'Nondurung?' disastrous Sangam grass, players and coaches all sigh...This year, it has been serious since March

'Nondurung?' disastrous Sangam grass, players and coaches all sigh...This year, it has been serious since March

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Following last year, the grass problem has been revealed again this year.

Last year, the problem was serious due to high temperatures over the summer, but this year, the grass condition has been turned on red since early March.

The grass condition at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, where the third round of the "Hana Bank K League 1 2025" match between FC Seoul and Gimcheon Sangmu was held on the 3rd, was truly disastrous.

It could be confirmed with the naked eye that the grass was not completely rooted, and the stadium often grew even if the players of both teams competed a little.

Even a short pass with a travel distance of less than 5m was caught on the grass and bounced, so both Seoul and Gimcheon were forced to be passive in the pass play, fearing mistakes, and during the first half, the players were exposed to the risk of injury, with Seoul captain Jesse Lingard tripping over the grass protruding from near the center line.

During the game, not only players but also assistant coaches who were outside the stadium came into the stadium and stepped on the grass. As such, the grass condition at the Seoul World Cup Stadium was very serious.

In terms of feeling, the condition seemed worse than the match between Seoul and FC Anyang held on the 22nd of last month. At the time of the match between Seoul and Anyang, Sangam-dong was so cold that the temperature fell below zero, and the grass condition was worse than at the end of February even though the temperature on the 3rd was in the video zone.

Both team coaches sighed after the game and expressed regret about the state of the grass.

"The things I thought about were changed by the stadium's environment. There is something to be desired," said Chung Jung-yong, manager of Gimcheon. "One of the game models our team wants is soccer, which has a lot of rear build-ups. In this area, there was a part where mistakes were inevitable (due to the environment). There was something I had to change my strategy," he said, regretting that he couldn't try the soccer he wanted because of the grass.

"As far as I know, this game was broadcasted on terrestrial television. I don't think both teams would have been easy even if they wanted to try to attack at dynamic and fast tempo to improve their soccer," he said. "Even if they want to show good performance to fans, it is difficult due to environmental constraints."

Kim Ki-dong also agreed. "Not only Sangam, but other stadiums are also in the same situation. As the league started early and the weather is cold, players are constantly being exposed to injury. This happens because the grass is played in a bad way," Kim said. "Playing without grass roots can cause injury to players. Lingard also got his ankle caught on the grass."

"It doesn't matter if we do it in January or February. However, it is important that all facilities are clearly equipped. If the stadium is heated up like in Europe and the grass is in good condition, it doesn't matter if we do it in winter," Kim said, stressing that all facilities must be equipped to play in such a cold weather.

From the player's point of view, there was also a sigh.

Jordanian national defender Yazan, who met in the mixed zone, said, "What's more important was the bad grass condition. I feel sorry for the bad grass condition."

"I hope the grass condition will improve until then because we have time for the next two games on the road and the next home game. In particular, the right side of the stadium was not good. I hope the grass condition over there will be better," he said, adding that he hopes the grass at the Seoul World Cup Stadium will be better before the next home game. 스포츠토토

Yazan's remarks, which will play the final Asian qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup between North Korea and the U.S. on the 25th of this month, were enough for officials to feel embarrassed, saying, "In the end, the Korea Football Association also knows the grass situation at the Seoul World Cup Stadium."