Korean K.League Soccer Season Review 2004

John Duerden reviews the 2004 K.League season's 1st stage

Less than a week after the Pohang Steel Company (POSCO) was named as the most competitive steel company in the world for the third year running, the team the company finances, Pohang Steelers, proved itself to be the most competitive K-League team in the 2004 season's first stage.

On Sunday June 27th, the Steelers clinched the first stage 'title' with a 1-1 draw with Gwangju in front of their delirious home fans at the Steelyard. The team can rest, assured that they have also clinched a place in the championship play-offs in November that will be contested between the winners of the two stages and the two teams with the highest points total over the two stages.

This was neither a marathon nor a sprint although Choi Soon-ho's team did stumble over the finishing line with three draws in the last three games, two of them at home. However the team deserves the title as they have led the league ever since the beginning and never relinquished top spot, despite threats from Ulsan Horangi, Chunnam Dragons and especially Chonbuk Motors.

The Motors, the FA cup holders, managed to manoeuvre themselves into positions to overtake the leaders but always found that the tank was dry when they put the foot on the pedal. Chonbuk will look back at a defeat at the hands of Gwangju in the penultimate game, which, if they had won, would have delivered the title.

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1st - Pohang Steelers

The Champions. The Steelers faltered in the second half of the first stage but had already done enough to finish first. Young coach, Choi Soon-ho, will be delighted with his team who proved resilient and hard to beat. This spirit was on display on the last but one game, away to Chunnam. Pohang's hitherto miserly defence had conceded two first half goals to the league's top scorer, the Brazilian Mota, and Pohang's supporters were facing the fact that they could lose everything at the end after leading for so long. Up popped Mota's compatriot, striker Andrezinho, to score the two goals for the leaders to earn a point and keep the team in the driving seat.

Stadium
The Steelyard (20,242)

2nd – Chonbuk Hyundai

Hopes were high for this team from South-western Korea especially after winning the FA Cup and then the Super Cup. The Motors started sluggishly and let themselves down just when they started to look like they could catch the Steelers, especially after being the only team to defeat the first stage champions. Losing star striker, the Brazilian Edmilson, to injury at the beginning of the season was a blow for the Motors.

Still, the citizens of Jeonju, Chonbuk's home city will be delighted with a second-placed finish and an appearance in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League, commencing in September. En route, Chonbuk impressively finished above Japan's Jubilo Iwata and have earned themselves a tie against reigning champs, Al Aid of the United Arab Emirates, coached by Bruno Metsu, who snubbed the KFA and their offer for the national job.

Stadium
Jeonju World Cup Stadium (43,348)

3rd-Ulsan Hyundai Horangi

Last year's runners-up had to be content with third place this time, losing out to Chonbuk on goal difference. Again the Tigers were there or thereabouts but don't yet have the killer touch to move up to the next level. Last year, Brazilan striker Dodo scored 27 goals but has yet to fire on all cylinders with a relatively disappointing four goals in the first stage. The Brazilian must take the prize of 'Goal of the first stage', however, with an amazing strike from inside his own half against Chunnam Dragons in the second game of the season.

It seems that if Dodo doesn't score then his team-mates don't either. A total of 11 goals in 12 games is not good enough to win the league. More goals will be needed in the second stage where Ulsan will be looking to collect enough points to win it or qualify for one of the other two play-off positions, by virtue of total points collected over the two stages.

Stadium
Ulsan World Cup Stadium (44,466)

4th-Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Kim Dong-hyeon's last minute winner in the thrilling 3-2 victory over bottom-placed Incheon United, not only sent Suwon's passionate supporters into raptures but also sent the team above Seoul into fourth place. Despite the celebrations at the final whistle, Korean legend, coach, Cha Bum-keun will be disappointed with the first stage, as many in this city just south of Seoul believed that 2004 would see a return to former glories, such as winning the Asian Champions League in 2000 and 2001.

The Bluewings flew off the perch slowly and were in the bottom half of the table until the closing stages of the league. Fortunately, Suwon's Brazilian strikeforce of Nadson and Marcel have settled in well together, scoring eleven goals between them, more than the total of five other K-League teams. Suwon were in fact, the league's top scorers but conceded more than any other team, except Daegu. The coach, nicknamed 'Cha Boom' during his hugely successful period in the Bundesliga, as well as the fans, know that there is much to be done.

Stadium
Suwon World Cup Stadium (43,923)

5th- FC Seoul

FC Seoul, formerly LG Anyang, must be fairly pleased with fifth place. Anyang finished eighth last season and 2004 has been encouraging so far for the capital's new team which had been in the top four virtually since the first week. Only a last day defeat at Ulsan saw the team drop to fifth.

Like their final day conquerors, Seoul need to score more goals, only hitting the back of the net eleven times, despite boasting the league's top Korean scorer, Kim Eun-jung, who scored five and is challenging for a regular place on the national team. He has been joined by team-mate, Kim Dong-jin who is marauding down the left these days for country as well as club.

Seoulites should be able to look forward to a solid second stage.

Stadium
Seoul World Cup Stadium (63,930)

6th- Chunnam Dragons

A sixth-placed finish will not have pleased new coach Lee Jang-su after the Dragons were widely tipped to finish first. A bright opening day 4-1 victory over Deagu seemed to confirm the pundits' predictions. However, an early defeat at home to Busan, one of only two I'cons victories, put Chunnam too far behind runaway leaders Pohang and last year's cup runners-up never really looked like closing the gap.

Still, the Dragons have Mota breathing fire. The 23-year-old Brazilian striker has scored an amazing nine goals in eleven games, two more than the rest of his shot-shy team-mates. Of course, young keeper, Kim Young-kwang, is exempt from such criticism and his fine form earned him an international call-up. If Kim and the rest of the team can offer greater support to their star striker then a successful second stage could be in store.

Stadium
Gwanyang Football Stadium (14,920)

7th- Gwangju Sangmu

Coach Lee Kang-jo has been at the helm of the K-League's military team since 1990 but he can rarely have been as proud as he feels now with his team's performance in only their second K-League season. His military bosses must be pleasantly surprised to finish above the defending champions Seongnam as well as big city teams Busan, Incheon and Deagu.

The Pheonix's last two games were an intimidating pair, at home to second-placed Chonbuk and away at leaders Pohang. The conscripts beat the Motors thanks to ex-national team striker Lee Dong-gook and earned a point at the Steelyard.

It is difficult to avoid the cliché that military style discipline has made Gwangju a formidable, hard-to-beat outfit but that seems to be the case.

Stadium
Gwangju World Cup Stadium (44,118)

8th-Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

What can you say when the champions of the last three years finish a dismal eighth? Coach Cha Kyung-bok may say 'watch out in the second stage.' The 67-year-old, the K-League's oldest coach, would have a point. His team were sitting rock-bottom halfway through the first stage, with four points from six games. The next six were much happier for the Chunma with a far healthier eleven point return.

It could be that the team's awful start was just one of those things but the Champions would still not have been expecting to score six goals less than Daegu, especially as there was a 54 point gap between the two at the end of last season. The K-League's top scorer of that season was Seongnam's own Kim Do-hoon. The 33-year-old managed only one in the first stage.

The defence should also shoulder some of the blame as Seongnam conceded more goals than lowly Bucheon. Still, form is temporary and class is permanent and the rest of the K-League knows enough about Seongnam to be wary in the second stage.

Stadium
Seongnam City Stadium (21,242)

9th-Busan I'cons

Ian Porterfield must be disappointed with a ninth-place finish, equalling last season's placing. The problem with the I'cons can be swiftly seen with a glance at the league table. Six home games resulted in six draws, which must be all the more frustrating as fifth-placed Seoul only finished with two points more.

Andy Cooke wasn't quite as prolific as last season with three goals this time round. He may have bagged a couple more had he not been suspended due to five bookings in his ten games. It is a worrying sign when your star striker collects more yellow cards than goals. The close season must be spent trying to turn draws into wins and chances into goals as only seven were scored, in what was a dismal season for Busan fans, which is reflected in poor attendances.

Stadium
Busan Asiad World Cup Stadium (53,864)

10th- Daegu FC

Last season, the then new boys finished next to bottom and should be satisfied that the end of this season's first stage sees three teams looking up at the team from Korea's third city.

Amazingly, only Suwon scored more than Daegu's eighteen with Brazilian striker, Nonato, finishing second in the scoring charts with eight. A disappointing last day home defeat against Bucheon should not take the gloss of a marked improvement by the experienced coach Park Jong-hwan. Indeed, if Daegu had not surrendered a one goal lead in that game, seventh place would have been theirs.

Stadium
Daegu World Cup Stadium (65,754)

11th- Daejeon Citizen

After last season's sixth placed finish, the Citizen will be hugely disappointed with eleventh this time round. The Brazilian strike duo of Tiago and Henrique have done just enough to provide a little optimism for the next stage with five of the team's eight goals but need support from the rest of the team and not just Daejeon's international midfielder Lee Kwan Woo.

The passionate fans in this central Korean city deserve, and expect, more.

Stadium
Daejeon World Cup Stadium (41,295)

12th- SK Bucheon FC

New coach Jung Hae-sung will be relieved not to have finished bottom of the stage. It took a brace by Mali forward Cheick Oumar Dabo scoring on the final day to drag last year's wooden spoon holders above Incheon. This must be seen as a success by the member of Hiddink's World Cup coaching staff. As should the fact that losing three games out of twelve sounds an awful lot better than last season's 29 out of 44.

Like any coach inheriting a failing team, the priority is defence and this season's statistic of conceding less than a goal a game will be encouraging for Bucheon's long-suffering fans. However, the figure of six in the goals for column shows the scale of the task ahead.

Stadium
Bucheon Stadium (35,000)

13th- Incheon United

A terrible induction into the K-League for this new team and its German coach Werner Lorant, as the K-League's thirteenth team finished thirteenth. Nobody in Korea's second port city would have predicted this disaster after the signings of Choi Tae-wook and Alpay. The Turk has since fled the nest to Japan, leaving his team-mates, (who he supposedly didn't get on well with due to communication problems) to fend for themselves, badly.

The table would have made a little better reading if a second half two-goal lead hadn't resulted in a 3-2 defeat at Suwon. Kim Dong-hyeon's last minute winner caused the furious players to surround the referee and the fans to rip out the seats. The white-haired coach will have known exactly how they felt.

Stadium
Incheon Munhak World Cup Stadium (52,179)

K.League

Table June 3 2004

Attendances

Team Average Attendance

1. FC Seoul 27,691
2. Suwon Bluewings 26,449
3. Daegu FC 19,290
4, Incheon United 18,055
5. Daejeon Citizen 17,133
6. Chonbuk Motors 16,891
7. Pohang Steelers 13,310
8. Busan I'cons 13,252
9. Chunnam Dragons 12,183
10. Ulsan Horangi 11,417
11. Gwangju Sangmu 7,782
12. Seongnam Chunma 5,695
13. SK Bucheon 3,794

Leading Scorers

Scorer's Name Team Goals

1. Mota Chunnam Dragons 9
2. Nonato Daegu FC 8
3. Nadson Suwon Bluewings 6
4. Marcel Suwon Bluewings 5
5. Kim Eun-jung FC Seoul 5

Most Assists

Name Team Assists

1. Andrezinho Pohang Steelers 4
2. Yoon Jung-hwa Chunnam Dragons 4
3. Seo Dong-won Suwon Bluewings 3
4. Kim Doo-hyeon Suwon Bluewings 3
5. Noh Jung-yoon Busan I'cons 3

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