Football Season Guide

Jeonbuk equalled K-League record last season when becoming only the second team in history to lift the title for third consecutive year. However, the triumph was far from convincing and Jeonbuk entered the final round of the season in second place, but luck was on their side. In his first season in charge the only foreign manager in the league Jose Morais had some issues in terms of selection and tactics used, which caused problems. Despite losing just 3 of 38 league games in 2019 Jeonbuk registered way too many draws with their scoring record not great. Now in his second year in charge Morais is again most worried about the attack of his team. In the off-season the team’s big star and crowd-favourite Ricardo Lopes moved to China, leaving massive gap on the left wing. As his replacement Murilo was signed, but this was not the only important new addition to the squad. K-League’s MVP for 2019 Bo-kyung Kim arrived from fierce rivals Ulsan and is seen as key figure, with talented Japanese inner midfielder Kunimoto signed. Undoubtedly the most important acquisitions were those of centre forwards Gue-sung Jo and Veldwijk, who will allow the 40-year-old captain Dong-gook Lee to take the role of an impact substitute. Jeonbuk have very solid back line and beating them will be very hard again, but it is yet to be seen how fast the new forward players will build synchrony, especially after the delayed start to the season meaning the rounds will be coming thick and fast for the rest of 2020. It is yet to be seen if Bo-kyung Kim will be used as number ten or out on the left wing, where Murilo is an alternative. In attack 22-year-old Gue-sung Jo is expected to play regularly, with at least 1 under 22 Korean player having to start every game in the K-League as a rule. Jeonbuk like to control possession and build slow, but they also use overlapping runs and fast breaks very well, which made them by far the most successful Korean team in the past 7 years.