The team changed, but Osmar stayed in Seoul. In the 2024 season, Osmar will face Suwon Samseong, his longtime rival.
We recently caught up with Osmar at the 2024 winter training media camp at a hotel in Seogwipo, Jeju Island. FC Seoul’s foreign legend will be wearing the jersey of Seoul Eland FC this season. The jersey is different, but the connection is the same: Seoul.
“I’m very happy to be here,” says Osmar. I’ve been playing in Seoul for a long time and now I’m here. The club has given me a good performance and goals, and as you can see, they have brought in a lot of good players. I’m happy to play for a team like this,” he said, and began the interview with his thoughts on joining Seoul Eland.
Osmar’s move to Seoul Eland was a complicated one. After his contract with FC Seoul ended and he did not re-sign with the club, he became a free agent, and it was initially thought that his destination would be Malaysia’s Kedah Darul Aman rather than Seoul Eland.
At the time, Osmar was greeted by many FC Seoul fans at Incheon International Airport as he left South Korea. There were tears in the eyes of FC Seoul fans and Osmar himself as he said goodbye to a legend who had dedicated himself to the team for so many years.
However, news later broke that Osmar had signed a contract with Seoul Eland, and he soon returned to Seoul. Interestingly, FC Seoul’s home stadium, Seoul World Cup Stadium, and Seoul Eland’s home stadium, Mokdong Sports Complex in Anbang, are only about a 10-minute drive away.
“I couldn’t accept the idea of leaving Korea either, but that quickly changed. Seoul Eland contacted me, and I was so happy to hear from them because I didn’t want to leave Korea. My family was happy, especially my children. We went through a short period of sadness, and then we felt joy again. It was a lot of emotions in a short period of time,” he said, adding that he was happy to stay in Korea.
Now he wants to retire in Korea. “I wanted to retire with FC Seoul, but it didn’t work out. I want to retire in Korea, my family is happy, and I want to see myself retire here,” he said, showing his affection for the country.
He also talked about how many of his teammates and fans contacted him when he announced his departure from Korea. Even fans of rival Suwon Samsung reached out to him to let him know they didn’t want him to leave.
“It wasn’t just my teammates,” he says, “but people I met during my coaching certification. Players from other teams and fans contacted me. One fan sent me a message saying, ‘I’m a Suwon fan, but I like you, and we don’t want you to leave,’ and that made me feel good.”
Osmar, who has played exclusively in the K League 1 throughout his career, is now preparing to make his K League 2 debut for the first time in his career. When asked if he’s watched any K League 2 matches or heard anything about the league, Osmar said he’s not sure yet, but he’s looking forward to it.
“The season hasn’t started yet, so I don’t know the level of the league. But I know there are strong teams like Busan IPark and Suwon Samsung. I’ve seen the new players in 메이저사이트 the team, and I’ve had a good feeling during training. I don’t know much about the league yet, but I have high expectations for the level of the league,” he said.
There was talk of Suwon Samsung. Osmar is a foreigner, but he experienced so many super matches while playing for FC Seoul that he has the rivalry tattooed on his body. Although he can no longer use the title of supermatch since he left FC Seoul, Osmar will still face Suwon in the league this year.
Osmar tries to prepare for the Suwon Samsung match through the eyes of Seoul Eland. Seoul Eland and Suwon Samsung don’t have a traditional rivalry like FC Seoul’s relationship with Suwon Samsung, but they’re rivals who are likely to compete for promotion this season.
“We are making history here, and there could be a New Super Match,” says Osmar. It won’t be a Super Match, but Suwon Samsung is coming off a strong win. We have to show what we want to achieve at the end of the season. In that sense, Suwon Samsung is a good opponent to test ourselves,” he concluded.
Finally, we asked him how he would like to be remembered by Suwon fans. “I want them to know that I am still a high-level player, and we have to show that we are a team that wants to be promoted. I’m still playing at a high level. I don’t want people to think I’m on the verge of retirement.”