Bluewings' relegation is latest chapter in Samsung's fall from sporting glory

Football

Published: 08 Dec. 2023, 16:36 Updated: 08 Dec. 2023, 16:53

Bluewings' relegation is latest chapter in Samsung's fall from sporting glory

Suwon Samsung Bluewings' Kim Joo-chan, right, exits the pitch after his team's relegation to the K League 2 after a goalless draw with Gangwon FC on Dec. 2. [NEWS1]

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings, once one of Korea’s most powerful homegrown football teams, were relegated to the second division last week for the first time since they joined the K League 1 in 1996.

It was the latest blow for Samsung’s sports teams, who in recent years have experienced what seems a collective descent from the top.

According to an analysis of end-of-season league rankings by the Korea JoongAng Daily, three of Samsung’s five major sports teams have experienced a significant overall decline in standings over the last eight years.

The Korea JoongAng Daily analyzed the yearly shift in standings between the 2015 and 2023 seasons, the period during which the number of teams remained unchanged across five major Korean sports leagues — baseball, football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s volleyball.

The Suwon Samsung Bluewings, the Samsung Lions and the Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs each saw an average decline in standings, meaning they more often performed worse when compared to the previous season than they improved from one year to the next.

Since 2016, the Bluewings have moved down a collective 10 spots year-to-year on the 12-team K League 1 table. The Lions have dropped a total of six spots over eight years among the 10 KBO teams, and the Bluefangs have also slid down a collective six spots on a V League table of seven.

Things looked slightly better for the Seoul Samsung Thunders, who experienced an overall zero shift in rankings across the 10 teams in the KBL, while the women’s basketball Yongin Samsung Life Blueminx climbed up a cumulative one spot on their table of six.

It’s a tough look for Samsung, a conglomerate with a long history in Korea’s company town of sports.

For newcomers to the KBO, for example, attending a game live can be an almost out-of-body experience, to hear tens of thousands of fans chant in sync the name of a company who manufactures vacuums or fork-lift trucks.

Samsung, a household name — literally, as the maker of microwaves and light bulbs — has one of the largest portfolios when it comes to professional sports in Korea and abroad.

The Lions were one of the six founding teams of the KBO in 1982 and, along with the Lotte Giants, is one of just two teams to still play under their original name. Not only that, but the Daegu club dominated the KBO for years, making the playoffs in 17 of 18 seasons from 1997 to 2015 and winning the Korean Series four straight times from 2011 to 2014.

Since taking the pennant in 2015, the Lions have only made the playoffs once — tying for the pennant with the KT Wiz for after the regular season and losing a tie-breaking playoff, and then going on to lose the Korean Series.

Samsung Lions' Choi Chae-heung, left, is replaced by Noh Kun-woo during a game against the Doosan Bears on Sept. 10, 2023. [NEWS1]

In the K League, the Bluewings saw a rapid ascent to the top after joining the the league one year after their founding, in 1995. The team ended their freshman year as runners-up on the regular season table and in the inaugural FA Cup, narrowly losing to the Pohang Atoms in a penalty shootout after the teams played to a goalless draw.

But last weekend, the Bluewings were relegated to the second division for the first time. Players, wearing bench coats over their Samsung Blue, walked off the pitch with their heads down. Interim manager Yeom Ki-hun, who was the fourth coach to take the helm thise season after Kim Byung-woo, Lee Byung-keun and former interim coach Choi Sung-yong, wiped away tears.

It marked the end of a dynasty for a team that was once coached by football legend Cha Bum-kun. Tscha Bum helmed the team from 2004 to 2010, leading them to take two league titles and win two FA Cups. The last time the team led the league at the end of the regular season was in 2008, and the Bluewings have failed to manage higher than fourth since 2018.

In 2014, Samsung siphoned off management of its sports teams to Cheil Worldwide, the Group’s marketing arm, setting off a new era for its teams and the business of running them — including tightening their budgets.

While the Bluewings topped the League by player salaries with more than 9 billion won ($7 million) in 2013, they sat in eighth place this past season, with 8.8 billion won, Yonhap reports.

Samsung also launched and closed a major Esports branch within a decade. In 2013, the company acquired the rosters of two professional League of Legends teams and later went on to win a World Championship as the team Samsung Galaxy in 2017.

But shortly after their players brought home the trophy and a grand prize of more than $1.8 million, Samsung sold the team to a Chinese company and announced they would no longer sponsor professional Esports teams.

The company has not totally exited the Esports arena, though, acting as sponsors for a slate of tournaments, and are set to host an inaugural online tournament in Southeast Asia next year.

But it has cut back sponsorships elsewhere. In 2015, for example, Samsung ended a decade of being the shirt sponsors for the Premier League’s Chelsea FC.

While recent years have seen Samsung’s sports teams struggle to return to their former glory, the last decade has also been marred by a huge scandal for the Samsung Group. In 2017, Lee Jae-yong, the chairman of Samsung Electronics, was convicted on bribery charges in relation to crimes committed by disgraced former Korean President Park Geun-hye.

When reached by phone, Samsung declined to comment for this story.

BY MARY YANG [mary.yang@joongang.co.kr]