Ulsan complete trophy hat trick with 3rd K League 1 title

Home > Sports > Football

Ulsan complete trophy hat trick with 3rd K League 1 title

Published: 24 Nov. 2024, 16:47 Updated: 24 Nov. 2024, 18:13

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Ulsan HD celebrate winning the 2024 K League 1 title at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Ulsan HD celebrated their third straight K League 1 title by finishing the 2024 season with a 4-2 win over Suwon FC in their last league match on the penultimate day of the campaign on Saturday, while Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ended the season in 10th place after adding one point from Sunday’s match against Daejeon Hana Citizen before heading to the promotion-relegation playoffs.

For Ulsan, Saturday’s fixture at home was a formality as the club had sealed the league title on Nov. 1. But the reigning champions still did not go easy on Suwon, and player-coach Park Chu-young made the match memorable for himself, scoring the team’s final goal of the season before his retirement.

Park, 39, expressed his desire to retire earlier this season after his nearly two-decade career during which he spent some time in the K League and bounced around Europe, including a stint with Arsenal, before returning to the K League.

Ulsan HD's Park Chu-young celebrates scoring during a K League 1 match against Suwon FC at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on Saturday. [YONHAP]

The veteran forward’s last season ends with Ulsan’s third consecutive title that was achieved despite the departure of manager Hong Myung-bo, who had won the first back-to-back league titles from 2022 to 2023 with Ulsan, in the middle of the season in July.

New manger Kim Pan-gon still rode the momentum and overcame challenges posed by strong competitors like Gangwon FC and Gimcheon Sangmu, which narrowly closed the point gap with Ulsan continuously during the season.

Gangwon missed their first league title after finishing with 64 points — eight points behind Ulsan — following a 1-0 win over the Pohang Steelers on Saturday, but still marked their first runner-up finish in the top tier, the club’s best result so far.

Gangwon FC pose for a photo after a 1-0 win over the Pohang Steelers at Gangneung Sports Complex in Gangneung, Gangwon on Saturday. [YONHAP]

The club’s run this season was a complete transformation from their performance last season, when they barely avoided relegation by winning the promotion-relegation playoffs.

Gimcheon also managed their best finish in the first division by coming in third after a 3-1 loss to FC Seoul on Saturday. The military club had a successful run throughout the season after earning promotion to the top flight just last year.

Not to mention, the club also went through a major change in July, when over half of the squad changed upon 17 players’ discharge from service.

FC Seoul, who finished in fourth, failed to end their trophy drought again this season, but the capital side can still qualify for the ACLE through a complicated combination of outcomes.

Under the current rules, K League 1 winners and Korea Cup champions, who finished the league in fourth or higher, earn direct tickets to the ACLE and K League 1 runners-up advance to the ACLE playoffs.

But if K League 1 champions Ulsan also win the Korea Cup this season, K League 1 runners-up Gangwon win a direct ticket instead and the third-place team heads to the playoffs.

However, since the AFC doesn’t recognize No. 3 Gimcheon as pro team and has not allowed the military club to compete in AFC competitions, the fourth-place team instead reaches the playoffs, leaving FC Seoul some hopes for Asia’s top club tournament.

No. 5 Suwon, meanwhile, also made huge improvements from last season, when they secured a spot in the top tier by winning the promotion-relegation playoffs.

Suwon will remain the only club from the city, as local rivals Suwon Samsung Bluewings failed to earn promotion back to the first division after finishing in sixth place in the K League 2.

The Pohang Steelers finished the season in sixth place, but still have an opportunity to lift silverware this year in the Korea Cup, where they are set to face Ulsan in the final on Saturday, Nov. 30. Winning the final will only allow the Steelers to defend their title.

Over in the bottom six, the season witnessed some unprecedented results, notably the relegation of Incheon United for the first time after the club locked in a last-place finish on Nov. 10.

Incheon United react after losing a K League 1 match against Daejeon Hana Citizen 2-1 at Incheon Football Stadium in Incheon on Nov. 10. [YONHAP]

Incheon’s poor performance was also overshadowed in the summer when the club's fans threw water bottles onto the pitch after a match against FC Seoul following an interaction with FC Seoul goalkeeper Baek Jong-bum.

Some spectators threw water bottles at him and other players, leading Incheon to give the involved supporters a choice between a lifetime ban from Incheon Football Stadium or completing 100 hours of community service to avoid the ban. Perhaps more importantly for the team, the club was also forced to close its main supporters' stand for home games for two months in the middle of the season.

No. 10 Jeonbuk also saw a conceringly poor run this season, finishing in the bottom six for the first time. Losing the promotion-relegation playoffs would mark a dramatic fall for the nine-time K League 1 champions, the most successful team in K League history.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, in green, play during a K League 1 match against Daegu FC at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla, on Nov. 10. [NEWS1]

In the K League 1, the last-place team faces direct relegation to the second division, while the clubs in 10th and 11th play promotion-relegation playoffs to secure berths in the top tier next season.

No. 11 Daegu, who lost their last match on Sunday 3-1 to Incheon, also enter the promotion-relegation playoffs after a yearlong struggle this season.

Elsewhere, Jeju United went as high as No. 3 in the early days of the season, but finished in seventh place after a 2-1 loss to Daejeon on Sunday, who struggled for the majority of this campaign but still survived by finishing in eighth, followed by No. 9 Gwangju.

With the end of the regular campaign, the postseason consisting of promotion-relegation playoffs will now unfold.

K League 2 runners-up Chungnam Asan FC await No. 11 Daegu, while the winner of the playoff between Seoul E-Land and Jeonnam Draogns will face No. 10 Jeonbuk.

The promotion-relegation playoffs will take place with a home-and-away format, with the first leg kicking off on Thursday, Nov. 28.

Ulsan, Gwangju and the Steelers will have more action to catch this year in the ongoing 2024-25 ACLE, with the league stage lasting through early December.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]