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Gus Poyet vows to restore pride at Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after tough 2024

Published: 01 Jan. 2025, 12:34 Updated: 01 Jan. 2025, 16:10

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors manager Gus Poyet speaks during a press conference at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Dec. 30, 2024. [NEWS1]

Gus Poyet, new head coach of the nine-time K League 1 champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, said Monday he will try to "restore a little bit of pride" for the club reeling from a disappointing 2024 season.

Poyet, 57, was named Jeonbuk's new boss on Christmas Eve. He had most recently coached the Greece men's national team from 2022 to 2024. He was also interviewed for the Korean men's national team job earlier this year.

Poyet also coached Sunderland in the Premier League from 2013 to 2015, after beginning his head coaching career with Brighton & Hove Albion in the second-tier English league in 2009. Poyet also managed at AEK Athens in Greece, Real Betis in Spain, Shanghai Shenhua in China, FC Girondins de Bordeaux in France and Universidad Catolica in Chile.

Jeonbuk will turn to the well-traveled Uruguayan tactician to steady the ship after suffering through one of their worst seasons in the K League 1 in 2024. They finished in 10th place among 12 clubs with 42 points, just three points above last-place Incheon United. Jeonbuk fell into a promotion-relegation playoff for the first time and held off Seoul E-Land of the K League 2 by 4-2 in the aggregate score to avoid being relegated to the second division.

"I do believe I will come here and stay as long as I can to do well, and especially to restore a little bit of the pride of the club because we know what happened last season," Poyet said at his introductory press conference at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla.

"I am not the kind of person that likes to talk much about negativity. Let's say that what happened this year is gone," he added. "We start today from zero. We look forward to the future in a positive manner. We learn a lot from what happened and we will make sure that it won't happen again."

Poyet said it was "a very easy decision to accept this challenge" of coaching in a new league and a new country. He said he often follows his instincts when making decisions in life, and added he had "a very good feeling" after talking with Jeonbuk officials at the onset of the negotiations.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors manager Gus Poyet, third from right, poses for a photo with his coaching staff staff at Jeonju World Cup Stadium in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Dec. 30, 2024. [YONHAP]

"It was an instant connection with the people of the club," Poyet continued. "I think it's a step forward in my career."

Poyet will have his longtime lieutenants in the backroom staff, with Mauricio Taricco, who has been working with Poyet since 2009, serving as the top assistant at Jeonbuk. Poyet's son, Diego, is also on the staff.

Throughout his presser, the senior Poyet kept using the pronoun "we" instead of "I" when discussing his tactical approach for the upcoming season.

"We are a group of staff that understand that in football, the ball is the most important. When you have the football with you, everybody's enjoying and everybody's playing the game in a certain way, without forgetting about the rest, like intensity and passion," Poyet said. "We want to play an offensive football. In this team, we play to win. That doesn't mean we want to win 7-6. But we'll make sure everyone who comes to the ground will enjoy watching the team play.

"We understand the game in a way that we know how important it is to defend, without stopping the team from being aggressive," Poyet added. "It's about how you convince the players, how you make sure that you use the players in the position where they can give you the maximum so they can be at the best."

Poyet wouldn't declare the 2025 season would be a "champion or bust" type of campaign for Jeonbuk and instead preached patience.

Poyet said he had already learned about Jeonbuk players on the football side and he was looking forward to learning more about them on the personal side during their training camp in Thailand in January.

Gustavo Poyet catches the ball during a Euro 2024 qualifying play-off between Georgia and Greece at the Boris Paichadze National Stadium in Tbilisi, Georgia on March 26, 2024. [AP/YONHAP]

"The first month is going to be a lot of learning process both ways. I'm going to learn a lot from the players and the players, they want to learn a lot from us," he said. "The quicker I know the players, the better we're going to be in that first game in February."

Poyet interviewed for the vacant head coaching position for the Korean men's senior national team last year, before Korea hired Hong Myung-bo in July. Just a few months later, Poyet did land a job in Korea.

Yonhap