Hwang Ui-jo looks to set up for better future during K League loan spell

INCHEON, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- New FC Seoul forward Hwang Ui-jo said Monday his recent decision to join the K League 1 club on a short-term loan was reached with his future in mind.

FC Seoul announced their acquisition of Hwang on a six-month loan from Olympiacos FC in Greece on Sunday, as the 30-year-old put his underwhelming European career on hold.

"This was an extremely important decision for me and I put a lot of thought into it," Hwang told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, before flying to Kagoshima, Japan, for FC Seoul's training camp. "I will try to improve my match fitness as much as I can over these six months. We'll see what happens after six months."

Indeed, Hwang, 30, must rediscover his scoring touch if he were to find his way back to Europe.

Hwang joined Olympiacos in August last year, loaned by the Premier League club Nottingham Forest -- both teams are owned by the Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis -- but Hwang failed to find the back of the net in 11 matches across all competitions for the Greek club. His last league appearance for them came in mid-October.

Hwang needed to find a place to play and he wasn't going to get that opportunity elsewhere in Europe this season.

FIFA prevents players from competing for more than two clubs in leagues with the same schedule. Hwang had already played for Bordeaux and Olympiacos, whose leagues follow the dual-year schedule.

On the other hand, players can play for a third club in the same season if that team's league has a different schedule than the leagues for the player's two other teams. This made Hwang eligible to play in South Korea, where the K League season takes place within the same calendar year.

Hwang first played in the K League from 2013 to 2017 for Seongnam FC.

Hwang will be virtually guaranteed of regular playing time with FC Seoul during his six-month spell, and that should set him up nicely for another crack in Europe, where new club seasons start in August.

FC Seoul will need Hwang as much as the player needs the club. They ranked second-to-last in the 12-team K League 1 with 43 goals in 38 matches last year. They will count on Hwang to regain the form that helped him lead FC Girondins de Bordeaux in France in two straight seasons, in 2020-2021 and in 2021-2022 campaigns.

"First of all, I have to get acclimated to the new surroundings here, and I haven't thought about how many goals I'd like to score here," Hwang said. "But as a forward, I want to score as many goals as possible."

Hwang's Korean teammate at Olympiacos, midfielder Hwang In-beom, also had a brief loan spell with FC Seoul last year. Hwang In-beom's career with the Russian club Rubin Kazan had been in limbo following the country's invasion of Ukraine, and he stayed sharp playing in the K League before moving to Olympiacos in July.

"In-beom told me how great it was to be playing in front of huge crowds at Seoul World Cup Stadium," Hwang Ui-jo said. "I don't want to let down our supporters. I will give this team everything I have."

At FC Seoul, Hwang Ui-jo will be reunited head coach An Ik-soo, the first head coach he had with Seongnam FC a decade ago.

"He is a strict coach but he also has a warm heart," Hwang said. "I have so much to learn from him, both as a football man and a fellow human being. I am going to take on a rookie mindset for the next six months."

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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