As the end of the season approaches, the K-League is drawing to a close. As the evergreen tree of Korean soccer, Ulsan Hyundai vows to break the cocoon into a butterfly this time, ending Jeonbuk Hyundai's five-championship dominance and breaking its 17-year title drought at the same time.
Scoreboard Storm
Ulsan Hyundai is at the top of the table with 73 points with 21 wins, 10 draws and 5 losses, 6 points ahead of Jeonbuk Hyundai. With just one more point in the remaining two rounds of matches, the title will be within reach.
South Korean international Kim Young-kwon, who played for Guangzhou Evergrande, said, "The championship is getting closer and closer, but we must not let up until the trophy is in our hands."
Ulsan players celebrate victory with fans
Jeonbuk Hyundai's domination
, have been the dominant force in the K-League for the last five years and have held Ulsan at bay for the last three. in the 2017 season, Jeonbuk won the title with 75 points, nine ahead of second-placed Jeju United; in the 2018 season, Jeonbuk won the title with 86 points, 21 ahead of second-placed Gyeongnam FC; and in the 2019 season, Ulsan finished first in the regular season, one point ahead of Jeonbuk but two points ahead of Jeonbuk ahead of two rounds of the title-contending group race.
However, after a 1-1 draw in a crucial two-team duel, Ulsan needed only a home win in the final round to claim the title, but lost to Pohang at a crucial moment, while Jeonbuk beat Gangwon 1-0, resulting in the two teams finishing with the same 79 points, but Ulsan had an inferior goal differential and unfortunately missed out on the title.
In the 2020 season, Ulsan finished first in the regular season, two points ahead of Jeonbuk in the Championship Group, but lost 0-1 in a direct match against Jeonbuk, who eventually turned the tables on Ulsan in the Championship Group to win the title again.
The good news is that Ulsan won the AFC Champions League in 2020, but manager Kim Do-hoon left at the end of his contract and Hong Myung-bo, who coached Hangzhou Greentown, took over. At the start of his tenure, Hong vowed to lead Ulsan back to the league title and avoid the embarrassment of 16 years without a league title.
In the 2021 season, Ulsan and Jeonbuk entered the Champions League with 64 points in the regular season, but once again, Ulsan dropped the ball in the Champions League. In the direct match against Jeonbuk, Ulsan was whistled out of the game in full-time injury time by Jeonbuk, with Ilyuchenko, who was rumored to be involved with Chinese Super League clubs Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Seaport prior to the start of the season, scoring the goal and assisted on the kill by Japanese player Gihiro Kunimoto, who was dismissed from his contract with Jeonbuk for drink-driving. The goal was scored by Ilyuchenko, who was rumored to be involved with Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Harbor before the start of the season.
Ulsan have been strong all the way through the season, leading the regular season and entering the Championship Group race with a five-point advantage, and this time they didn't drop the ball, taking the initiative completely into their own hands.
death-defying moment
On October 8, Ulsan faced their old rivals Jeonbuk again in the second round of the title race in the K-League, in what is known as the "Hyundai Derby". 40 wins, 29 draws, and 38 losses for Jeonbuk in the K-League's history of "Hyundai Derbies" gives them a slight lead. The K-League history of "Hyundai Derby", Jeonbuk has 40 wins, 29 draws and 38 losses, slightly ahead.
Prior to this marquee match, Ulsan also played Jeonbuk in the semi-finals of the KFA Cup, where Ulsan lost 1-2 in extra time and did not qualify for the final. In the final moments of that game, Ulsan's top scorer, Leonardo, who joined on loan from Shandong Taishan this season, clashed with his opponent, head-butting his opponent in the face, and after the referee watched the VAR, he was sent off with a red card, and Ulsan, who were playing with 10 men in the extra time, eventually lost 1-2.
After the match, Hong Mingfu lambasted Leonardo for his foolish behavior, but the outcome could not be changed, and for the match on the 8th, Hong said he was going to, "Gamble it all!"
More than 20,000 fans showed up on the day of the match, the largest Ulsan home crowd of the season. Ulsan took the initiative, but Barrow broke the deadlock for Jeonbuk in the 34th minute, after which Ulsan went on a frenzied onslaught against Jeonbuk, but could not break through.
It wasn't until injury time that former South Korean international Lee Cheong Ryong created a handball in the penalty area by a Jeonbuk player, and the referee awarded a penalty after seeing the VAR, which Hungarian striker Adam took with a single stroke of the pen to assist Ulsan in equalizing the score. Whistling for an equalizer, but it wasn't over.
In the 10th minute of injury time, Ulsan won a corner kick opportunity, Lee Kyu-sung crossed the ball and Martin grabbed the header to finish the game. Throughout the second half, Ulsan had 68% possession and 17 shots on goal, and finally accomplished the impossible with Adam's two goals in injury time.
Hong and his players were in a frenzy, and Ulsan fans watching the game were in tears. One female fan said, "I got goosebumps when I scored the killer goal, I was so excited I couldn't stop the tears, we finally stood up."
Hong Mingfu celebrates the shutout with a flyer
After the game, Hong Myung-bo was very happy: "In today's game, the mental power has to exceed the tactics and strategies, if we concede one more goal, we will collapse, the competition with Jeonbuk, it's really difficult to win the game with this kind of method, and we've grown a lot."
Of course, he was also calm, "I will just enjoy this win today because the time left for us to prepare for the next one, is running out."
unresolved mystery
After the reverse shutout of Jeonbuk, Ulsan is now 8 points clear at the top of the overall standings, with 3 games to go and only 1 more win needed to secure the title in their pockets.
Their next opponent is Pohang. Yes, it's Pohang again. 2019 season, Ulsan lost the title to Pohang at home after a great situation; 2020 season, they lost in a direct match with Jeonbuk, but before that, they lost to Pohang in the same way, and it was a bad loss, 0-4.
If Jeonbuk is a thorn in the side of Ulsan, then Pohang is a thorn in the flesh of Ulsan. 11 days ago, Ulsan scored a goal in the first half, but was tied by Pohang in the second half, and ended up with 1-1, not winning the championship in advance, but the good thing is that this time, Ulsan is ahead by a large enough number of points.
With two games to go, Ulsan only needs one more point to secure the title. The two opponents are Gangwon and Jeju United, and Ulsan is still known as the "Gangwon Killer", and has never lost to this opponent in the past 10 years, even if they lose, Jeonbuk does not win, Ulsan will still win the championship early.
Ulsan players celebrate the victory
The Korean media believes that the K-League title is 99% in Ulsan's hands this season. But Choi Yong-soo, Gangwon's manager and an old acquaintance of Chinese fans, thinks otherwise.
"We haven't won against Ulsan in 10 years, but we have to play such a role to send the message that 'you have to go to the end to know the result', and we have to give the fans a gift in our last home game."
Jeonbuk doesn't think so either, "There are still two contests left, it's a long shot but we won't give up."
This season's Jeonbuk has indeed not been easy either, with injuries, the release of key players from DUIs, and a double header, especially in the AFC Champions League knockout rounds where they played 3 consecutive games in extra time and won 2, but lost on penalties to Urawa Red Diamonds in the East Asian final, and did not qualify for the final.
Resilient Jeonbuk, back in the league, also dragged Ulsan all the way to the end. But the momentum has been hard to change.
In the 37th round of the K-League on October 16th, Ulsan travels to Gangwon and Jeonbuk travels to Jeju, with the title likely to be revealed early.
An Ulsan official said, "The players don't want to bear the pain of previous injuries, and are working through it with their own abilities in every game, every season, even as the team is very shy about using words like 'failure'."
Will the "Happy Ending" that Ulsan has been waiting for come early?
