K-League all OK but not special

Suwon FC players and staff acknowledge their fans after winning their promotion/relegation play-off against Busan I’Park at Busan Gudeok Stadium, Saturday. / Yonhap

By John Duerden

The last action of the 2015 Korea domestic football season, Saturday, saw the former powerhouse Busan I’Park drop to the second tier for the first time in its history. The country’s second largest city has a proud history in the sport with national and continental titles but history is all it has. That was in the 1990s. The past decade has been one of underachievement and mismanagement.

Suwon FC won in the promotion/relegation play-off to take Busan’s place in the top tier. It can only be hoped that a season in the second division will help the team sort out its problems and come back stronger. But it is a hope.

It was something of a dramatic end to a season that will not be remembered as a classic. It was all OK without being anything special but that is what happens when the title race and relegation battles are usually settled (Busan’s play-off apart) well before the season end.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors did not get out of second gear yet successfully defended its title with ease. The men in green were leading almost from the start and neither Suwon Bluewings nor Pohang Steelers ever really looked like catching the men from Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Jeonbuk took top spot from the fifth round and held it all the way to the 38th while Suwon had second sewn up from the 10th game.

In the end the gap between Jeonbuk and Suwon was only six points but that was because Choi Kang-hee’s men took their foot off the gas after taking the title, collecting just one point from their final two games with Suwon winning both of its last two games. Suwon couldn’t quite find the extra gear though Yeom Ki-hun again impressed. There was talk of the Bluewings leave the Big Bird, its home stadium.

Kim Shin-wook finished as top scorer with Ulsan Hyundai FC, even though the 2012 Asian champion had a disappointing season and finished in seventh. FC Seoul did what it usually does. It started slowly ― this time very slowly ― annoyed the fans and almost changed coach. Then the capital club started winning and had fans wondering why the team couldn’t play this way from February to November instead of just four or five months. The signing of Brazilian hotshot Adriano from Daejeon Citizen in July helped. Eight goals in 13 games gave the team the goalscorer it had lacked since the departure of Dejan Damjanovic in 2013. The FA Cup win was also welcome.

Pohang finished third, another solid season for the Steelers. Next one will be more uncertain as Hwang Sun-hong, coach for the last five years, has stepped down. The former striker will be replaced by 2002 World Cup team-mate Choi Jin-cheul. The grizzled ex-center back took the Under 17 team to the knockout stage of the World Cup, beating Brazil along the way.

At the bottom it was pretty dire. Daejeon Citizen’s attempt to return to the top flight did not go well and the central club was relegated back to the second tier long before the season ended. Busan, as mentioned above, took second spot from last only to lose the play-off to Suwon FC who will be looking forward to a Suwon derby in 2016.

There is always plenty to look forward to. The past year had its up and downs but the league needs a little more excitement at the top. It is time for Suwon, Seoul, Pohang and Ulsan to step up and challenge the increasing dominance of Jeonbuk. It is also time for Busan to sort itself out.