Manchester City's pre-season tour moves to South Korea for its final two matches, starting Wednesday at Sangam Stadium in Seoul against a K-League XI. The 'all-stars' concept is unfamiliar in England, drawing comparisons to the United States.
Many City fans see this as the easiest game of pre-season. Global Football Rankings places K-League 1, Korea's top division, 35th in the world, just above the Saudi Pro League and below French Ligue 2 and the Scottish Premiership. On paper, City should win.
Heat and humidity challenges
However, conditions could level the playing field. "There's not any way you can compare the guys," K-League expert Ross Davis told the Manchester Evening News. "But there is the conditions [to consider] as well. So it will be really hot, really humid, really difficult for the mindset of the players. We saw Harry Kane vomit during Antonio Conte's training when he was over here. It is not necessarily vomit-inducing conditions, but it is so tough to run around."
Seoul's Metropolitan Government issued a weather warning on Tuesday, urging people to stay indoors amid the sweltering heat. The fixture falls mid-season for the K-League, and Davis expects the home side to be sharper than City.
Entertainment and attacking football
Against Inter on Saturday, the game was played at a walking pace due to humidity. But against the K-League XI, City can expect a more ferocious approach. "They're there to entertain. I think it'll be sold out, I assume it will be, if it's not already sold out, and even playing in front of a sell-out crowd in that stadium is big for the players," Davis explained. "They want to play attacking football. The managers as well are attacking-based coaches. So they'll want to impress the fans and, apart from that Newcastle game which somehow was 1-0, usually it ends like 6-4 or something quite exciting."
Chung Jung-yong, head coach of current K-League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, will lead the team. Davis believes he will share duties 50-50 with Gangwon FC's manager Chung Kyung-ho, branded 'one of the top young managers in the league'.
Squad mix of experience and youth
The duo have an exciting squad. "They are a bit of a mishmash, I suppose, but technically they are the better players or best players from those [K-League] teams," Davis said. "It's picked around form as well as the big names. So you get Ki Sung-yueng, who used to play for Swansea and Newcastle, Lee Seung-woo, who grew up in the Barcelona academy and has always been a big name here. And then you get young stars as well. So there's a guy called Son Jeong-beom who's only 18. He had a trial at Bournemouth and he is the prospect player - very highly rated."
The squad includes World Cup participants: Lee Gi-hyuk started all three of South Korea's games at the recent tournament, while Yazan Al-Arab represented Jordan in the group stage.
Career highlight and shop window
Facing City is a career highlight for some. "It is massive. Bayern Munich are also in the country, in the southern islands, and that's massive as well, and it's becoming more of a thing in the past five years," Davis said. "A lot of big teams have come, but Man City are a very well-liked team. They've often come over before, and the players are well-liked. Phil Foden has a big following here, he's very famous among all the football fans and [Erling] Haaland, obviously he won't be here, but Man City are still a huge team. I know Koreans appreciate good football and teams that win and Man City have been right up there in the last decade so they're massive. Korea have a big affinity with the Premier League, and to have Man City over here is amazing for the country."
For players like Jeong-beom, this game could be a stepping stone to Europe. "This can be that showcase [for players] and we've seen in the past, Tottenham ended up buying Yang Min-Hyeok [after facing a K-League XI]. So it is a bit of a shop window for some of the players," Davis added. "It doesn't really matter the result, of course, but it's just a good chance… and it's not one that comes around very often either, especially against a team like Man City. Every year the players look forward to this game and want to play, even though it's in the middle of the season. It is huge to play against Man City and for the fans, yeah, there's a bit of fun, but they just love supporting their players and they love seeing big stars come to Korea."
