‘There is no other guest like him’
Incheon United’s returning foreign striker Mugosa, 31, is dubbed a “living legend” among Incheon fans. He was warmly welcomed back to the club last summer after a buyout transfer to Vissel Kobe in Japan’s J1 League, where he failed to make it out of the survival race.
The reason why Incheon fans welcome Mugosa so much is because they believe he will be an “eternal Incheon man”. Mugosa expressed his “infinite love” for Incheon when he left a year ago and again when he returned. “When I was about to say goodbye to Vissel Kobe, I only thought of Incheon as a place to return to,” he said, “Incheon is like a family away from the club,” and “I want to retire in Incheon.”
In fact, Mugosa was reportedly offered a much better deal by another club in Korea, but he chose to stay with his beloved Incheon, even at the cost of sacrifice. In the cold professional world, such “Incheon wishes” from foreign players are unique.
Mugosa’s “infinite love for Incheon” was the biggest factor in his decision to return to Incheon, but there is an unsung hero who made it happen. He is the president of Incheon FC, Lee Jae-soo (61). There is a behind-the-scenes anecdote that made him put a “seal of approval” on Mugosa’s love for Incheon.
Lee made a surprise visit to Mugosa’s hometown in Montenegro on December 4 (local time) last year, during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It was the day of Mugosa’s “late” wedding. Mugosa has been a family man since he first joined Incheon in 2018. He and his wife, Nevena, had a daughter, Lucia (3), and a son, Stevan (1), during his time in Incheon, but had put off a formal wedding. When Mugosa was playing for Incheon, Jeon once said to him, “If you want to get married later, I’ll take care of you.” It was a “greeting,” and no one expected him to take care of a player who had already left for another team overseas.
However, Jeon flew to Montenegro, where a World Cup observation team of representatives from K League clubs had been organized and was scheduled to cheer for the Taeguk Warriors on the field in Qatar. After completing the observation mission, Jeon decided to attend Mugosa’s wedding in Qatar. He hopped on a flight to Montenegro via Turkiye. 메이저놀이터
From South Korea to Qatar, he traveled to Turkiye, and then to Mugosa’s hometown in Montenegro. Mugosa was “blown away” by his former club’s surprise congratulatory visit. “Oh my God,” Mugosa said, because he never expected his former teammate to travel all the way to Montenegro, even if he had said so. Still, Mugosa was grateful for the club’s consideration when his father passed away in 2021. It seems that the loyalty of the former CEO, who had already left the team, made him decide that Incheon was the only place for him.
An Incheon club official said, “He made a promise, so he did it to keep his promise. Mugosa gave Incheon soccer fans a lot of joy, and it was a good thing for the club.