Son Heung-min Was Just Beginning
Manchester City Football Club (Manchester City) and Atlético de Madrid (Atletico Madrid) are to visit Korea in July to participate in the Coupang Play Series. Manchester City and Atletico Madrid are iconic teams of the Premier League and La Liga, respectively. Coupang Play is expected to continue the success of last year’s Coupang Play Series and deliver an unforgettable experience to football fans again this year.
Coupang Play Series is a sporting event organized, hosted, and streamed by Coupang Play. In the previous year, Tottenham Hotspur, led by Son Heung-min, visited Korea, and played against Team K-League and Sevilla FC to the delight of football fans. The Coupang Play Series served as an important momentum which highlighted Coupang Play’s leadership in sports, enhancing anticipation of its next move.
Head of Coupang Play Stephen Kim said, “Football fans and our customers showed us so much love when Son Heung-min and Tottenham Hotspur visited last year,” adding, “With the great teams that are visiting this year, I very much look forward to touching the hearts of our customers once again.”
With Pep Guardiola as the manager since 2016, Manchester City has experienced a successful period, winning four Premier League titles.
The club boasts several world-class players, such as Kevin De Bruyne, one of the Premier League’s top midfielders, Erling Haaland, a highly regarded striker, Jack Grealish, and Ruben Dias amongst other high-profile talents. This marks the club’s only second visit to Korea following that previously made in 1976 for three off season fixtures.
Esteve Calzada, Chief Commercial Officer at City Football Group, said: “We are excited to announce this preseason fixture in Seoul, South Korea as part of our Asia tour this summer. Manchester City has a strong relationship with South Korea, with a number of strategic and long-term partners from the country and a passionate, ever growing fanbase. It has been almost 50 years since we first played in Seoul as a club and we can’t wait to bring today’s generation of players to fans in the country.”
Atletico Madrid is a highly competitive club that represents La Liga having won 11 La Liga titles, 10 Copa del Rey titles, and 3 UEFA Europa League titles. The club’s success is attributed to the leadership of Argentine coach Diego Simeone, who took over in 2011 and implemented a strategy based on solid defense and high activity, leading the club to win several trophies.
Atletico Madrid consists of players who are well-known among Korean football fans, including Antoine Griezmann, Memphis Depay, as well as Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Correa, and Nahuel Molina, who won the World Cup 2022 as part of the Argentina national football team. Additionally, Sergio Reguilon and Matt Doherty, who played with Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur, are also recognizable names to the fans. This is the club’s first visit to Korea since its foundation in 1903.
Andoni Moreno, Commercial Director of Atlético de Madrid said: "For our club, traveling to Seoul and competing in the Coupang Play Series is a great honor and a magnificent opportunity for the preparation of our new season. We are thrilled to visit South Korea for the first time this July. This announcement strengthens our ties with a country where we have very relevant commercial partners and reinforces our international expansion strategy in Asia. We are looking forward to Korean fans being able to enjoy Atlético de Madrid live."
Further information regarding Coupang Play Series including ticket sales and match schedules will be announced in the coming days via Coupang Play’s official website (www.coupangplay.com/promotion/coupangplayseries) and the Coupang Play app following related approval from the Korea Football Association. With the attention of football fans being focused on what will be announced next, Coupang Play delivered a surprise earlier today when it revealed a teaser video on its official YouTube channel which includes greeting messages from Manchester City players as well as a heads-up of that from Atletico Madrid players expected to be soon unveiled. Within minutes of the video being uploaded, fans are already sending their messages of joy and excitement via comments such as ‘Coupang does it again!’, ‘I can’t stop watching Kevin De Bruyne speak Korean’, and ‘don’t keep me waiting on ATM!’.