Suwon Samsung, a professional soccer team, was called ‘Real Suwon’ in the past. Based on the huge support of parent company Samsung Electronics, it swept the national team players. In December 1995, although it was belatedly launched as the ninth professional football club, Suwon quickly rose to become a prestigious club representing the K-League.
Since 2010, Suwon has established a clear framework for appointing the command tower. Only legends who played in Suwon were entrusted with coaching. It was the beginning of Suwon-style pure bloodism, the so-called ‘Real Blue’.
However, as the 7th director Lee Byeong-geun resigned in disgrace, it was time to think about Real Blue.
On the 18th, Suwon said, “We decided to sack coach Lee by taking responsibility for poor performance. I am grateful and apologetic to director Lee who did his best even in difficult circumstances. For the time being, the team plans to be led by head coach Seong-yong Choi as acting manager. The club will prioritize overcoming the crisis and focus on putting the team on the right track.”
Suwon has been in last place since the opening of this season, failing to win a single win with 2 draws and 5 losses in 7 matches. It is the biggest crisis since its inception. In the match against Jeju United on the 15th, they suffered a bitter come-from-behind defeat 2-3 even after scoring the opening goal first. In response, director Lee said, “I think I have to take responsibility for the results,” and expressed his intention to step down.
As coach Lee stepped down, Suwon’s Real Blue policy also faced fierce criticism.
Suwon’s will to continue the tradition and culture of Suwon by appointing legends from the club as coaches has its own meaning. It can also be seen as a policy suitable for a ‘famous family’.
The problem is that there is no ‘achievement’ that is the most important in pro. So far, Suwon has won four league championships, two Asian Champions League (ACL) championships, and five Korea Football Association (FA) Cup championships. However, the league and ACL championships all came about during the days of coach Kim Ho, the first coach, and Cha Bum-geun, the second coach. With the strong support of the parent company, proven veteran leaders combined to achieve results. From the 3rd head coach Yoon Seong-hyo, the beginning of Real Blue, to coach Lee, Suwon has only won the FA Cup three times.
While Suwon promoted the recruiting of a club legend as a manager, support was not as good as the manager wanted. When grades didn’t come out, each other felt bad and broke up repeatedly. Appointment of a pure-blood coach without investment and support only shortened the coach replacement cycle. Manager Lee Im-saeng received notice of resignation after 591 days, manager Park Gun-ha after 587 days, and manager Lee Byeong-geun after 364 days. 안전놀이터
Suwon fans, famous for their high loyalty in the K-League, were disappointed and hurt by the club that treated the legends as if they were ‘shields’. It is pointed out that Suwon, which entered the pro lately, appointed former club members to the command tower too quickly, and they took over as directors without sufficiently building their leadership careers, and were insufficient in demonstrating their capabilities. In fact, all of the previous four coaches (Yun Seong-hyo, Seo Jeong-won, Lee Im-saeng, and Park Geon-ha), excluding Lee, took over as Suwon coaches without first division coaching experience.
Suwon announced the resignation of manager Lee and said, “The club will soon establish a renewal plan to escape from poor performance and make bone-breaking changes. We ask for your unchanging support and encouragement so that Suwon can fly up vigorously once again.” However, if the current stance of holding responsibility only to the legendary coach amidst reduced support from the parent company does not change, the reconstruction of the famous family Suwon will be nothing more than an empty echo.