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Yoon Jong-hwan to take charge of relegated Incheon United

Published: 22 Dec. 2024, 17:25 Updated: 22 Dec. 2024, 17:26

PAIK JI-HWAN
[email protected]

Incheon United manager Yoon Jong-hwan [INCHEON UNITED]

Incheon United have appointed K League 1 Coach of the Year winner Yoon Jong-hwan as manager, the relegated club announced Sunday.

Yoon, 51, takes the helm of Incheon after parting ways with Gangwon FC earlier this month, having reportedly failed to resolve a salary dispute.

Yoon, who took charge of Gangwon in July 2023, transitioned the team, which had survived in the top tier by winning the promotion-relegation playoffs in the 2023 season, into a dominant force this year, leading the club to a runner-up finish in the league — the best result in club history, and an achievement that helped him earn the coaching title.

The veteran manager will lead Incheon's quest for promotion to the K League 1 next year. The team faced relegation to the K League 2 for the first time ever after finishing at the bottom of the table with a 2-1 loss to Daejeon Hana Citizen in the penultimate match of the 2024 campaign.

Yoon has about 16 years of coaching experience. After 12 years of playing in the K League and J League, he started his coaching career at Japanese club Sagan Tosu's youth team in 2008. He later became the team’s assistant manager and was named manager in 2011.

He took the helm of K League side Ulsan Hyundai, now Ulsan HD, in 2015 and left the team a year later, going on to coach Japanese club Cerezo Osaka and Thai squad Muangthong United.

Following a stint with Japanese team JEF United Ichihara Chiba from 2020 to 2022, he made his return to the K League by taking charge of Gangwon last year.

Yoon will begin training with the Incheon squad starting Thursday ahead of his overseas training in Thailand next year.

Incheon need to win the K League 2 in order to earn promotion to the K League 1, as only the winners book a direct ticket to the top tier. Two other teams will need to face K League 1 sides in playoffs in order to secure berths in the first division.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]