Jeonbuk vies for the first victory of the season

In the upcoming match scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Pro Football K League 1's Jeonbuk will host Gangwon as they strive for their first victory of the season.

Despite being considered a pre-season favorite, Jeonbuk currently finds itself in last place (12th) with just three points, accumulating three draws and two losses as of Friday. Among the 25 teams in K-League 1 and 2, Jeonbuk stands alone as the only team yet to secure its first win of the season. It has been 16 years since Jeonbuk, the most successful team in the K League with nine titles, failed to win any of their first five matches after the opening, a situation not seen since 2008. At that time, Jeonbuk secured their first victory in the sixth match after registering one draw and four losses in the initial five matches.

Before the start of this season, Jeonbuk aimed to bolster its squad by acquiring Brazilian forward Thiago, who topped the charts in attack points last season with 17 goals and seven assists for Daejeon, along with Hernández from Incheon. However, the anticipated impact of these acquisitions has yet to materialize. Hernández has been sidelined due to injury, while Thiago has struggled to rediscover his form. Jeonbuk currently shares the position with 11th-placed Daegu for scoring the fewest goals in the league, tallying only four goals. Their defensive stability has been compromised, as they have consistently conceded first and struggled to regain control in matches.

Following Jeonbuk's 0-2 defeat to Jeju in the fifth round on Wednesday, coach Dan Petrescu expressed his disappointment, saying, "The result is embarrassing even for myself. I will approach the upcoming match against Gangwon as if it were the final." Gangwon currently occupies eighth place in the league standings with six points, comprising one win, three draws, and one loss. Jeonbuk faced Gangwon three times last year, securing one victory while suffering two losses.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com