Korean K.League Soccer News 2 - November 2003

John Duerden reports on a disappointing end to the K. League season

And so it ends, probably to the relief of just about everybody. The margin was 17 points. The title race that never was sees Seongnam Ilhwa crowned as Korean Champions for the third consecutive season.

Was the season as boring as it sounds? Well, probably yes, and this is reflected in the fact that the 2003 season saw total attendances fall from 2.65 million in the previous season to 2.4 million. The fact remains that at the moment, Koreans are not in the habit of watching domestic games Šlive.Æ Even KoreaÆs success during the World Cup and the unprecedented enthusiasm it generated was never seriously translated to the domestic game.

The quest for the ŠGolden BootÆ turned out to be more interesting. The veteran striker, Kim Do-hoon, guilty of a couple of misses against Bulgaria for the national team, eventually won with a record-breaking 28 goals from 40 matches. SeongnamÆs striker is not just a finisher but can provide too, with 13 assists during the season, the second highest.

His two Brazilian rivals will have to manage with the silver and bronze version. Dodo, second-placed UlsanÆs star striker netted an impressive 27 goals as did Magno Alves who was banging them in left, right and probably centre for the fourth-placed, Chonbuk Motors.

The success of the joint runners-up is encouraging for next season. If players like Dodo and Alaves can maintain their scoring exploits and are supported with greater consistency from their respective teams, a challenge to Seongnam could be on the cards. The also-rans in the K-League claim that the reason for SeongnamÆs success is its wealth. Money helps but consistency is the key. This is the quality that the Champions have and its rivals lack.

This is certainly true of Suwon Bluewings. The two-times winners finished third. The Samsung backed team will be disappointed as will Lee Woon-jae, the national goalkeeper and hero of the 2002 World Cup. The shot-stopper, who Ray Clemence hailed as one of the best in the world, has suffered from a loss of form both for Suwon and Korea. The former Asian Club Champions have a Brazilian striker of their own in Nadson, and if he can emulate the goal scoring exploits of his compatriots next season then Suwon could be in with a shout.

The followers of Busan Icons have not had much to shout about lately. Most of that has been done by Ian Porterfield. The former boss of Chelsea has not found it easy settling in KoreaÆs second city. However, Andy Cooke has found life on the south coast a little more agreeable. The former Stoke and Burnley striker netted 13 goals in just 22 games, which has whetted the appetites of the Busan faithful who can be a little more optimistic about next season, especially as the manager has promised more new faces. Certainly, they will be aiming to finish higher than ninth though the recent FA cup defeat at the hands of Konkuk University does not augur well.

Daejeon Citizens overcame the loss of Magno Alaves to finish in the top six for the first time. Based in the city that is KoreaÆs rail hub, the Citizens seem to be on the right track and have tried to forge close ties with the local community and have seen attendances rise this season.

The same cannot be said of the bottom two, Deagu and SK Bucheon. Deagu, KoreaÆs third largest city is famous for apples, beautiful girls, conservatism and for producing military dictators. Maybe one day its football club will be added to this list but it will have to finish higher than a disappointing eleventh to do so. Still, it managed 16 more points than Bucheon, who face the ignominy of being dropped by communications giant SK. The corporation has problems of its own with the CEO recently arrested for manipulating sales figures so this could prove a blessing in disguise for the wooden spoon holders.

Pohang, Chunnam, Anyang and military team Sangmu all had mediocre seasons. In fact the whole season was a mediocre one. There will need to be some smart wheeling and dealing over the winter months for Seongnam to face a real challenge.

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