Korea’s ‘Double Dragons’ Dominate for FC Seoul.

By: Brett | June 3rd, 2009

Round 17 of the K-League came eight weeks early on Saturday night. Gwangju Sangmu graciously agreed to play their late July clash with FC Seoul in early June so that their opponents would be well rested and at full strength for their upcoming exhibition match with English champs Manchester United. A fat lot of good it will probably do them – United smashed the Korean outfit 4 zip the last time they were in town in 2007.

The home side certainly wasn’t at full strength for this one. Number one striker Dejan Damjanovic was nowhere to be seen; as was number two striker Jung Jo-kuk. Not great news for Seoul manager Senol Gunes going into a clash with the best team in the league. If this had made him slightly worried that his wish of three points for his 57th birthday was doomed, he needn’t have been. He still had two trump cards in his hand – or should I say, two trump dragons.

Both of them are only 20, both hover at around six feet, and both have the same second syllable in their first name. Both have represented their country at U20, U23 and senior levels and both are integral parts of the FC Seoul midfield. Known throughout Korea as the ‘Double Dragons’ (Ssang Yong in Korean), Ki Sung-yong and Lee Chung-yong are the two new darlings of Korean football. Make no mistake, these boys can play.

Ki was born in Gwangju, but learnt his trade growing up in Brisbane, Australia. Lee is a Seoul lad through and through. In January of this year, Lee came in at number 40 in UK newspaper, The Times, top 50 rising talents in world football, whilst Ki has already been subject of rumors over a possible move to Manchester United. Like I said, these boys can play.

A couple of fearless, classy midfielders known for their exceptional vision, range of passing and outstanding technique (see Youtube clip), Ki models himself after his hero Steven Gerrard, whilst Lee has been compared to Barcelona’s Alexander Hleb. European big boys such as FC Porto and Hamburg have already been sniffing around, whilst word on the street here in Seoul is that a few decent EPL outfits are simply waiting for the boys to play a few more games for the national team so they can qualify for a UK work visa.

And they showed why on Saturday evening. Utterly mesmerising at times, both dragons did as they pleased for much of the match, creating problem after problem for the visitor’s defense and chance after chance for their teammates. In the end, though, it took a goal from each of them to secure the victory. A classy free kick from Ki six minutes into the second half and a free header from Lee six minutes later gave Seoul a 2-1 win.

“It was a very good win for us and a very tough game,” said Gunes post-match. That it was. The visiting league leaders were ahead after just nine minutes at the Seoul World Cup Stadium when their ‘Little Maradona’, Choi Sung-kuk, finished nicely after expertly controlling a long ball from right back Cho Won-kwon.

The home side regrouped well from this early setback and were easily the superior team over the 90 minutes. In the end the margin should have been greater, with both the dragons and a few of their teammates squandering some very gettable chances towards the end. Win number seven sees Seoul in second place, with only goal difference separating them and Gwangju.

Gunes has been the man most responsible for the success of Seoul’s Double Dragons. He’s worked hard to protect and nurture these two very special talents. The team from the capital will be hoping the rumors of him quitting the club to return to his native Turkey are just that, because if the Turkish tactician does decide to call time on his K-League adventure, his two star players may just decide to do the same.