History of the club
The original logo of Groove FC
Seoul Fever FC were founded as Groove FC in 2011 in Seoul, South Korea by Patrick Graham and Robert McGovern, both of whom were looking to form new clubs and when one another was informed of this, they merged to form Groove FC. The name Groove FC came about due to sponsorship reasons.
Saturday 17th September 2011 will go down as an important day in the history of the club as this is when the first game took place. Without proper kits, and the majority of players having not met one another yet, Groove FC took to the field at Cheolsan to face Hongdae Shamrocks, now Yaletown Riot to play the first ever game in the clubs history. Almost instantly, without a minute on the clock, McGovern, who had assumed the role of club captain found his men down 1-0. Without 11 players on the pitch, Groove knew what was instore for them. As time went on, Groove managed to hold their own against a full strength Shamrock team and ended the first 30minutes 1-0 down having played most of that 30minutes with 8 men. As time went on, the more experienced team managed to put 8 past the new boys, with Groove managing one shot all game, an excellent half volley by Pusnik who rattled the crossbar, and almost went down in history to become the first ever goal scorer for Groove FC.
The second game for the new boys saw them get demolished 6-0 by Seohyeon Celtic, now of the first division. Groove had to wait until the next game before they scored the first ever goal in the history of the club with captain and co-founder, Robert McGovern calmly placing a deserved penalty into the bottom left corner. Groove managed 3 goals in that game, a game which saw them concede 7.
Groove finished the season on 4 points out of a possible 24, 1 of which came in a draw near the North Korean border, and the other 3 game from a game which MSFC forfeited, despite the scheduled game having taken place a few weeks in advance, only for stormy conditions forcing the match to be abandoned. As rescheduling was not an option for MSFC at the time, the forfeit gifted Groove with their 'first' ever win.
Saturday 17th September 2011 will go down as an important day in the history of the club as this is when the first game took place. Without proper kits, and the majority of players having not met one another yet, Groove FC took to the field at Cheolsan to face Hongdae Shamrocks, now Yaletown Riot to play the first ever game in the clubs history. Almost instantly, without a minute on the clock, McGovern, who had assumed the role of club captain found his men down 1-0. Without 11 players on the pitch, Groove knew what was instore for them. As time went on, Groove managed to hold their own against a full strength Shamrock team and ended the first 30minutes 1-0 down having played most of that 30minutes with 8 men. As time went on, the more experienced team managed to put 8 past the new boys, with Groove managing one shot all game, an excellent half volley by Pusnik who rattled the crossbar, and almost went down in history to become the first ever goal scorer for Groove FC.
The second game for the new boys saw them get demolished 6-0 by Seohyeon Celtic, now of the first division. Groove had to wait until the next game before they scored the first ever goal in the history of the club with captain and co-founder, Robert McGovern calmly placing a deserved penalty into the bottom left corner. Groove managed 3 goals in that game, a game which saw them concede 7.
Groove finished the season on 4 points out of a possible 24, 1 of which came in a draw near the North Korean border, and the other 3 game from a game which MSFC forfeited, despite the scheduled game having taken place a few weeks in advance, only for stormy conditions forcing the match to be abandoned. As rescheduling was not an option for MSFC at the time, the forfeit gifted Groove with their 'first' ever win.
Above: Early footage from the Groove FC days vs Seohyeon Celtic, a game to forget (Thanks to Andrew Ritchie, benchwarmer, for the footage)
That first ever win did come the following season in the first game vs one of the first teams to ever play in the Seoul Saturday Soccer League, the Kimchi Kickers. The encounter saw a new look and stronger Groove scrape a narrow 2-1 victory versus the Germans.
The second season in the history of the club was mixed, and a lot of misfortune saw the ever strengthening Groove show glimpses of what capabilities the club had. The season almost finished on a high note as Groove managed to qualify from the group stages of the league cup only to lost 3-0 in the semi final vs the team who went on to win the league and cup double that season, Uzbek FC.
The end of the season saw Dennis Byrne appointed as manager of the club, with Filip Pusnik, having taken oveR as club captain and still present Patrick Graham deciding that this was a necessity if the club was to advance and reach the pinnacles that they are more than capable of reaching.
As the sponsorship with Groove had ceased, a name change was the first priority for the Autumn 2012 season. In June 2012, Seoul Fever was born and history is waiting to be made...
The second season in the history of the club was mixed, and a lot of misfortune saw the ever strengthening Groove show glimpses of what capabilities the club had. The season almost finished on a high note as Groove managed to qualify from the group stages of the league cup only to lost 3-0 in the semi final vs the team who went on to win the league and cup double that season, Uzbek FC.
The end of the season saw Dennis Byrne appointed as manager of the club, with Filip Pusnik, having taken oveR as club captain and still present Patrick Graham deciding that this was a necessity if the club was to advance and reach the pinnacles that they are more than capable of reaching.
As the sponsorship with Groove had ceased, a name change was the first priority for the Autumn 2012 season. In June 2012, Seoul Fever was born and history is waiting to be made...
Groove FC at the Spring/Summer 2012 League Cup Semi Finals
Top (L to R): Greg Cross, Tim McCormack, Matt Silva, Sebastian Auger, Filip Pusnik, Patrick Graham, Claude D'Souza, Levente Pallos
Bottom (L to R): Michael Roberts, Andrew Ritchie, Daniel Argueta, Adam Lim, Stephen Kilroy, Kevin Kim, Nicolas Ouelette
SSSL All Time Records
Biggest Win:
Seoul Fever FC ( As Groove FC) 10-1 CIS Bulkers Seoul Fever FC 10 - 1 Uzbek FC Biggest Defeat: Yaletown Riot (As Hongdae Shamrocks) 8-0 Seoul Fever (As Groove FC) Most Goals in a Game: Alex Rowe, 5 vs SV Wanoo's First Ever Hat Trick: James Merritt vs CIS Bulkers All Time Top Scorers: Filip Pusnik - 21 Alex Rowe - 18 Pallos Levente - 13 |
Season Top Scorers:
Spring 2013: Alex Rowe 16 Autumn 2012: Filip Pusnik, Emile De Vos & Pallos Levente (4) Spring 2012: Filip Pusnik & James Merritt (6) Autumn 2011: Claude D'Souza & Maxwell Coll (2) 100th Goal Scored: Filip Pusnik (vs INT's) First Ever Clean Sheet: Andrew Ritchie vs Kimchi Kickers Most Appearances: Filip Pusnik - 47 |
Player of the Season:
Spring 2012: Jae Min Kim
Autumn 2012: Gareth Fannin
Spring 2013: Simon Williamson
Players Player of the Season:
Autumn 2012: Gareth Fannin
Spring 2013: Alex Rowe
Honours:
Seoul Saturday Soccer League 3rd Place, Autumn 2012
Seoul Saturday Soccer League 3rd Place, Spring 2013
League Top Goalscorer Spring 2013, Alex Rowe (16 Goals)
Spring 2012: Jae Min Kim
Autumn 2012: Gareth Fannin
Spring 2013: Simon Williamson
Players Player of the Season:
Autumn 2012: Gareth Fannin
Spring 2013: Alex Rowe
Honours:
Seoul Saturday Soccer League 3rd Place, Autumn 2012
Seoul Saturday Soccer League 3rd Place, Spring 2013
League Top Goalscorer Spring 2013, Alex Rowe (16 Goals)
The following nationalities have played for Seoul Fever.