Korea's 2020 Asian dream in doubt

South Korean international defender Kim Jin-su celebrates after scoring an overtime goal during the AFC Asian Cup match in the round of 16 against Bahrain at the Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Stadium in Dubai, Jan. 22, 2019. / Yonhap

By John Duerden

The 2020 K-League season may be the strangest one in its 37 year history but there is not that long left to go. Ulsan Horangi and Jeonbuk Motors are fighting it out at the top with eight games remaining.

Ulsan's task has been made a little easier as Jeonbuk has lost one of its best players. Kim Jin-su is the left-back with the national team and is regarded as one of the best defenders in Asia. Last week, Kim joined Al-Nasr of Saudi Arabia.

The Riyadh club made Jeonbuk and Kim offers that were too tough to turn down. Al-Nasr wants Kim in time to join for the resumption of the Asian Champions League, precisely why Jeonbuk wanted to keep him.

It remains to be seen however if the competition will actually go ahead as time is running out. Four South Korean clubs are among the 32 that were divided into eight groups of four, and started playing in February.

The group stage was only two games in when it was suspended due to Covid-19. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) which operates the competition has been pushing the games back further and further but there isn't much space left.

Ulsan, Jeonbuk, Suwon Bluewings and FC Seoul are scheduled to restart in October. The group stage will be finished in the space of a couple of weeks and then the knockout stage (with just one leg instead of two) gets going.

The games will take place in the “hub” country of Malaysia and one other. Teams will travel there for the duration and stay in one place as much as possible.

Yet with the resurgence of the coronavirus in some countries, it is proving difficult to send sports teams around Asia. And the resumption that was due for mid-October may now take place later.

"We've discussed it already; it was supposed to be in (the) middle of October, they're looking at pushing it back to the middle of November now," Steve Corica, the coach of Sydney FC ― in the same group as Jeonbuk Motors ― said last week.

“We don't know, (we're not) exactly sure if it's going to go ahead or not at this stage. We'd love to play in that ACL; whether it's going to be in one venue, or not, we're not 100 percent sure yet."

Pushing the restart back into November would come at a time when leagues in Japan, South Korea and China are coming to a climax. It would play havoc with schedules though it could well be that travel restrictions are the biggest hurdle to jump.

There is a lot of uncertainty. The Europeans managed to finish their Champions League in August but had gone much further in the competition before it was suspended in March. Asia has only just started.

There is no room to maneuver. The 2021 tournament starts in January. It could be that cancelling this year's edition and allowing the same teams to enter next year is the answer. Only time will tell.