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| Director Lee Jung-hyo of Gwangju. Photo courtesy = Korea Professional Football Federation |
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| Gus Foye, the new Jeonbuk coach. Photo courtesy of Jeonbuk Hyundai |
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| Incheon Director Yoon Jung-hwan. Source = Incheon Mayor Yoo Jung-bok SNS Capture |
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'Director Saga(Saga, incident, story)', which was louder than ever, effectively ended on the 24th. It heated up the cold winter when K-League games stopped with various stories such as surprise stay, surprise appointment, and internal promotion. Seven teams, or 28% of the 25 clubs, have replaced managers, including the first and second divisions.
In particular, as many as four clubs showed 'Director Official' for three days from the 22nd to the 24th, making the quiet stove league noisy. First of all, Incheon, which was relegated to the second division for the first time in the club's history in the 2024 season, announced the appointment of Yoon Jeong-hwan, who won the last season 'K League Coach of the Year Award'. Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, the owner of Incheon, will push for the 「1-2-3 Project」 aimed at returning to the first division within one year, entering the top split within two years, and advancing to the Asian Champions League within three years. Yoon said, "It is the best choice to achieve this goal, and through leadership and experience, we will bring about a new leap forward in Incheon football." Coach Yoon, who led the runner-up in K League 1 in the 2024 season, was also willing to accept the new challenge in the second division. Subsequently, on the 23rd, head coach Kim Eun-joong signed an extension contract with Suwon FC until 2026. Rumors spread that he could leave the team due to player composition and contract extension issues, but he quickly settled the conflict with the leadership. Suwon FC supported the team's performance with its tactical leadership and steady team management, marking a milestone in the club's history, empowering head coach Kim, who ranked fifth in the league, the club's best performance.
'Lee Jung-hyo and Jeonbuk' were by far the best concerns. The various soccer communities were plastered all over the place for nearly a week with 'Lee Jung-hyo'. Head coach Lee Jung-hyo was seen at Hyundai's headquarters in Seoul, and there were many unconfirmed rumors that head coach Lee Jung-hyo would accompany some players in Gwangju. The only fact was that director Lee Jung-hyo was one of the candidates. Jeonbuk, which barely remained after the 2024 season's promotion playoff, said goodbye to head coach Kim Doo-hyun and then placed three domestic and foreign leaders, including head coach Lee Jung-hyo, as candidates and underwent thorough verification. Jeonbuk's final choice was Uruguayan Gus Foyet, not coach Lee Jung-hyo. Rather than the name value, he judged that he was the right person to put Jeonbuk back at the top of Asia based on his `high empathy and communication skills for the team's vision and philosophy.' The whole 'Poyet Division' was transplanted to Jeonju. Lee chose loyalty. It is obvious that the team will be a more difficult challenge next season due to financial problems, but they decided to remain in Gwangju and focus on higher goals in the 2025 season.
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| Gangwon Director, Young Kyung-ho. Photo courtesy = Korea Professional Football Federation |
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| Director Cha Du-ri Hwaseong. Photo courtesy = Hwaseong FC |
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| Lee Yong, director of Gyeongnam. Photo courtesy = Gyeongnam FC |
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In addition, Kangwon, who is advancing to the Asian stage, 'prepared leader'internal promotion' as head coach Chung Kyung-ho. Director Chung, who is said to have excellent tactical ideas, said at the inaugural press conference on the 23rd, `We are a regular restaurant, not a fine dining restaurant,' adding, `We want to make it a regular restaurant, but a restaurant with a long line"I threw my hat in the ring. Coach Kim Hyun-seok, who led Chungnam Asan to the runner-up in the K League 2 last season, moved to Jeonnam in the second division. Chungnam Asan filled Kim's vacancy with head coach Bae Sung-jae. Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, also appointed head coach Kwon Oh-kyu to the vacant head coach position. Cha Du-ri, the former coach of Osan High School, who led the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinal, will take charge of the new club Hwaseong FC , and Lee Eul-yong, the former general manager of Yongin Football Center, will take charge of Gyeongnam and play a resourceful match in K League 2. Ulsan (Kim Pan-gon), Gimcheon (Jung Jung-yong), Seoul (Kim Ki-dong), Pohang (Park Tae-ha), Jeju (Kim Hak-beom), Daejeon (Hwang Sun-hong), Daegu (Park Chang-hyun), Anyang (Yoo Byung-hoon), Seoul E-Land (Kim Do-kyun), Busan (Cho Seong-hwan), Suwon (Byeon Sung-hwan), Gimpo (Jeong Young-woon), Bucheon (Lee Young-min), Cheonan (Kim Tae-wan), Ansan (Lee Kwan-woo) and Seongnam (Jeon Kyung-joon) will prepare for the 2025 season under the existing coach system.
yoonjinman@sportschosun.com
