Jeonbuk to play top scoring K League teams in Kim Do-heon's first test

New manager Kim Do-heon will have a busy schedule this week with an away match against Gangwon on Wednesday and a home game against reigning K League 1 champions Ulsan on Saturday.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors manager Kim Do-heon [K LEAGUE]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will play the K League 1's two highest-scoring clubs, Gangwon FC and defending champions Ulsan HD, in back-to-back games, a challenge that comes in new manager Kim Do-heon’s first week in charge.

Kim, 41, was announced as the new permanent manager for Jeonbuk on Monday, left in charge of a struggling Jeonbuk that recently escaped the bottom of the league table.

The appointment came after former manager Dan Petrescu resigned last month for a poor start to the 2024 season.

Kim started his coaching career as an assistant coach at now-relegated Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2020 and served as an assistant coach at Jeonbuk from 2021 to 2023, which includes a one-month stint as an interim manager. During that one-month spell from May to June 2023, he recorded five wins, two draws and one loss.

After his spell at Jeonbuk ended with the appointment of Petrescu in June last year, he joined Chinese team Chengdu Rongcheng as an assistant coach before returning to Jeonbuk.

Kim will have a busy schedule this week with an away match against Gangwon on Wednesday and a home game against reigning K League 1 champions Ulsan on Saturday.

Both clubs have been on a good run this season, with Gangwon sitting in fourth place as the second most prolific team at 25 goals in 14 games and Ulsan at the top of the table with the most goals at 29 goals in 14 matches.

Gangwon will face Jeonbuk on the back of a four-game unbeaten streak during which they even beat Ulsan 1-0.

Wednesday’s fixture between Gangwon and Jeonbuk is the second head-to-head clash of the season after the first match ended with a 3-2 win for Gangwon on April 7.

Saturday’s match against Ulsan will be the fourth match against the defending champions this year after two head-to-head clashes in the 2023-24 AFC Champions League quarterfinals ended with a 1-1 draw and 1-0 loss for Jeonbuk and the most recent match in the K League 1 on March 30 ended with a 2-2 draw.

One more loss could push 10th-place Jeonbuk back to the bottom of the 12-team table, as they are only three points above last-place Daejeon Hana Citizen as of press time Tuesday. Daegu FC, sitting in 11th place, are tied on points with Jeonbuk at 14.

The three teams all land in the relegation zone. In the K League 1, the last-place team face automatic relegation to the second division while the 10th and 11th-place clubs play promotion-relegation playoffs against two K League 2 sides to decide which teams secure berths in the top tier next season.

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