K-League clubs gear up for new season

By John Duerden

The K-League Classic is back with the 2016 season kicking-off on Saturday. It has not been the most exciting of off-seasons but there is still plenty to look forward to in this 12-team nine month competition.

While Chinese clubs have been spending left, right and center on all kinds of famous football stars to make all kinds of headlines, Korea had to be content with some lower key activity. There was one exception to this, Jeonbuk Motors.

The team from Jeonju has won the last two titles and is going for the hat-trick and has been busy strengthening and deepening its roster in order to challenge at home and also in the Asian Champions League.

Choi Kang-hee has signed Kim Bo-kyung to shore up the midfield from an attacking point of view and the former English Premier League star offers more options. Striker Kim Shin-wook has been a star with Ulsan and was expected, when he left the Tigers, to head to Europe. A move to Scottish giant Celtic fell through after the U.K. government tightened visa requirements for players coming from outside the European Union. Add Korean international right-back Kim Chang-soo and the team is closer to what the media is calling the ‘double squad’ i.e. having two strong players for each position.

Jeonbuk opens the season with the traditional curtain-raiser which sees the league champion meet the FA Cup winner. That means FC Seoul and it should be a cracker of a game. The team from the capital usually starts the season slowly but in two Asian Champions League games in the past two weeks, Choi Yong-soo’s men have looked extremely impressive.

The first game was a trip to Thailand to take on champion Buriram United, the best team in Southeast Asia, to win 6-0. Brazilian striker Adriano scored four and looked to be linking up very well with returning hero Dejan Damjanovic.

A week later came a much tougher test at home to Japanese champion Sanfrecce Hiroshima. When the J. League powerhouse took a first half lead, it was not looking good but then Seoul roared back with a top-class display of attacking football to win 4-1. Adriano scored three. Jeonbuk will be a tougher test but Seoul fans are feeling much happier.

Suwon Bluewings were runners-up last season and have lost some experience in former international goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryeong and Seo Jung-jin. There is some genuine talent coming through in the shape of Kwon Chang-hoon (though the attacking midfielder may well be off to Europe before too long) and Ko Cha-won.

There will be some good moments in the same season but Seo Jung-won’s men may struggle for consistency and problems at the back even if former international central defender Lee Jung-soo has returned.

Pohang Steelers have a new coach in Choi Jin-cheul but last season’s third place don’t seem to have the strength in depth for a title challenge unless there is an early exit from the Asian Champions League. Ulsan Horangi disappointed last season under new coach Yoon Jung-hwan and the recruitment has been underwhelming though there will be some interest into how Lee Jeong-hyeop performs now the international striker is at a relatively strong team in the top tier.

Jeju United will be hoping to break into the top four for only its second time. Much depends on three Brazilians: Marcelo Toscano, Moises and Fernando Karanga. Seongnam FC, still being coached by Kim Hak-bom, one of the godfathers of Korean coaching, will settle for a top half finish and a good run in the FA Cup. If star attacker Hwang Ui-ho can continue to shine, helped by veteran midfielder Kim Do-heon, it could happen.

Incheon United has some interesting foreign players in Kevin Oris, from Belgium who was a success at Jeonbuk Motors, and Vietnam’s Luong Xuan Truong, the first Southeast Asian player in the K-League for a long time. If the midfielder can settle and impress, there will be plenty of attention from his homeland.

There will be plenty of attention on newly-promoted Suwon FC. This means that there will be an intra-city derby with the more established Bluewings. If that can bring some extra excitement to Gyeongi Province, it is to be welcomed and there will be plenty of attention when the two teams meet.

Jeonnam Dragons struggled into ninth last season while fellow Jeolla Province club Gwangju FC will be another team happy to survive, as will army outfit Sangju Samgmu.