Jeonbuk Hyundai in the K-League 1 is adrift between relegation and remaining in the league. Depending on the outcome of weekend matches, the team could drop to the bottom and be demoted to the K-League 2. How come Jeonbuk, which was mentioned as one of the strongest candidates until the start of the 2024 season, has become this situation.
Jeonbuk, which is ranking 11th in the league (37 points) as of Thursday, is set to face Incheon United (12th) in an “annihilating match.” If the team loses to Incheon in the 36th round that will take place at Jeonju World Cup Stadium on March 2, the ranking of Jeonbuk and Incheon will be reversed. As the K-League 1 ends in the 38th round and the bottom of the final ranking automatically drops to the K-League 2, the worst-case scenario in which Jeonbuk will be demoted is not a distant country.
While Incheon is nicknamed the “survival king,” the fact that Jeonbuk is in the race itself is the first of its kind adds to Jeonbuk fans’ anxiety. Furthermore, Jeonbuk has been mired in three consecutive league defeats recently. At least, it has a good win rate (63 percent) at home this season.
The 35th round, in which Jeonbuk collapsed at the same time and lost 1-0 to Jeju United, showed the problems that Jeonbuk currently has. Jeonbuk only had the advantage of game indicators such as possession and shooting number, but failed to overwhelm Jeju. There were many scenes in which players lost the ball while attempting to break through excessive dribbling.
The fact that frontline strikers such as Thiago and Park Jae-yong are not doing well in controlling the situation is also aggravating the situation. Coach Kim Doo-hyun deployed Lee Young-jae, Song Min-gyu, and Kim Jin-gyu, not professional strikers, to the forefront, but has not produced as many results as expected. Moreover, he is unable to increase the number of strikers to maximum due to lost points at the last minute of the game, which has become a chronic problem this season. Repeated losses lead to a vicious cycle in which players’ confidence declines and they cannot coolly overcome the situation.
“For the teams that face Jeonbuk, they have a formula to catch Jeonbuk,” a soccer official said. “If you focus on defense and hold on to it, Jeonbuk players will feel impatient. Eventually, towards the end of the game, you will have a chance to counterattack,” he said. “Incheon will also face Jeonbuk in that way.” “The decline began in 2021 when Jeonbuk won the regular league title for the fifth consecutive year,” he said. “As we have settled down without goals and strategies, it has become an inefficient structure where we spend a lot of money. As there is no central point, we have weakened our mental capacity as a champion.” 토토사이트
“They spend the most money in the K-League, but the quality of their teams is much lower than before,” Coupang Sports commentator Han Joon-hee said. “They don’t have any foreign players to trust,” adding, “They are not good at scoring goals.” “Coach Kim is also faltering as he is constantly in crisis, unable to form a best member,” he said. “The build-up tempo is often slow, and there are many cross attempts when it is in a hurry, but there is no player in front of them who has strong right to provide.”