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Korean K.League Soccer News - Nov 26 2004

John Duerden reports on the K. League Play-offs

It's all over bar the play-offs and for the first time since 2000, the Korean champions will not be Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. After twenty-four games of the 2004 K-League season, four teams have an equal chance of becoming champions. Those four clubs are: first stage winners Pohang Steelers, second-stage champs, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and the two teams with the best overall points haul - Ulsan Hyundai Horangi and Chunnam Dragons.

On December 5th, Suwon will entertain Chunnam and Ulsan will make the short trip up the south-eastern coast to the Steelyard in Pohang. The winners of these one-legged games will meet in a two-legged final a week later.

The smart money seems to be on the second stage winners, Suwon. Cha Bum-keun's team have been steady rather than spectacular and possess the mean defence that will be necessary in the tense, upcoming games. The favourites do rely rather too much on Brazilian strike pairing Nadson and Marcel who scored two-thirds of the team's thirty-one goals during the season. Only eleven goals were scored in twenty-four games by the South Americans' team-mates and the Bluewings still topped the scoring charts, showing how few balls have hit the back of Korean nets in 2004.

There should be a bumper crowd at the city's World Cup Stadium for the visit of Chunnam. This season's meetings between the two teams have been close, Suwon triumphed 2-1 at home and managed a 2-2 draw during their visit to the south-west. Cha will make sure that his team know all about Chunnam's feisty Brazilian striker, Mota, the league's leading scorer this season with 14 goals in 21 games.

It was all fairly comfortable in the end for the Dragons. Mota's compatriot, midfieder Itamar scored to earn a point at Daegu and the Brazilian was the hero again in the last game against an understrength Seongnam, scoring the game's only goal. However the Asian Champions League finalists hardly tested their opponents with their minds and most of the squad already in Jeddah preparing for the first-leg against Saudi side Al Ittihad.

In the other game at the opposite end of the country, the Tigers and their second stage hot-shot, Carlos, will be grinning like Cheshire Cats at the prospect of facing the Steelers. The Brazilian striker scored the two goals that sank Bucheon and clinched the play-off spot for his team. Although Pohang almost doubled their second-stage goals total in the final game with a 3-2 victory over Gwangju, nine points from the twelve games is a sorry record and it will be tough for the first-stage champs to raise their game against an Ulsan side that will be looking to throw off their 'bridesmaids' tag in order to claim their first title since 1996 after a number of near misses.

After Ulsan had clinched the third available place a week before, the Dragons didn't have much competition for the last spot. FC Seoul had looked odds on to extend their season but three points and one goal from their last four games meant that the capital's new team ended up finishing the second stage in a disappointing seventh. Coach Cho Kwang-rae will know that his team didn't deserve to reach the play-offs, a mere seven wins and twenty goals in twenty-four games is not the stuff that champions should be made of.

Fellow contenders and the team that finished in fourth place of the overall table, just missing out on the play-offs, was Chonbuk Hyundai Motors. The Champions League semi-finalists failed to win in six of their last seven games and capped off the dismal run with a defeat at the hands of struggling Daejeon. Chonbuk's own Brazilian striker Edmilson, was crocked in the first game of the season by then Incheon player, Alpay, which was the only lasting impression the former Turkish international made in Korea. Without their South American talisman, the Korean FA Cup holders couldn't find the goals necessary to shoot their way out of their slump, even with the addition of former German international hitman, Paolo Rink.

None of the four teams in the play-offs have looked totally convincing throughout the season but Ulsan and Suwon look to be the two teams that are in the best form. If the games follow the course set by the regular season they will be tense affairs with few goals but it could just happen that an interesting but low-key 2004 campaign could go out with a bang.

John Duerden

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