FC Anyang will never forget the events of Sunday night. Following the crushing heartbreak of LG Cheetahs’ relocation to Seoul in 2004, Anyang fans waited 20 years for revenge. When it arrived on the weekend, it was better than they could have imagined. But what’s next to ensure this story has a fairytale ending?
There’s a video circulating on Instagram showing the moment referee Kim Yong-woo ended the round 28 clash between FC Seoul and FC Anyang. In the background, Bruno Mota, whose 78th-minute goal won the match, sprints off in the direction of the away fans in the South Stand. The camera pans to manager Ryu Byeong-hoon, by now drenched in water. He’s mobbed on the edge of the technical area by coaches and players.
Goalkeeper Kim Da-sol, on his knees, screams in joy. He’s one of several Anyang players strewn across the Sangam turf. Everywhere you look, players, coaches, and fans are delirious. You could be forgiven for thinking Anyang had won the Club World Cup. Cynics might even protest the degree of celebrations, given this was just a regular-season league match. But for Anyang, it was anything but.
I was there, in the South Stand, with the Anyang supporters. They didn’t travel with expectations of victory. A point would have done, especially the way results panned out over the weekend. That all changed when Mota pounced on poor goalkeeping to do what all good strikers do: follow up what looks like a lost cause, keep your composure, and find the back of the net.
Bruno Mota after his match-winning goal.
The tension in the away end was unbearable. “Three minutes left! Please!” they pleaded. “Two minutes! You can do it!” As this was going on, Anyang were giving away free kicks and picking up yellow cards. But Seoul’s dramatic late assault never materialized. “One more minute!”
Someone in white hoofed the ball down to the other end of the pitch. Another Seoul free kick. But the clock had ticked beyond the seven additional minutes. The referee put the whistle to his lips. A loud blast followed immediately by a deafening roar. Anyang had come to Seoul and left with all three points. It is unlikely anyone in the away end (and maybe in the home section) will forget Sunday, August 31, 2025.
Of all the potential three-pointers in K League 1, this was the one Anyang cherished the most – defeating the club that once occupied their home ground. When LG Cheetahs left Anyang to become FC Seoul in 2004, it left the city without a club for almost a decade. The wound has never fully healed, but Sunday night was the turning point. There’s a club in Anyang, with great support and a genuine identity, that the locals can get behind.
It might be dramatic, but the club changed forever that night. The players knew the significance of this fixture for the fans and the people of Anyang. They could have been weighed down by the pressure of delivering across the Han, of delivering the one victory their fans cherished the most. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, and it was noticeable how so many of their stars referenced the support base and the importance of the win in their post-match remarks.
Throughout the night, Anyang’s social media department shared photos and videos from the pitch, from the stands, and from the dressing room. This squad will be broken up when winter comes. It always happens. Some players will leave when their contract expires. Others will be poached by those at the top of the food chain. But this moment will never be taken away from them. I’m calling it: 25 years from now, FC Anyang will bring the squad back for a celebration on the pitch.
Crowd favorite Kim Dong-jin is one of several stars who inked their name in Anyang history.
Before all that, here are five talking points from the newMiracle on the Han. For the immediate and long term.
1. Anyang have unearthed a game-changer in Ivan Jukić
Last month, during Anyang’s 4-0 destruction of Daegu FC, an unfamiliar face sat in the media section of the club’s stadium. He observed in silence, but appeared to admire the noise from the home end. The following day, we learnt his name. Anyang had signed 29-year-old former Bosnia-Herzegovina U-21 winger Ivan Jukić. The Croatian-born forward has made four appearances. He was exceptional on Sunday night, using his devastating pace to get behind Choi Jun and target the Seoul rearguard. His selection in the first half was a masterstroke. Anyang looked to use Jukić’s pace on the counter, and on one occasion, he burnt Seoul’s defenders only to see his goal-bound effort turned away. Against Jeonbuk, he did something similar, finding the foot of the post. Jukić’s pace will be a huge asset on the road when Anyang are expected to be under pressure. The scouting department in Anyang regularly produces gems, and Jukić is the latest example.
2. Kim Hak-beom was wrong
Jeju SK’s 65-year-old manager, Kim Hak-beom, has certainly been around the block. Born in Gangwon province, the colorful character has managed his home club, plus Seongnam, Gwangju, Korea U23, and now Jeju. There was even a sojourn to China. He brought success to Seongnam, and was once named Manager of the Year 20 years ago. Kim made the news on Saturday for these heavily criticized comments.“The overall standard of the K League is declining, and the biggest reason is that the average quality of foreign players is low. Every team is looking for cheap but good players, but such players are not easy to find.” Sunday night’s headline match was lit up by the quality of the foreign players on show. Matheus Oliveira has endured an indifferent season, but he is back to his absolute best. His assist for Thomas Oude Kotte’s opener was ridiculously sublime. The vision and the weight of the pass were perfect. Other worldly. Matheus played a key role in the second, too. Again, his vision, timing, and pace of a through ball set Yago free on Seoul’s goal. Only an exceptional nudge from Yazan prevented the Brazilian from connecting properly, but it did not matter. Prolific striker Mota finished the job. This isn’t intended to be a them-versus-us argument, even if Kim inadvertently turned into one. The K League is full of outstanding local talent. Have we ever seen more domestic players moving to Europe? Yet the standard is low? Kim’s assertion that the league’s standard has diminished due to the lack of good foreigners is a cheap take.
Thomas Oude Kotte celebrates his third-minute opener in Seoul.
3. What will it mean if relegation follows?
Sunday’s win effectively ended the slim chance Anyang would finish bottom and go down automatically. Daegu are 14 points behind with games running out. More importantly, the Violets took advantage of a good Saturday by winning in the capital and climbing out of the relegation zone altogether. What’s crazy is defending champions Ulsan HD are just one point and one place above Anyang. Who would have guessed that going into September, Anyang would have more wins and exactly the same goals scored/conceded record as the club that represented K League in the FIFA World Club Cup? When the league resumes, Jeju will visit Anyang. A relegation six-pointer. So, following the events in Sangam, the odds on Anyang going down have widened. They won’t finish 12th, and manager Ryu will fancy beating whoever his side meets in the play-offs. But should they go down, will Sunday’s win be rendered meaningless? Not at all. They were, let’s not forget, only promoted last winter for the first time. Winning in Seoul will always be a momentous result, and that’s before we even consider the history.
4. What’s next for the Violets?
The simple answer is nothing. For now. The players will enjoy a small break before returning to training in preparation for the climax of the season. Ryu won’t have any disruption to deal with because his players avoided international call-ups. Tired legs get a rest. Broken bones can heal. Muscles can relax. Jeju’s visit on Sunday, September 14, is the start of their final six fixtures before K League splits. As far as a run-in goes, this isn’t too bad. Three are at home (Jeju, Gwangju, and Gimcheon) with Ulsan (8th) and Gangwon (7th) on the road. There are no easy games in K League 1. Yet not losing to Jeju is crucial. If Anyang can win that, plus one more (Gangwon, say), and pick up one or two draws, it’ll be a very healthy total before the split. Jeju, meanwhile, play the top two and their closest relegation rivals, Anyang and Suwon FC. Suwon, meanwhile, travel to Jeonbuk and host Seoul, whom they rarely beat. Time for Anyang to hit the accelerator.
This is a topic few associated with the club are willing to discuss. Despite really good investment in the team, the club, and the stadium from the local city hall and FC Anyang, there is growing frustration that the new stadium project might be shelved permanently. To play advocate for the devil, it isn’t difficult to see why the local council is reluctant to ask residents to foot the bill. Anyang have a stadium already. It has floodlights, two screens, a new store, and three temporary stands to maximize the viewing experience at a stadium with a running track. Anyang Stadium is definitely showing its age (it opened in 1986), but a huge effort has gone into cleaning it up. However, it isn’t a football stadium, and despite the work done,pig and lipstick come to mind. Away fans don’t enjoy the experience in the original structure. Obstructed views owing to the pitch-side temporary stands are inevitable. And those temporary stands just aren’t ideal for watching live football. Of the 12 K League 1 clubs, Anyang are ranked 7th for average attendance (7,645). Their biggest crowd of 2025 is 13,579, just a few hundred shy of Pohang Steelers’ season high. Massive redevelopment next to the stadium has been completed or is currently underway, as the city’s population nudges towards 600,000 residents. A football-specific stadium with a capacity of 12,000 (like Daegu) would be ideal.
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