The long journey of the K-League 1 in the 2024 season has come to an end. The fierce competition for rankings throughout the season caught the attention of fans, and the box office remained a huge success, attracting the largest number of spectators ever. In the world of cold-blooded competition, each club had mixed feelings of joy and sorrow, and a legend that ended its career at the same time when a new star was born. The K-League 1 of the 2024 season has become a season that will go down in K-League history in many ways.
“The Extreme” Modern Family…Ulsan, which built a dynasty, Jeonbuk, which crashed PO
Ulsan HD has established a “dynasties” by winning three consecutive K-League 1 titles. Ulsan is the third team in the history of the K-League to win three consecutive K-League titles, following Seongnam FC (then Ilhwa Chunma) and Jeonbuk Hyundai. Coach Hong Myung-bo faced a crisis when he left for the national team during the season, but he managed to protect the throne under Kim Pan-gon, strengthening his position as the strongest team in the K-League.
On the other hand, Hyundai’s rival Jeonbuk has been mired in a slump. It has fallen to 10th, the lowest ranking in 18 years, since it ranked 11th in 2006. The team is set to face off against Seoul E-Land as it failed to advance to the final B group (sub-split) and the promotion and playoffs (PO) for the first time since the split system was introduced. Depending on the result of the promotion PO, Jeonbuk is on the verge of being demoted to the K-League 2. The season itself has already become a disgrace in the history of Jeonbuk, the team that has the most wins in the K-League.
Gangwon’s Gust, Incheon’s Relegation…the fate of the mixed municipal and provincial teams
K-League municipalities also had mixed feelings. Gangwon FC, led by coach Yoon Jeong-hwan, created a sensation in which the team competed fiercely with Ulsan until the end of the season. Although it did not ascend to the throne, the team won the runner-up prize, the best record in the team’s history. Gangwon, which barely remained until last season after receiving PO, has become a team that competed for the title in just one year.
On the other hand, Incheon United, which was the only team with no history of relegation among municipalities, fell to the bottom (12th), suffering from its first relegation. Until now, Incheon has been given the nickname “survival king” by dramatically succeeding in remaining in the team’s relegation crisis, but its survival instinct has not been strong enough this season. Another civic club, Daegu FC, ranked 11th, is also on the brink of being demoted as it is set to play against South Chungcheong Province’s Asan FC.
Seoul-Suwon FC Rebounded With New Coach System
FC Seoul, which had been at the center of attention including the appointment of Kim Ki-dong and the recruitment of Jesse Lingard even before the season, succeeded in rebounding by ranking fourth in the league. It is the first time in five years that Seoul has made the Final A group since 2019. Furthermore, Seoul is challenging itself to return to the AFC Champions League (ALC) for the first time in five years since 2020.
Suwon FC, which made a fresh start under Kim Eun-joong, also rebounded by reaching Final A. Up until last season, Suwon FC barely managed to stay in the 11th place in the K League 1 after the promotion and PO, but changed the mood after Kim Eun-joong took over and elevated its ranking to fifth place. It was all the more meaningful in that it was the result of overcoming many unfavorable factors such as key players’ transfers and the Son Joon-ho incident during the season.
Yang Minhyuk’s sensational debut…”Syndrom debut.” Park Joo Young retired
Yang Min-hyuk, who was born in 2006, had a sensational debut season as a high school student. With 12 goals and 6 assists, he was nominated for the Young Player Award as well as the Most Valuable Player Award. An 18-year-old player was also nominated as an MVP, which was also the youngest record. Not only Yang but also high school players including Yoon Do-young (Daejeon Hana Citizen) and Kang Joo-hyuk (Seoul) stood out during this season.
Some legends ended their careers on the contrary amid the emergence of young stars such as Yang Min-hyuk. Park Chu-young (Ulsan), who made his K-League debut 19 years ago by creating a sensation like Yang Min-hyuk, made a surprise appearance in front of his former team’s Seoul fans at the end of the season, and also played in the final match of the coronation ceremony to greet Ulsan fans. In particular, he made one goal and one assist in the final match, completing 100 K-League offensive points (101).
The most ever 2.5 million viewers. “Happiness is awesome.” 카지노사이트
The K-League 1 was also a big hit this season. The total number of spectators in the K-League 1 reached 2.58855, exceeding the previous season’s record of 2,447,147. Seoul, which is spearheaded by the Lingard Effect, opened the era of 500,000 spectators for the first time in the K-League, and some teams, including Ulsan, set a new record for the largest number of spectators in a single season.
The issues that could have put a damper on such a spectacular success were jade. The Incheon supporters’ massive throwing of water bottles led to the closure of the home cheering section for five games and a severe penalty of 20 million won. Players whose contracts were terminated during the season due to drunk driving or illegal gambling also raised eyebrows among fans.