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Home|Football News|K. League News|2004|2006|2005 Season Preview
Korean K.League Soccer Season Preview 2005
John Duerden previews the 2005 K.League seasonThe 23rd K-League season is about to kick-off and as in any country around the world, hopes are high before the new season begins. There has been a decent amount of transfer activity over the past few months and now is the time for young and old players alike to impress in the last full season before the 2006 World Cup. The season is divided into two. Each of the thirteen teams play each other once in each stage, with the winners of the first and second stage qualifying for the end of season play-offs. They are joined by the two teams who accumulate the most points over the whole season. The predictions are an indicator of how the teams may fare over the season as a whole.
K.League: TeamsBucheon FC
For fans situated between Incheon and Seoul, the last two seasons
have been a difficult time with memories of the championship in
1989 becoming increasingly hazy. There are signs however that the
team, after propping up the league in 2003 and 2004 may have turned
a corner. Despite a lack of financial support from struggling conglomerate,
SK, Guus Hiddink's former assistant has started to transform a team
that usually lost into one that usually ties. Such defensive stability
is the first step on the road to recovery for one of the league's
founder members. Busan I'Park
The team formerly known as Busan I'cons recently changed its name
to reflect the financial support of the construction company. Last
season there was a lack of goals on the south coast and it was no
surprise that Scottish boss Ian Porterfield
went shopping for front men. 
Chonbuk Motors - VIVA 2005
Any team that has the financial backing of Hyundai will always
be a threat but the K-League trophy has yet to make the trip south-west
to the city of Jeon-ju. 2004 was a mixed year in North Jeolla province
as the Motors started well and at one time looked to be on course
for a play-off place. A severe loss of form in the last quarter
of the season, stemming from a semi-final defeat in the AFC Champions
League, put paid to any hopes of the championship and the season
ended with a whimper. Not to be left behind in the race to sign
Brazilians, Neto and former youth international Antonio have been
brought in to lead the front-line and if one of the two can make
the same impact as their recently departed compatriot Emerson, then
a decent season awaits. 
Chunnam Dragons
The Dragon's touch, the hot touch! Is the team's motto
but the most southerly of the K-League's three south-western representatives
have, like their Chonbuk cousins made little impact on the competition
but similarly, the team has the potential to battle with the best. Daegu FC
The team is just entering its third season and the signs are that
progress is being made in South Korea's third city. A traumatic
first season was followed by a satisfactory second campaign and
Park Jung-hwan looks to have fashioned a team that can fix its sights
on a top half finish. The illogical decision to allow Nonato and
Feijao to depart could be a blow but a new pairing of Taigo and
Sandro looks to be one that could increase the already healthy number
of locals into the cavernous World Cup stadium. 
Daejeon Citizen
2004 was a season to forget in the scientific and transportation
center of South Korea after 2001's FA Cup victory and a sixth-place
finish the year after. Unlike some of its chaebol-supported rivals,
the Citizen belongs to the people of the city with funds harder
to come by, but has ties to the community that most other teams
can only dream of. 
Gwangju Samgmu
Joining the league for the second time in 2003, it is unlikely
that Gwangju will become the first club from the south-west to be
crowned champions, as the team is a military one. All the players
are undertaking their two-year long military service and when their
time is up, they return back to whence they came. Consequently,
the club can sign no players and loses half its squad every season,
making stability extremely difficult. 
Incheon United
The league’s newest member was established in a blaze of
publicity in 2004 with big-money signings and a high-profile coach.
The baptism really was one of fire as boss Werner Lorant soon returned
to Germany and expensive Turkish World Cup hero, Alpay, was to be
found in Japan before the first stage was finished. A bottom-placed
finish in the first stage was followed by an improved second half
of the season. Jang Woe-ryong was the man who performed wonders
but 2005 will still be a difficult one on the west coast. 
Pohang Steelers
Last season's runners-up have welcomed back Lee Dong-guk, the
national team striker who is in red hot form for his country. If
the ‘Lion King' can reproduce his scoring touch on the south-east
coast he make new coach Sergio Parias's job a good deal easier. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
2004 was a year to forget for the South Korean powerhouses in
their bid to lift the K-League trophy for a fourth consecutive year.
Only a charge to the Asian Football Confederation's Champions League
final gave fans on the edge of Seoul something to shout about though
that ended in a 5-0 home thrashing by Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad. FC Seoul
All eyes will be on the capital's team with the arrival of new
Korean superhero Park Chu-young, the 19-year-old signed from Korea
University. Park, who as well as attracting crowds wherever he goes,
also has the expectations of the nation on his young shoulders. 
Suwon Samsung Blue Wings
When trying to peer into the future and choose the 2005 team that
will lift the K-League trophy in December, it is difficult to look
past the defending champions, Suwon Samsung Bluewings. The 2004
triumph was the first for five years and the club has spent big
to ensure that its passionate fans won't have to wait for such a
long time again. 
Ulsan Hyundai Horangi
‘The Tigers' are the league's perennial bridesmaids with
only one title to show for numerous near-misses. 2004 was no exception
as the team from the south-east reached the play-offs only to be
defeated by champions Suwon. The return of two heroes of 2002 to
the industrial port should swell the attendance figures in the city's
World Cup Stadium as well as the team's chances to repeat the success
of 1996. 
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