match in charge.
11 South Korea Hwang Sun-hong 2016-06-21 2016-06-27 2018-04-30 2016–2018
C South Korea Lee Eul-yong 2018-04-30 2018-04-30 2018-10-11 2018
12 South Korea Choi Yong-soo 2018-10-11 2018-10-11 2020-07-30 2018–2020
  • First manager who was appointed twice.
C South Korea Kim Ho-young 2020-08-04 2020-08-04 2020-09-24 2020
C South Korea Park Hyuk-soon 2020-09-25 2020-09-25 2020-11-12 2020
C South Korea Lee Won-jun 2020-11-13 2020-11-13 2020-12-03 2020
13 South Korea Park Jin-sub 2020-12-08 2020-12-08 2021-09-06 2021
14 South Korea An Ik-soo 2021-09-06 2021-09-06 2023-08-22 2021–2023
C South Korea Kim Jin-kyu 2023-08-22 2023-08-22 2023-12-02 2023
15 South Korea Kim Gi-dong 2023-12-14 2023-12-14 2024–

Management

Board of directors

Position Name
Chairman South Korea Huh Tae-soo
Chief executive officer South Korea Yeo Eun-joo
Director South Korea Yoo Seong-han

Chairman history

No. Name From To Seasons
1
South Korea Koo Cha-kyung
1983-08-12
1990-12-27
1984–1990
2
South Korea Koo Bon-moo
1990-12-28
1998-02-28
1991–1997
3
South Korea Huh Chang-soo
1998-03-01
2020-03-26
1998–2019
4
South Korea Huh Tae-soo
2020-03-26
present
2020–present

Ownership

Years Owner
November 1983–February 1991 South Korea Lucky-Goldstar Sports of Lucky-Goldstar Group
February 1991–May 2004 South Korea LG Sports of LG Group
June 2004–December 2004 South Korea GS Sports of LG Group
January 2005–present South Korea GS Sports of GS Group

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Football Club Seoul para niños

  • Football in Seoul
kids search engine
FC Seoul Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.