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

The club was founded as Lucky-Goldstar Football Club in 1983, by the , 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 .

History
Founding and early years (1983–1989)
FC Seoul held an official founding ceremony on December 22, 1983, following the official announcement of its founding in August of that year. The club was initially named Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso Football Club. Owned and financially supported by the Lucky-Goldstar Group, it became the fifth professional football team in South Korea. The founding hometown was assigned to Chungcheong Province, and its mascot became a bull.

To establish a professional football club, the Lucky-Goldstar Group had a preparatory period since 1982 and requested that the franchise be located in Seoul. In the 1984 season, the club finished seventh out of eight clubs. The club fared better in the 1985 season, winning the league title with the help of Thai international , who was the league's top scorer as well as the top assist provider.

Moving to Seoul and then to Anyang (1990–2003)
From the beginning of 1988, Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso pushed forward a relocation to 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 (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 , 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, , 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 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 , 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 .

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)
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 . 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, , 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 . In the next three games, FC Seoul obtained only one point in the matches against 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 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 .

K League and League Cup "double" (2010)
FC Seoul appointed 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 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 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 . Choi left the club in June 2016.

On June 21, 2016, FC Seoul appointed 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 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 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 ; 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 on October 30, 2020, just a day before their last K League 1 fixture against Incheon United.

In the 2024 K League 1 season, the club broke average attendance records due to a recovery of the league itself and the signing of , as the club finished in the top half of K League 1 for the first time since 2019 and qualified for the 2025–26 AFC Champions League Elite. Lingard was appointed captain ahead of the 2025 season, but left the club after a disappointing sixth-place league finish, scoring against side Melbourne City in the Champions League in his last game for Seoul.

Club culture
Supporters
FC Seoul has a diverse fanbase, including former Lucky-Goldstar fans, LG Cheetahs fans, and Anyang LG Cheetahs fans. The club's number 12 shirt is reserved for supporters of the club. The main supporters group of FC Seoul is called Suhoshin (meaning "guardian deity"), formed in April 2004.

Rivalries
The club's main rivalry is with Suwon Samsung Bluewings in a derby known as the , as two of the most successful teams in the Seoul Capital Area. The rivalry began during the Anyang LG Cheetahs era and has continued as the club was relocated to Seoul.

Other major rivalries include Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (Jeonseol Match) and Incheon United ( Derby). In an away match versus Incheon in May 2024, the home fans at the Incheon Football Stadium threw water bottles at Seoul players.

Fans of , a phoenix club that was founded in Anyang since the departure of Anyang LG Cheetahs, feel great animosity towards FC Seoul and a willingness to get their revenge on the pitch, with Anyang's fans lighting flares in a show of defiance in a 2017 Korean FA Cup match versus FC Seoul. Anyang's first-ever appearance in the 2025 K League 1 season allowed them to play against FC Seoul in a league match for the first time in the "Relocation Derby."

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
Since 2004, FC Seoul's home is the Seoul World Cup Stadium, which is the largest football-specific stadium in South Korea. FC Seoul's players train at the GS Champions Park training center, a purpose-built facility completed in 1989 located east of Seoul in the city of , where the club's academy is also based.

In the past, FC Seoul played at Daejeon Stadium, , Cheonan Oryong Stadium (1987–1989), Dongdaemun Stadium (1990–1995), and (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 title.

First kit summary
Notes

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
Bando Fashion / Lucky-Goldstar
  • Occasionally, Lucky-Goldstar wore a jersey which was manufactured
    by in the 1984 season and 1985 season.
Bando Fashion
1987–1994
  • Socks were sponsored by during the 1993–96 seasons.
  • Bando Fashion was renamed LG Fashion in September 1995.
  • For international matches, Printing was written in English.
Bando Fashion / LG Fashion
LG하이비디오 / LG HIGH VIDEO, etc.
죽염치약 / Toothpaste, etc.
LG Fashion
  • Mobile phone brand
  • Mobile phone brand
  • Mobile network operator brand
2001–2002
  • Mobile phone brand
  • Television brand
  • Mobile phone brand
2005–2011
  • Apartment brand
Seoul Metropolitan Government
  • For the 2009 AFC Champions League
2012–2013Le Coq Sportif
  • Apartment brand
2014–2016
  • Online store brand
2017–2019 (first kit)
  • Online store brand
(second kit)
  • Filling station brand
2020 (first kit)
  • Apartment brand
(second kit)
  • Filling station brand
2021 (first kit)
(second kit)
2022–2027 (first kit)
(second kit)

Kit deals
1998–2011 1998–?$200,000 per year
2005–2007 (3 years)Total $3 million
($1 million per year)
2008–2011 (4 years)Undisclosed
Le Coq Sportif2012–2021 2012–2015 (4 years)Total $8 million
($2 million per year)
2016–2019 (4 years)Undisclosed
2020–2021 (2 years)Undisclosed
2022–2027 2022–2024 (3 years)Undisclosed
2025–2027 (3 years)Undisclosed

Players
Current squad

Out on loan and military service
Former players
Player records
Retired number(s)
12 – Supporters (the 12th player)
13 –

Captains
Kim Kwang-hoon
until September 1986
1986–1988 since September 1986
1989–1990
1991–1992Lee Young-jin
Choi Young-jun
until 4 August 1995
1995–1996 since 5 August 1995
Kim Bong-soo
until July 1999
1999–2000 July 1999–9 May 2000
since 10 May 2000
Lee Sang-hun until May 2001
since May 2001
2003–2004
2005–2006
2007–2008
2012–2013
2015Osmaruntil 30 April 2015
since 1 May 2015
Osmarfirst foreign captain
2018until 3 July 2018
since 4 July 2018
2022
until 12 August 2022



Lee Sang-min		since 12 August 2022
2023Stanislav IljutcenkoIljutcenko: until 9 May 2023
Han Chan-hee: until 21 June 2023
Osmar

Osmar: since 9 May 2023

Honours
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
  • AFC Champions League
    • Runners-up (2): 2001–02, 2013

Records and statistics
Season-by-season records
  • The 1993, 1998, 1999 and 2000 seasons had penalty shoot-outs instead of draws.

1984Div 187th2886143845–733
1985Div 18Champions2110743519+1627 Park Se-hak
1986Div 16Runners-up2010732817+11275th () Did not qualifyPark Se-hak
1987Div 155th3277182655–2921No competition WithdrewPark Se-hak
1988Div 154th2461172229–723Winners (Nat'l) Did not qualify (C)
1989Div 16Runners-up40151785340+1347Semi-finals (Nat'l) Ko Jae-wook
1990Div 16Champions30141154025+1539 Ko Jae-wook
1991Div 166th40915164453–933 Ko Jae-wook
1992Div 164th3081393035–529Runners-up () Did not enterKo Jae-wook
1993Div 16Runners-up3018
(10)		0
(11)		12
(9)		2829–1594th () Did not qualifyKo Jae-wook
1994Div 175th30127115350+343Runners-up ()
1995Div 188th28510132943–14256th () Cho Young-jeung
1996Div 199th3288164456–12328th ()Round of 16 Cho Young-jeung
(C)
1997Div 1109th181891527–121110th ()
3rd in Group A ()		Semi-finals
1998Div 1108th189
(8)		0
(2)		9
(8)		2828023Semi-finals ()
3rd ()		Winners Park Byung-joo
1999Div 1109th2710
(8)		0
(4)		17
(15)		3852–1424Runners-up ()
4th in Group B ()		Semi-finalsRunners-up
2000Div 110Champions2719
(17)		0
(5)		8
(5)		4625+2153Semi-finals ()
5th in Group A ()		Quarter-finalsDid not qualifyQuarter-finalsCho Kwang-rae
2001Div 110Runners-up27111063023+7434th in Group A ()Quarter-finalsWinnersDid not qualifyCho Kwang-rae
2002Div 1104th2711793730+740Semi-finals ()Round of 32Did not qualifyRunners-upCho Kwang-rae
2003Div 1128th441414166968+156No competitionRound of 32No competitionDid not qualifyCho Kwang-rae
2004Div 1135th2471252017+33312th ()Round of 16Did not qualifyCho Kwang-rae
2005Div 1137th248883732+5325th ()Round of 16
2006Div 1144th2691253122+939Winners ()Quarter-finalsLee Jang-soo
2007Div 1147th2681352316+737Runners-up ()Quarter-finalsCompetition
ceased		Şenol Güneş
2008Div 114Runners-up2615924425+19543rd in Group A ()Round of 32Şenol Güneş
2009Div 1155th2816574727+2053Semi-finals ()Round of 16Quarter-finalsŞenol Güneş
2010Div 115Champions2820265826+3262Winners ()Round of 16Did not qualify
2011Div 1165th3016775638+1855Quarter-finals ()Quarter-finalsQuarter-finals
(C)
2012Div 116Champions4429967642+3496Competition
ceased		Round of 16Did not qualifyChoi Yong-soo
2013Div 1144th381711105946+1362Quarter-finalsRunners-upChoi Yong-soo
2014Div 1123rd381513104228+1458Runners-upSemi-finalsChoi Yong-soo
2015Div 1124th381711105244+862WinnersRound of 16Choi Yong-soo
2016Div 112Champions38217106746+2170Runners-upSemi-finalsChoi Yong-soo
2017Div 1125th38161395642+1461Round of 16Group stageHwang Sun-hong
2018Div 11211th38913164048–840Round of 16Did not qualifyHwang Sun-hong
(C)
Choi Yong-soo
2019Div 1123rd381511125349+456Round of 32Choi Yong-soo
2020Div 1129th2785142344–2129Quarter-finalsGroup stageChoi Yong-soo
Kim Ho-young (C)
(C)
(C)
2021Div 1127th381211154646047Third roundDid not qualify
2022Div 1129th381113144347–446Runners-upAn Ik-soo
2023Div 1127th381413116349+1455Third roundAn Ik-soo
(C)
2024Div 1124th381610125542+1358Quarter-final
2025Div 1126th381213135052–249Quarter-final Kim Gi-dong

K League Championship records
19862Runners-up201112–1N/A
20004Winners211052+34–2
200644th (semi-finals)100101–1N/A
20086Runners-up311165+1N/AŞenol Güneş
200965th (round of 6)10101102–3Şenol Güneş
20106Champions211043+1N/A
201165th (round of 6)100113–2N/A (C)

K League promotion-relegation playoffs
20182Remained211042+2N/A

Managerial history
  • For details on all-time manager statistics, see List of FC Seoul managers.
1983-08-121983-12-221987-11-191984–1987
  • First manager of FC Seoul.
C1987-12-011987-12-011988-12-261988
  • Caretaker manager in 1988, before being promoted to regular manager in 1989.
21988-12-271988-12-271993-12-311989–1993
31993-11-231994-01-011996-11-051994–1996
  • First manager who was a former FC Seoul player.
  • First manager who resigned in the middle of season.
C1996-11-051996-11-051996-12-011996
  • Caretaker manager in FA Cup, one match in charge.
41996-12-101996-12-201998-11-251997–1998
  • Won the first FA Cup for FC Seoul.
51998-10-221998-12-012004-12-151999–2004
  • The club's longest serving manager (six seasons).
62004-12-302005-01-102006-12-022005–2006
  • Won the first League Cup for FC Seoul.
7Şenol Güneş2006-12-082007-01-082009-11-252007–2009
  • First foreign manager of FC Seoul.
82009-12-142010-01-032010-12-132010
  • First (and only) manager to win the double.
92010-12-282011-01-052011-04-262011
  • First manager who resigned in the middle of the league season.
C2011-04-262011-04-262011-12-082011
  • Caretaker manager in 2011, before being promoted to regular manager in 2012.
102011-12-092011-12-092016-06-222012–2016
  • First manager to win K League both as a player and as a manager.
C2016-06-232016-06-232016-06-262016
  • Caretaker manager in 2016; left after one match in charge.
112016-06-212016-06-272018-04-302016–2018
C2018-04-302018-04-302018-10-112018
122018-10-112018-10-112020-07-302018–2020
  • First manager who was appointed twice.
CKim Ho-young2020-08-042020-08-042020-09-242020
C2020-09-252020-09-252020-11-122020
C2020-11-132020-11-132020-12-032020
132020-12-082020-12-082021-09-062021
142021-09-062021-09-062023-08-222021–2023
C2023-08-222023-08-222023-12-022023
152023-12-142023-12-14 2024–

Management
Board of directors
Chief executive officerYeo Eun-joo
DirectorYoo Seong-han

Chairman history
1984–1990
1991–1997
1998–2019
2020–present

Ownership
November 1983–February 1991Lucky-Goldstar Sports of
February 1991–May 2004LG Sports of
June 2004–December 2004GS Sports of LG Group
January 2005–presentGS Sports of

Popular culture
FC Seoul and FC Seoul supporters have been portrayed in a number of Korean and movies:

  • Dramas: Which Star Are You From, Heading to the Ground (as a fictional team called "FC Soul"), A Thousand Kisses
  • Movies: Secret Romance, Dancing Queen, Running Man, Big Match, Salut d'Amour

See also
  • Football in Seoul

External links

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