Suwon Samsung 'relegated to first division' in 28 seasons...football fame falls apart

Suwon Samsung, a "soccer powerhouse," ended the season with the worst result in its history, being relegated to the second division for the first time in its history.

Suwon Samsung drew 0-0 at home against Gangwon FC in the final 38th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Gyeonggi Province at 2 p.m. on the 2nd.

At the same time, Suwon FC drew 1-1 with Jeju United in a match played at the Suwon Sports Complex, finalizing the relegation zone standings as 10th-ranked Gangwon FC (34 points), 11th-ranked Suwon FC (33 points), and 12th-ranked Suwon Samsung (33 points-last place). Suwon Samsung (35 goals) finished behind Suwon FC (44 goals) on goal difference, and 12th-place Suwon Samsung will be automatically relegated to the K League 2 next season. It is the first relegation in the club's 28 seasons of existence.

11th-ranked Suwon FC will play home-and-home promotion playoffs (PO) against second-place Busan I-Park on April 6 and 9, while 10th-ranked Gangwon will play a promotion PO against the winner of the K League PO (Gimpo FC or Gyeongnam FC) on the same day to decide whether to stay in K League 1. 온라인카지노 

As of Round 37, the standings are Gangwon 10th (33 points) - Suwon FC 11th (32 points) - Suwon Samsung 12th (last place - 32 points). With Suwon Samsung facing Gangwon in the league's final match in Round 38 and leading on goal difference (Suwon 35 goals - Gangwon 30 goals), all three teams in the relegation zone could be automatically relegated to the last place depending on the outcome of the final match. The 10th-place finisher in K League 1 will play the winner of the K League 2 playoffs, the 11th-place finisher in K League 1 will play the second-place finisher in K League 2 in a relegation playoff for the last chance to stay up, but the 12th-place finisher will be automatically relegated to K League 2 next season.

After an uneventful first half for both teams, Kangwon struck first, sending chills down Suwon's spine. In the 33rd minute, an alley-cross from the right side of the field was met by Gangwon midfielder Yoo In-su with a left-footed half-volley from the left side of the Suwon penalty box. However, despite falling down, Yoo took a second shot with his right foot, which went over the head of Suwon goalkeeper Yang Hyung-mo and hit the crossbar and rebounded back in. It was the most threatening scoring chance of the match so far.

Suwon FC conceded a goal to Jeju's Kim Gun-woong in the first five minutes of the second half, meaning that Suwon FC would be automatically relegated to the bottom of the table if the two games ended this way. However, Suwon FC's Lee Young-jae scored a left-footed free kick in the fifth minute of the second half to tie the game at 1-1. At this point, the automatic relegation bomb was in Suwon Samsung's hands.

In the end, both stadiums drew 1-1 and Suwon became the final automatic relegation team. Just like that, the four-time K League 1 champions and five-time FA Cup winners fell apart.