Seoul E-Land's Osmar is going all-out in extra time of storied K League career

Seoul E-Land footballer Osmar [SEOUL E-LAND]

 
The K League can be a tough nut for foreign players to crack, considered among the most demanding in Asia in terms of physical battles and match tempo.
 
There have been countless cases of players who came in thinking they could take it lightly, only to leave without lasting even a season. Even those who endure the early struggles and adjust to the playing style often end up leaving because they cannot get used to Korean culture. That is why it is rare to find a foreign player who can be called a veteran in the K League.
 

Related Article

• K League champion's new coach calls for year 1 title win

• New K League season kicks off on weekend with Jeonbuk seeking repeat

• Put on your kit, get fit: K League to host 10K run

• New K League 1 season to kick off Feb. 28

Yet there is a foreign player entering his 12th season in the league. Spanish defender Osmar Ibáñez Barba, 38, plays for Seoul E-Land FC in K League 2.
 
The club was founded ahead of the 2015 season and joined K League 2 that year, a year after Osmar made his K League 1 debut wearing an FC Seoul kit.
 
Excluding a loan spell at Japan’s Cerezo Osaka in 2018, Osmar spent nine seasons with Seoul before leaving the club and joining Seoul E-Land in 2024. He has made 350 appearances in the K League, the second-most by a foreign player in league history.
 
“I feel like it was only yesterday that I was chasing after the Korean players, calling them hyung [older brother],” Osmar said while giving an interview in Spanish at Seoul E-Land’s training ground in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi, on Thursday.
 
“Then I come to my senses and realize they had all retired. When I see Cha Du-ri, a former teammate from my days at Seoul, sitting on the opposing bench as head coach of Hwaseong FC in K League 2, I think, ‘Time really flies.’ I even made my K League debut before this club was founded, so I really have been around a long time.”
 
In fact, Osmar's contract with Seoul E-Land ended after last season. Standing at a crossroads between continuing his career and retiring, he decided after much deliberation to sign a one-year extension. The decision was tied to a long-held goal shared by both the club and the player.
 

FC Seoul's Osmar, left, celebrates with Kim Jin-ya after scoring a goal against Gwangju FC at Gwangju Football Stadium in Gwangju in a photo shared on FC Seoul's official Facebook page in March 2023. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Since entering K League 2 in 2015, Seoul E-Land has spent the past 12 years pushing relentlessly for promotion to the top flight, and that was the reason the club brought in an experienced player like Osmar in the first place. With his arrival, Seoul E-Land’s performance noticeably improved. 
 
In 2024, the club finished third in the regular season, its best result ever, and last season it placed fourth, reaching the K League 2 playoffs in back-to-back years.
 
But each time, it fell at the doorstep of K League 1. In 2024, Seoul E-Land lost to Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the promotion-relegation playoffs, the final hurdle to the top division, and last season, it was eliminated in the K League 2 playoffs.
 
“Leaving like this wouldn’t have been respectful to my teammates and the fans,” Ibanez said. “And my pride wouldn’t allow it. With the chemistry we have built over time, we will win promotion this year.”
 
Osmar is a perfectionist. If he sees a player going through the motions in training, he barks in Korean, “Hey man, get your head straight.” He is even stricter with himself. He wakes up at 7 a.m. every day and sticks to nine hours of sleep. He has even cut out his favorite hamburgers, keeping to a healthy diet with every calorie counted.
 
“All day, I think only about how to become a better footballer,” he said. “Taking care of my body, the tool I use to play, is the bare minimum, and when that becomes hard to keep up, that’s when I should retire.”
 
Asked whether he has another goal beyond promotion this season, Osmar answered that he wants to play in every one of the team’s remaining 31 matches, starting with Round 2 on March 7 against Gyeongnam FC and running through the final Round 32. If he does, he will surpass Montenegrin striker Dejan Damjanovic, who made 380 K League appearances, and move to the top of the all-time list for foreign players.
 
Reflecting on the legacy he would like to leave, Osmar said, “I want Korean fans to remember me as the most diligent foreign player in the league’s history.”


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY PIH JU-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]