Every fan in the stadium was excited by the smallest gesture from the Manchester City players.
City will face Atletico Madrid in the second leg of the Coupang Play Series at Seoul World Cup Stadium on October 30 at 8pm.
City arrived at Incheon International Airport at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. Thousands of fans gathered at Incheon Airport to welcome the 2022-23 European champions. After a day of rest, the squad trained at Reul Park in Mokdong, Seoul, on Monday to acclimate to the hot weather in South Korea.
All of City’s top players were on the roster. Alongside Kylian Mbappe, Elling Holland, who is considered the No. 1 candidate for the next Ballon d’Or, the squad includes key players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Lloris, Jubeng Dias and Jack Grealish. Kyle Walker, who last visited South Korea in 2017 with Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min, was back on South Korean soil for the first time in six years.
City’s opponent is Spanish giants Atletico. Atletico arrived in Korea earlier than Man City and have been playing a full schedule. On the 27th, they 안전놀이터 played Team K-League and lost 2-3 after a fierce offensive battle. In stoppage time, Lee Sun-min of Team K League scored a fantastic mid-range goal to hand Atletico the loss.
On the 29th, the team held an open training session. A press conference was held prior to the training session, which was attended by Pep Guardiola and ‘new boy’ Mateo Kovacic. Guardiola said: “I’m very happy to be on tour with the team. We will do what we have to do in tomorrow’s game. I’m very happy to be playing against a strong team. We’ll do our best,” said Guardiola, expressing his excitement for the game against Atletico.
Kovacic added: “I feel very good. I’m expecting a good game tomorrow and I’ll try to do what I’ve been doing so well,” Kovacic said.
After the press conference, training got underway. The City players utilized the entire stadium for training. Only Nathan Ake, who was injured, rehabilitated alone, while the rest of the players were busy following the instructions of Guardiola and the coaches.
Fans packed the stadium to see the players in action. Every seat, east, west, north and south, was covered in light blue. They cheered every time they got close to the City squad. Players like De Bruyne and Holland waved to the fans, who responded with enthusiastic cheers. Many fans, young and old, chanted the players’ names to show their delight. It was hot enough to stand still. The fans were even hotter than that. It was a realization of City’s popularity in Korea.