Changes at top, bottom of K League table looming

By Sunday evening, there could be a new team at the top of South Korean football for the first time in two months. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors will try to overtake Ulsan Hyundai FC for first place in the K League 1 when they both take the field Sunday. By beating Ulsan 2-1 on Tuesday, Jeonbuk closed the gap to two points, 47-45. The win also snapped Jeonbuk's season-high winless skid at three. In a winnable match on Sunday, Jeonbuk will host Busan IPark, who are stuck in 10th place with 21 point

Sept. 18, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min looking to build off successful season

Tottenham Hotspur's offensive star Son Heung-min will kick off the new Premier League season, looking to build off a successful campaign, in which he joined a select company of attacking aces. Tottenham's 2020-2021 season will begin against Everton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London at 4:30 p.m. Sunday (local time), or 12:30 a.m. Monday in South Korea. Son set a new career high in attacking points, with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points in league play, and 18 goals and 12 assists for

Sept. 11, 2020

Bunched-up table setting up wild final stretch in K League football

It has mostly been a two-horse race for the South Korean club football title in 2020, but there are intriguing battles elsewhere on the bunched-up table. Ulsan Hyundai FC are at the top of the K League 1 with 46 points through 19 matches. With eight contests remaining, they lead Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, three-time defending champions, by five points. Sangju Sangmu are in third place, seven points back. Below them, the middle of the table in the 12-club league gets crowded. Pohang Steelers trai

Sept. 10, 2020

Messi fails to attend coronavirus test: sources

BARCELONA (AFP) -- Lionel Messi missed a coronavirus test at Barcelona's training ground on Sunday morning, club sources have confirmed to AFP, raising the possibility he will now boycott preseason to force a transfer. Without passing a coronavirus test, Messi will be unable to join teammates for new coach Ronald Koeman's first training session on Monday, with the start of the La Liga season less than two weeks away. Messi was due to report for testing at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday but according t

Aug. 30, 2020

Vietnam football coach Park Hang-seo honored for int'l success

HANOI -- Park Hang-seo, the South Korean head coach of the Vietnamese men's national football team, has received a state badge of honor for his accomplishments in his adopted home. The Vietnamese government bestowed the second class Order of Labor upon Park at a ceremony at the Vietnam Football Federation headquarters Thursday. This award is given to individuals with outstanding achievements in labor, creativity or national construction. Park is the first foreign national to receive a Labor O

Aug. 27, 2020

Top dogs, cellar dweller all victorious in K League

After playing their first 15 matches of the season without a victory, Incheon United have now won two consecutive matches. Just like that, their hopes of avoiding relegation from the top division K League 1 to the K League 2 next year are very much alive. The K League's cellar dweller defeated Suwon Samsung Bluewings, the club right above them in the 12-team table, by 1-0 on Saturday. Song Si-woo delivered the winning goal in the 69th, lifting Incheon to 11 points for the season. Suwon, who

Aug. 24, 2020

Korean football league adjusts fixtures ahead of Asian club tournament

The top South Korean football league announced changes to its fixtures on Tuesday, a move designed to accommodate teams playing at a continental tournament in October. The six K League 1 matches set for Sept. 25-27 will be played Sept. 15-16. Matches set for Oct. 4 will instead take place Aug. 25-26. Four K League 1 clubs -- Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, FC Seoul and Ulsan Hyundai FC -- are competing in the annual Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League. The tou

Aug. 11, 2020

Every player in S. Korean football league to be tested for coronavirus

The South Korean football league said Tuesday it will conduct a second round of coronavirus tests on all players and coaches on its 22 teams across two divisions by next week as part of precautionary measures against the virus. The Korea Professional Football League (K League) said the 12 teams in the first-division K League 1 and 10 clubs in the K League 2 will be subject to testing, following their first all-inclusive tests in April. The test results should be reported to the K League secre

Aug. 4, 2020

Football clubs set to welcome fans for 1st time this season

After months of waiting, South Korean football clubs will finally be playing in front of their supporters this weekend. Three matches on Saturday and three more matches on Sunday in the K League 1 will be open to fans. The K League received the green light from the government a week ago to go ahead and start admitting supporters into stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic. After putting some finishing touches on their preparations, the six home clubs for this weekend put tickets on sale. T

July 31, 2020

Coach for struggling football club resigns

Choi Yong-soo, head coach of the struggling football club FC Seoul, stepped down Thursday. The K League 1 club made the announcement less than 24 hours after FC Seoul were knocked out of the quarterfinals at the Korea Football Association Cup (FA Cup) with a 5-1 loss to Pohang Steelers at Seoul World Cup Stadium. In the league table, FC Seoul are stuck in 11th place among 12 clubs with 10 points from three wins, one draw and nine losses. They have allowed a league-high 29 goals in 13 matches

July 30, 2020

Son Heung-min finishes Premier League season with career high in offensive points

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has finished his roller coaster of a season with a new career high in attacking points, though he failed to add to the tally in the Premier League season finale. Tottenham ended in a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park Stadium in London on Sunday (local time), with Son not factoring in on offense before being lifted in the 79th minute. Son ended the Premier League season with 11 goals and 10 assists for a career-best 21 points. He

July 27, 2020

Ki Sung-yueng looks forward to fresh start in return to K League's FC Seoul

Ki Sung-yueng has come home again. And he believes he can regain the form that made him one of the top midfielders to come out of South Korea. Ki was reintroduced as the member of FC Seoul in the K League 1 on Wednesday. He signed with them Tuesday, 11 years after leaving the nation's capital to embark on an international club career that took him to Scotland, Wales, England and Spain. He's signed through the 2023 season, though financial terms were not disclosed under a mutual agreement. Th

July 22, 2020

No upsets as big league clubs advance in nat'l football tournament

When the dust settled following eight knockout matches at the nation's largest football tournament, there were no upsets. Top-flight clubs that took on lower-tier opponents all advanced to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Wednesday night. FC Seoul of the K League 1 defeated the K League 2 side Daejeon Hana Citizen 4-2 on penalties, with coach Choi Yong-soo prevailing over his predecessor Hwang Sun-hong. In three other K League 1 vs. K League 2 matchups, the upper-tier teams all prevailed.

July 16, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores in 2nd straight match

Tottenham Hotspur's South Korean star Son Heung-min has scored in his second straight match. Son opened the scoring against Newcastle United in the Spurs' 3-1 victory in Premier League action at St. James' Park in Newcastle, Britain, on Wednesday (local time). It was Son's 11th goal in the league and 18th goal in all competitions this season. Son had also scored against Arsenal on the weekend. Those 18 goals plus 12 assists in all matches give Son a new career high in the combined goal-assist

July 16, 2020

Ulsan return to top of K League, keep focus on bigger fish to fry

The view from the top is always nice, but Ulsan Hyundai FC understand there is still a lot of football left this season. Ulsan returned to first place in the K League 1 table following a 3-1 victory over Daegu FC on Sunday. The away victory in Daegu, 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul, lifted Ulsan to 26 points, one ahead of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Jeonbuk eked out a 2-2 draw against Seongnam FC on Saturday after going down 2-0 and have now been held winless in two straight matches. Ulsan had

July 13, 2020

Tottenham's Son Heung-min scores, sets up winner to join exclusive club

Son Heung-min has reached yet another milestone in the Premier League. Son scored a goal and set up the winner in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday (local time). He now has 10 goals and 10 assists for the season, becoming only the second Premier League player to reach double figures in both categories in 2019-2020. The South Korean star has now scored in double figures in his fourth consecutive Premier League season. Arsenal opened

July 13, 2020

Jeonbuk's lead at top shrinks after rare loss in K League

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors saw their lead at the top of the K League 1 table shrink to just one point over the weekend, following a combination of their rare loss and a victory by their biggest rival club. Jeonbuk fell to Sangju Sangmu 1-0 on Sunday, with Kang Sang-woo converting a 75th-minute penalty to hand Jeonbuk only their second loss of the season. It was Jeonbuk's first "L" since May 30, when they dropped to Gangwon FC, also by the score of 1-0, and they remained at 24 points. A

July 6, 2020

Pro football league pushes back July 10 target for return of fans

With a spike in local infections of the novel coronavirus, the South Korean football league will not be able to reopen its stadiums on July 10 as it had hoped, a league official said Thursday. The 2020 K League season kicked off on May 8 without spectators, due to COVID-19 infection concerns. And following the government's announcement last Sunday that pro sports stadiums could open their doors again under strict quarantine and preventive measures, the K League had set July 10 as the target fo

July 2, 2020

K League's Ulsan acquire veteran fullback Hong Chul

South Korean football title hopefuls Ulsan Hyundai FC announced Wednesday they've acquired veteran fullback Hong Chul. The K League 1 club signed the South Korean international from Suwon Samsung Bluewings for an undisclosed transfer fee. The 29-year-old left fullback has played in 272 K League matches since making his debut with Seongnam Ilhwa Chunam (currently Seongnam FC) in 2010. He has earned 30 caps with the senior national team and represented the country at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. H

July 1, 2020

Last-place football club scraps plans for reunion with cancer-stricken ex-coach

Incheon United, the last-place club in the top division South Korean football league, will not bring back their cancer-stricken former head coach Yoo Sang-chul after all. Team officials said Tuesday that Yoo, who left the bench in January to continue his battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, has been told by his doctors that it'd be too much of a health risk for Yoo to return as head coach. The club had confirmed reports Monday that Yoo had approached Incheon's senior executives and expresse

June 30, 2020