(Xinhua) – The Incheon Football Stadium fell silent for a moment to honor the late coach Yoo Sang-cheol.

Incheon United drew 1-1 with 토토사이트 FC Seoul in the 17th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 ‘Gyeongin Derby’ at the Incheon Football Stadium on July 7.

In addition to being the second ‘Gyeongin Derby’ of the season between Incheon and Seoul, the match had a special significance as it marked the second anniversary of former Incheon coach Yoo Sang-cheol, who passed away on June 7, 2021. During the first cycle, there were no home games for Incheon due to the A-Match.

Yoo became the first player in Korean soccer history to score goals in two consecutive World Cups. After scoring the game-winner against Belgium at the 1998 World Cup in France, he was at the center of South Korea’s 2-0 victory over Poland in the first match of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, scoring a cool right-footed wedge goal to give South Korea its first ever World Cup victory.

Yoo began his coaching career in 2009, and in 2019, he took over the reins of Incheon, the last club he played for as a soccer player.

Yoo took over as Incheon manager in May 2019 and rescued the team from relegation and secured their stay in the league. However, in October of that year, Yoo was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and stepped down from his position at the end of the season after confirming that the team would stay up. Incheon later honored Yoo as an honorary coach.

In 2021, Incheon also created and sold a memorial jersey in Yoo’s honor, with all proceeds going to his family. The team also honored Yoo at the second anniversary match.

Before kickoff, all fans from both Incheon and Seoul observed a moment of silence. Six minutes after the game started, the in-stadium announcer asked fans to stop cheering and pay their respects for one minute.

This was in honor of Yoo’s number 6, which he wore during his playing career, and fans expressed their respect for him by clapping silently.