Thank you Osmar Ibáñez Barba
FC Seoul's first foreign captain bids farewell
Legend
344 appearances 25 goals and 12 assists over two spells at the capital club are the stats but Osmar’s influence at the club and within the league goes far beyond that. Arriving in the league in 2014 from Thai club Buriram United he went on to lift the both the league and FA Cup trophies in 2016 and 2015 respectively. That league win remains the club’s most recent trophy. His performances earned him a loan move to Cerezo Osaka in the J League before returning to FC Seoul in 2019 where he has been ever-present since. In his first season back he earned a selection in the K League All-stars side to face Juventus. Osmar showcased the talent in the league and opened the scoring with this rocket in an entertaining 3-3 draw.
K League 2023
Unfortunately, Osmar couldn’t help the side avoid an unprecedented 4 seasons in a row in the bottom half of the table, despite a strong start that had the club in 2nd for a large part of the early months of the season. Completing 35 appearances this season mostly in defence after the mid-season sale of Lee Han-beom; Osmar and centre back partner Kim Ju-seong rank high in pass completions and construction stats in the league. Osmar ranks second in the league for progressive passes with 351, top of the league on interceptions with 230 over the season and a pass accuracy of just over 90%. All of which goes to show that he was still at the top of his game and performing as one of the best in the league, which is why the news of him leaving came as a surprise to many.
The End
Internally it was expected that the club legend would extend his contract by a year but with a change in management and an unexpected offer from Kedah FC in Malaysia, the decision was made to cut ties and say their goodbyes. The club, FC Seoul fans and K League fans across the league will miss the Spanish matador but hope to see him return to the league in a coaching role in the future.
Leader
Osmar recently completed the AFC/KFA B-license in Seoul and is preparing for a career in coaching after his playing days. On the pitch and in training his leadership skills are clear. In FC Seoul training videos you can see him talking to young players trying to help their games. Below he instructs Kang Seong-jin (20) on receiving the ball and speaks about making an impact after an injury-hit campaign.
Personally
Osmar was my first every foray into football writing and the K League and played an important part in the journey of my work in the K League; here is the first interview I had with him in 2014
1. How does it feel to be the first spaniard to play in K League?
I'm very proud of it and I'm very excited too because of the new challenge I got. I'm very ambitious and demanding with myself and I wanna know where are my limits. I came to a perfect place to test myself.
2. How are you settling in at FC Seoul?
My settling in is very easy because of my team mates and all the staff. They are very kind with me so it's easier to get a good relationship
3. Did playing FC Seoul in the ACL last year, influence your decision to come here?
Yes, it did. When I saw how they play and what they got and how big the club was, it became something of a new challenge for me.
4. FC Seoul have lost their captain, and top scorer in the off-season, how do you rate the team'a chances for success this year?
They were an important players but we have to keep working without them and trust the players we have now and build a team as strong as possible to get success
5. It's a World Cup year so the league will take a two month break in May, will that affect league performance?
Perhaps, it's a long break for the league and I prefer to play all the season, but it can be good for the second leg of the season.
6. Do you think Spain will win And complete the the World Cup double?
I would like them to and I will suport them but I think it's gonna be more difficult than the last one because there are many strong teams like brazil playing at home, germany is one of the strongest, italy, argentina... Anyway I bet spain will be the winner (GERMANY won)
7. Who are your role models in the game?
My favourite player was Zidane and today I like players like Xavi, Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta.
8. What first attracted you to come play in Asia?
In Spain the football is getting worse and worse because of the money and also because there are some people out of the squads who has a lot of power and that means in some cases not the best player gets to play in a higher level, those are the reasons why many Spaniards are going abroad to play. For me Asia was an exotic challenge where I could keep learning and improving my skills.
9. Your former team have been drawn against K league pohang and Diego forlan's Cervezo Osaka, do you give them much chance to progress to the knockout?
My best wishes for my former team and hope to play against whenever as higher as possible in ACL because there is a special place for me
10. How do you rate your own team'a chances of going one better than last year and claiming AFC champs league glory?
This is one of the biggest teams in Asia so we have to work hard to keep that role. Although, it is gonna be very difficult because there are many good teams and many of them got stronger with new players so it’s gonna be a hard and beautiful to play because we are going to be tested in any game so that means we will have to concentrate in every game to climb to the top. Once again, new challenges are coming and as a footballers we have to face them up as better as we can
My all-time favorite FC Seoul player, just loved his technical ability and languid playing style. Just class. What do you think about his reported move to Seoul E-Land?