City benched Elling Holland and took off his cleats.
Manchester City played the second leg of the Coupang Play Series against Atletico Madrid at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 30th. The result was a 1-2 loss for City. The European champions finished their preseason schedule without a win over the Spanish giants.
The highly anticipated Holland got the start. Holland had several shots on goal in the first half, but they were blocked by goalkeeper Jan Oblak and the Atletico defense. In the 10th minute of the second half, he was replaced by James McCarty and returned to the bench. As Holland was subbed off, he greeted the Korean fans with open arms.
Holland was not allowed to sit on the covered bench allocated to the City squad. He watched the rest of the game from an extra chair next to it. The other players were seated on the bench. Because City’s squad was larger than the official match size, Holland and some staff sat in makeshift chairs.
As soon as Holland sat down, an equipment staff member approached him. The staff member handed him a pair of white slippers and instructed him to remove his soccer shoes. Holland took off his soccer cleats, handed them to the staff member, and put on the slippers.
A few moments later, he removed his light blue Man City jersey and changed into a blue training shirt. He didn’t hand the jersey to a staff member, but kept it for himself. The broadcast cameras showed Holland in a makeshift chair, and the crowd of 64,185 roared as he appeared on the scoreboard. Holland looked at the camera and waved.
When the final whistle blew, Holland strutted off the field. After a brief exchange of pleasantries with his City teammates and Atletico opponents, he circled the field alone to greet the Korean fans. He passed in front of the North Stand (N) and walked towards the South Stand (S).
Here, the flag of Holland’s native Norway fluttered. Holland lightly jumped over the LED billboard behind the goal. He then tossed the light blue jersey he was holding in his hand. He didn’t give it to the fan who brought the Norwegian flag; he gave his own jersey to the crowd behind him. 메이저놀이터
On the way back to the locker room, he stripped down to his blue training suit. He then threw it to the fans behind the bench who were chanting his name. Holland walked off the field topless and bare-chested.
Holland was not interviewed by local or international media before boarding the City bus. The game was delayed 40 minutes due to localized heavy rain. City, who were due to fly back to England that night, apologized and left the stadium without a press conference or interviews.