Captain for K League 1 champions Jeonbuk nominated for MVP award
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors captain Park Jin-seob addresses fans at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, after Jeonbuk clinched the K League 1 title with a 2-0 victory over Suwon FC, Tuesday. Yonhap
Park Jin-seob, who captained Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to the Korean football title this fall, has been nominated for the league MVP award.
The Korea Professional Football League (K League) announced nominees for major end-of-season awards on Thursday.
For the MVP honor, Park will be up against Pablo Sabbag of Suwon FC and Lee Dong-gyeong of Ulsan HD FC.
Primarily a center back in previous seasons, Park turned himself into a defensive midfielder under new head coach Gus Poyet and helped Jeonbuk clinch their record 10th K League 1 title on Oct. 18 with five matches left to play. With Park serving as the key cog in their defensive system, Jeonbuk have conceded the fewest goals in the league so far with 31 in 36 matches.
Sabbag is leading the K League 1 with 17 goals in 32 matches in his first season in Korea, trying to keep Suwon FC out of the relegation zone.
Lee started the season with the military club, Gimcheon Sangmu FC, and had 13 goals and 11 assists in 34 matches with them. Following his discharge from the military service, Lee returned to Ulsan, where he recorded one assist in two matches before suffering a broken rib earlier this month.
MVP winners have often come from league champions. Park will try to become the first Jeonbuk player to be so honored since Hong Jeong-ho in 2021.
Park is also up for a spot on the K League 1 Best XI squad. Jeonbuk have a candidate in every position, with one goalkeeper, four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards set to be chosen.
Poyet is considered the front-runner for the Coach of the Year award, having lead Jeonbuk to the title a season after they narrowly avoided being relegated to the second division. He will be up against Ryu Byeong-hoon of FC Anyang and Hwang Sun-hong of Daejeon Hana Citizen FC.
Gangwon FC midfielder Lee Seung-won, FC Anyang forward Chae Hyun-woo and FC Seoul midfielder Hwang Do-yun are the three nominees for the Young Player of the Year award. Players who are 23 or younger with less than three years of professional experience are eligible for this award, and they must also have played at least half of the season to be nominated.
Head coaches and captains for the clubs, and football journalists will vote on these awards starting Monday. The winners will be announced at the annual awards ceremony on Dec. 1 in Seoul.