Jeonbuk, Korea's most trophied club, are careening toward relegation. What happened?

The second half of the season will put the nine-time K League 1 champions to the test of whether they can bounce back and escape the relegation zone — a rare quest for a team that up until recently has had remarkable success.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors react after losing the second leg of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League quarterfinals to Ulsan HD at Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on March 12. [NEWS1]

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have had one of their worst starts to a K League 1 season, sitting at the bottom of the table with three wins, seven draws and 10 losses as of press time Friday — placing them in danger of relegation.

They've seen nothing but struggle this year, crashing out of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League in March and piling up loss after loss in the top flight since then.

The second half of the season will put the nine-time K League 1 champions to the test of whether they can bounce back and escape the relegation zone — a rare quest for a team that up until recently has had remarkable success.

Jeonbuk struggled in the early days of the last season as well, under then-manager Kim Sang-sik, but climbed up the table and ended in fourth place after the club replaced him with Dan Petrescu, who resigned in April for a poor start to the 2024 season.

This season is a different story, as new manager Kim Do-heon has yet to secure a win since taking the helm in May.

How did the K League 1’s winningest team end up at the bottom of the table, and what explains their concerningly poor performance?

Preparations for the 2024 season

Jeonbuk have been headed downhill even before the beginning of this season, starting their descent last winter when they ended the 2023 campaign trophyless for the first time in a decade, finishing the league in fourth place and losing the 2023 Korean FA Cup final to the Pohang Steelers.

Before the 2023 season, Jeonbuk saw a long period of success. The team won the K League 1 in 2014 and 2015 and the Champions League in 2016 before managing a remarkable five-season title-winning streak from 2017 through 2021 and winning the FA Cup in 2022.

After the 2023 season, Jeonbuk beefed up their squad in a bid for a less disappointing 2024.

Jeonbuk signed the 2023 K League 1 season’s second-top scorer, forward Tiago Orobo, from Daejeon Hana Citizen alongside forward Hernandes Rodrigues from Incheon United, in addition to midfielder Kwon Chang-hoon and fullback Kim Tae-hwan.

Then-Daejeon Hana Citizen forward 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 signing of the two forwards came after zero Jeonbuk forwards scored double digits in 2023. But those signings proved to be ineffective when the 2024 season unfolded.

Victory in the beginning, but failure after failure

A geared-up Jeonbuk faced their first test against fellow K League 1 side Steelers in the 2023-24 Champions League round of 16 in February before the 2024 K League season began.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, in white, react after winning the second leg of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League round of 16 match against the Pohang Steelers at Pohang Steelyard in Pohang, North Gyeongsang on Feb. 20. [NEWS1]

A Champions League runs over two calendar years, while a K League season runs from March to December of the same calendar year.

The two legs of the round of 16 against the Steelers were a success, with Jeonbuk knocking the Pohang side out with a 3-1 win on aggregate during which Hernandes scored a goal and Orobo displayed good positioning skills.

But neither Jeonbuk’s success nor the forward duo’s impact lasted long afterward, losing the quarterfinals to Ulsan HD and starting the 2024 K League 1 campaign with a streak of losses that turned into a steep downhill for the nine-time K League 1 winners.

The first six league matches went winless for Jeonbuk with three draws and three losses and continuing to show their vulnerabilities, especially in defense.

They conceded at least one goal in every single league fixture until they cut that record in a 3-0 win against Gwangju FC on May 19.

But Jeonbuk’s sloppy defense has not significantly improved since then, as they have allowed the most goals at 36 in 20 league matches as of Friday.

The poor start to the campaign prompted Petrescu to resign in April, and Kim became the next permanent manager at the end of May, but he has not brought notable changes to the squad.

Rather he ended Jeonbuk’s hopes of winning the 2024 Korea Cup — renamed from the Korean FA Cup — after losing the round of 16 match against K League 2 side Gimpo FC 1-0 on June 19.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors' Tiago Orobo, left, vies for the ball with Gimpo FC's Heo Dong-ho during a Korea Cup round of 16 match at Gimpo Solteo Football Stadium in Gimpo, Gyeonggi on June 19. [KFA]

No sign of improvement has been visible since then, with Jeonbuk staying anchored to the bottom of the league table by a winless streak.

What has gone wrong?

Clumsy defense coupled with poor cohesion accounts for Jeonbuk’s concerningly unimpressive run this season.

One visible problem with the defense is that defenders lose their concentration toward the end of a game, having conceded 11 goals after the 80th minute mark so far in the 2024 season.

A lack of goal decisiveness by striker Orobo — three goals in 18 league fixtures — and Hernandes, who has missed the majority of the season due to injury, adds more problems to the squad.

The bigger issue is the team is not cohesive enough to win a game. Players do not pressure opponents hard and fail to make proactive movements that stop the opposing side’s counter attacks or effective passes, allowing shots in dangerous positions.

The entire squad overall has been sluggish, and head coach Kim has not seemed to find a solution to it.

How much time do Jeonbuk have?

With Jeonbuk having exited from two tournaments — Champions League and Korea Cup — and the 2024 league title seemingly out of their reach, four months of the remaining regular season will be about whether they can avoid their worst finish in the league and avoid relegation to the second division, the fate of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings last winter.

In the K League 1, the last-place team faces automatic relegation to the K League 2, while the 10th and 11th place sides enter promotion-relegation playoffs against two K League 2 teams to decide which teams secure berths in the top tier the following season.

One piece of good news ahead of the second half of the season is the return of veteran Kim Jin-gyu, a versatile midfielder who is set to finish his military service at Gimcheon Sangmu on July 15.

His homecoming gives manager Kim Do-heon an option to reinforce the defense in the absence of regular defender pick Hong Jeong-ho, who has missed most of the season due to injury.

Last-place Jeonbuk will next face 11th-place Daejeon Hana Citizen in Daejeon on Sunday.

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