"'Dream matchup' lineup confirmed. Legends who once dominated an era of the Premier League and nostalgic names who helped write the glory of the prestigious club Suwon Samsung have come together."
OGFC and the Suwon Samsung legends team will face off at 7 p.m. on the 19th at Suwon World Cup Stadium. This match is the first game for the newly founded independent team OGFC, created by the legends who led the Premier League's golden era, including Park Ji-sung, together with "Shoot for Love".
OGFC is a team made up of players who wore the Manchester United kit and roamed Old Trafford in their playing days, including "Haebeoji" Park Ji-sung, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ryan Giggs and Patrice Evra. They set a goal of breaking through a career-high win rate of 73%. In addition to the star-studded roster, Eric Cantona takes the helm and Michael Phelan joins as coach.
Opposing them, Suwon Samsung is led by club legend and FA Cup-winning manager Seo Jeong-won. Shin Young-rok, nicknamed "Yeongrokba," who retired in 2011 after suffering cardiac arrest during a match, serves as coach. The squad completed a glamorous lineup with domestic players including Lee Woon-jae, Kwak Hee-ju, Song Jong-guk, Kim Doo-hyun, Ko Jong-su, Lee Kwan-woo, Cho Won-hee and Yeom Ki-hoon, as well as foreign legends loved by Suwon fans such as Denis and Santos.
Ahead of the match, the starting lineups for both teams were announced. OGFC will deploy a 4-3-3 formation. Giggs–Dimitar Berbatov–Antonio Valencia, Evra–Alan Smith–Darren Gibson, Fabio–Nemanja Vidić–Ferdinand–Rafael, Edwin van der Sar will start.
"I've defended my whole life, so today I want to play as a midfielder or forward. If they try to make me defend, I'll break my teammates' legs to go forward," said Evra, who showed attacking intent, making it notable that he was placed in midfield.
Park Ji-sung, who recently underwent knee surgery, will start on the bench. At a pre-match press conference he said, "Recovery hasn't gone smoothly. I'm not in perfect condition yet. I do feel some unease. Still, I strongly want to stand in front of the fans today. I think I'll play about 10 to 15 minutes."
The Suwon Samsung legends team will operate in a 4-1-4-1 formation. Santos, Denis–Lee Kwan-woo–Kim Doo-hyun–Yeom Ki-hoon, Song Jong-guk, Cho Won-hee–Yang Sang-min–Kwak Hee-ju–Shinsegae, and Lee Woon-jae will start. As manager Seo Jeong-won predicted before the match, "Because of our age we have many injuries from training. Yeom Ki-hoon will probably need to play the full 90 minutes," Yeom Ki-hoon was named in the starting lineup.
Meanwhile, though this is an event match featuring retired players, both teams vowed to deliver a fiery contest on the pitch. True to their status as legends representing each team, they plan to play for pride and compete without yielding.
Evra said, "There is a time difference issue, but that can't be an excuse. I've always prepared to show a good performance. I know Suwon is a good team and I've watched many highlights. We prepared seriously too. Although we're older, I'll do my best to bring joy to the fans."
Yeom Ki-hoon also stressed, "I don't know if I can score a lot of goals, but we will win. We'll show the world-class players the Suwon flavor," and added, "I'm most looking forward to the fans' cheering. Not only me but everyone must have missed it. If the crowd gives us great strength today, even if my legs cramp I'll run harder and do my best to secure the victory."
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