Jeonbuk Motors: Speeding down Asian football’s fast lane

With the 2011 Asian Champions League knockout phase kicking off this week, Mehdi Rahnama takes a look at one of the teams to keep an eye on in his debut article for Just Football:

The group stages of the 2011 Asian Champions League is over and it concluded with a number of surprises, as some teams unexpectedly made it through at the expense of bigger names knocked out early in the competition. Newly-crowned UAE champions Al-Jazira, Iranian giants Esteghlal and Shandong Luneng of China all bid their farewell to the tournament as other less likely candidates progressed to the surprise of many.

One team that did that did not surprise or disappoint, was Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, from South Korea. After qualifying to the AFC Champions League as K-League’s third placed team, Jeonbuk dominated group G of the competition. With 15 points out of a possible 18, they were the first team of the eight groups to reach the last 16 stages.

South Korea’s dominance of last season’s edition of the Asian Champions League raised both fear and respect among other clubs in the continent towards the K-League. Half of the teams in last season’s quarter- finals were from the K-League. Jeonbuk was one of two who didn’t make it through, after a shock elimination at the hands of Al-Shabab of Saudi Arabia, losing 2-0 at home in a replay.

This season Jeonbuk have big ambitions, and they have topped their last season performance in the group stages by three points. With only two players leaving and two joining, the club kept all of its key players and it seems that coach Choi Kang-Hee has done everything right. Other than their impressive form in the Champions League, they also ledthe K-League table by a point after nine games of the new season. The K-League has 16 teams and as a franchise structured system, comparable to North America’s Major League Soccer, no team will be relegated.

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors has not always been as strong and stable as today. After its founding in 1994, it suffered financially until the takeover of Hyundai Motors who changed the club’s fortunes. With a stable management, and healthy financial backing, the greens of Jeonju – a city in the North Jeolla Province (the club’s green crest is meant to represent the green of the province) – have risen to become one of Asia’s strongest sides.

While the team had experienced some success in the early 2000s – including twice winning the Korean FA Cup – it was after the appointment of Kang-Hee that they became known as an Asian powerhouse. Kang Hee led the greens to continental glory in 2006, making them the first team from East Asia to win the AFC Champions League, and their very first league title in 2009. He had been the head coach of the South Korean national team between 2003- 2004, prior to being appointed by Jeonbuk football club in 2005.

Jeonbuk will play host to Tianjin Teda – China’s sole representative in the last sixteen of the Asian Champions League – at the beautiful Jeonju Castle, Jeonbuk’s 42,000-capacity home. The Chinese side, coached by Dutch veteran Arie Haan, will need to be up for the challenge against the in-form Motors.

Mehdi Rahnama is a new contributor to Just Football.

Asian Champions League, Asian Football, Choi Kang-Hee, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, South Korea