Sunday, August 2, 2009

Manchester United vs FC Seoul

A couple of weeks ago, Manchester United traveled to Seoul to take on Korea's very own FC Seoul club for a friendly match. The game was at 8:00 PM on the Friday night before Kim and I headed off to China. Poly was nice enough to let us leave a little early so that we could try and make kick off but unfortunately we were a little late.

I have never claimed to be a soccer enthusiast but watching a proffesional game live for the first time was amazing. MU is extremely popular in Korea because Ji-Sung Park, who is from Korea, plays for them. The match is an annual event but I do not know how long it has been going on.

FC Seoul actually took an early lead about 15 minutes into the game and they did it once again in the 2nd half after MU had tied it. MU would eventually score two more goals and win the game 3-2.

It was very exciting and both Kim and I would love to see a game in Europe if we ever have the chance. Below are some photos of the game.


I took this pic during a Korean free kick.


I was trying to get a sweet action shot of a corner kick but I got trigger happy. The ball was only about half way to its destination when I took the picture. Either way I think it came out alright.


To the dissapointment of his Korean fanbase, Ji-Sung Park did not start the game. He was subsitituted in during the 2nd half. The crowd went ecstatic. He had a few touches but nothing too spectactular.


This was a common sight throughout the game. Even though the final score was 3-2, MU thoroughly outplayed FC Seoul. They were always on the attack and had several close calls. Keep in mind though, this opinion is coming from a guy who has not played soccer in over 15 years so what do I know.

This was the view from our seats. The tickets are about $40 each which I thought was fairly reasonable. We were not all the way at the top but we were pretty close. The game was sold out.


1 comment:

Frank said...

Mark,

Don't sell you soccer expertise short. You once scored 5 goals in a third-grade soccer game during a driving rain at Lemp Park. Not many people have that on their resume'. They still talk about it on the south side.