Jeonbuk beef up squad after uncharacteristically quiet season

Football

Published: 25 Feb. 2024, 15:42 Updated: 25 Feb. 2024, 16:17

Jeonbuk beef up squad after uncharacteristically quiet season

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors celebrate after Ahn Hyun-beom's goal during a 2023-24 AFC Champions League round of 16 match against the Pohang Steelers at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Feb 14. [YONHAP]

After an uncharacteristically quiet 2023, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors are back this season with a beefed-up squad and an eye on the prize. All of them.

The nine-time K League 1 champions finishing last season in fourth place on the 12-team table and lost the 2023 Korean FA Cup to the Pohang Steelers.

It was the first time Jeonbuk has failed to win anything since 2013. 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.

Over the off season, Jeonbuk have reinforced every position in a bid to ensure 2024 goes differently.

Over in attack, last season’s second-top scorer Tiago Orobo joined the squad from Daejeon Hana Citizen alongside Marcus Vinicius from Colombian team Atletico Huila.

The signing of the two came as none of Jeonbuk’s forwards managed double digits last season. Song Min-kyu was the team’s top scorer with just seven goals.

Orobo is not necessarily an agile striker who beats defenders with his pace and scores on his own, but instead tends to stay up front and rely on good positioning that allows him to score inside the penalty area.

That approach has already proven effective in the second leg of the round of 16 of the 2023-24 AFC Champions League against the Pohang Steelers on Tuesday, during which he passed the ball inside the penalty area to Jeong Tae-wook to score a goal, which later sealed the team’s 3-1 win on aggregate.

Some changes are also visible in the midfield, with the absence of Paik Seung-ho, who left to join Championship side Birmingham City in England.

Jeonbuk, however, signed midfielders Kwon Chang-hoon and Lee Yeong-jae to fill in his vacancy. The addition of Kwon could give Jeonbuk more options as he is able to play as both an attacking midfielder and central midfielder and makes effective movements that allow him to counter pressure.

A notable addition to the club’s defense is fullback Kim Tae-hwan from Ulsan HD.

The veteran defender has already shown his potential, as he displayed agile movements in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League against the Steelers on Feb. 14 and recorded an assist in his debut game.

As the upcoming season will be manager Dan Petrescu’s second in charge and his first full season — having joined the club in June last year after then-manager Kim Sang-sik resigned — the team may see more of Petrescu’s influence.

Jeonbuk will have a busier schedule than most other K League sides this year, as the team is set to compete in the Champions League quarterfinals that start in March, when the 2024 K League also begins.

Jeonbuk will play the opening match of the season against Daejeon at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla on March 1.

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