Orobo and Joo race to claim K League Golden Boot

The K League top scorer race is heating up with only one goal separating Daejeon Hana Citizen’s Tiago Orobo and Ulsan Hyundai’s Joo Min-kyu and just three games left to play.

Daejeon Hana Citizen's Tiago Orobo in action during a K League match against FC Seoul at Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul on July 1. [NEWS1]

The K League top scorer race is heating up with only one goal separating Daejeon Hana Citizen’s Tiago Orobo and Ulsan Hyundai’s Joo Min-kyu and just three games left to play.

With Ulsan locking in the 2023 K League title after a win against Daegu FC on Sunday, the club's fans can now shift their focus to Joo's race to overtake Orobo and claim the coveted Golden Boot.

Orobo currently leads the top scorer table with 16 goals with Joo trailing on 15. The two are the clear favorites to win the title, although Zeca from the Pohang Steelers or Na Sang-ho from FC Seoul, each with 12 goals, could potentially still surpass them if they can pull of some spectacular results over the remaining games.

Ulsan Hyundai's Joo Min-kyu celebrates scoring a goal during a K League match against Suwon FC at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi on June 6. [YONHAP]

The competition between Orobo and Joo looks likely to be fierce. The Brazilian forward only took the top spot on Sunday when he scored his 16th league goal against the Suwon Samsung Bluewings to outpace Joo.

The pair's performance this season does not come as a surprise. They both sat near the top of the tables in their respective leagues last season: Orobo topped the K League 2 table with 19 goals at Gyeongnam FC and Joo managing 17 at Ulsan for second place in the K League 1. Joo was beaten by Cho Gue-sung, who played for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors at the time but has since left the K League.

Orobo has been more prolific in recent fixtures, picking up three goals in the past five matches. Joo only managed one goal in the last five games.

The two players are not agile forwards who beat defenders with pace and score on their own, but instead tend to stay up front and rely on good positioning that allow them to score inside the penalty area.

Orobo’s two headers against the Steelers on Aug. 20 displayed exactly that strength. He also scored with a remarkable curling shot in that match to complete a hat trick.

Joo also regularly scores inside the penalty box while showing flexible movements and positioning skills. His goal against Jeju United on June 10 — scored with a volley after receiving a cross and turning inside the penalty area — was an example of that skill.

The only problem for Joo is that he has been inconsistent with scoring this season. Not just in the four games from Sept. 30 through Sunday during which he failed to score a single goal, but he was also goalless in five matches from July 12 to Aug. 12.

The same goes for Orobo, who had two long goal droughts this season. He failed to score a single goal in seven fixtures — from Apr. 16 through May 28 — and did not pick up a goal in six matches that ran from July 1 to Aug. 4.

The player that finds his best form in the remaining three fixtures will most likely be the top scorer this season.

If Joo wins the title, it will be his second after taking it in 2021 with Jeju United when he managed 22 goals in 34 matches.

For Orobo, it will be his first. He will also become the 10th Brazilian top scorer in the K League.

Three Brazilian players won the title in the past six seasons, with then-Suwon Samsung Bluewings player Johnathan Goiano winning in 2017, then-Gyeongnam player Marcao claiming it in 2018 and then-Ulsan player Junior Negrao securing it in 2020.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]