Football Season Guide

Daegu surprised many with their fifth place finish in 2019, with the small team proving very hard to beat last term. Only 9 defeats in 38 rounds and the highest number of draws in the division – 16! In the off-season Daegu underwent some notable changes. After the departure of their manager the Board decided to trust Byeong-guen Lee with his first ever Head Coach appointment. Lee deserved that after being assistant coach of Daegu for the previous 6 years. Daegu also lost the long-serving star goalie Hyeon-uh Jo, who left the club after 7 years. The other important departure was that of centre-back Byeong-hyeon Park who had to go for military service. In terms of new arrivals there were not too many impressive signings made by the modest club, but 2 names stand out. 39-year-old veteran striker Damjanovic played 9 of the last 12 years in the K-League and with over 350 games and 150+ goals he is certain to provide serious threat off the bench even at this age. Probably the only regular from the newly signed players will be versatile Jin-hyun Lee. He can play equally well as winger, full-back and attacking midfielder, which makes him pretty useful asset. Undoubtedly the team’s key player is playmaker Cesinha and if he is in good form Daegu rarely lose. Striker Edgar Silva is also very solid contributor, while 23-year-old Dae-won Kim hopes to have breakthrough campaign as his partner up front. Daegu had plenty of disturbance up to now in 2020. After the managerial change and the departure of some key pieces the team also had their January training camp in China cancelled, with another training camp in Singapore in March also getting cancelled after that. Still the delay of the season put most teams in similar situation and if nothing else the new head coach had more time to get his message to the players.