2025 Season Preview: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | OneFootball

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors look to pull away from a calamitous 2024 and put the unexpected spectre of relegation firmly in the rear-view mirror as they somewhat gratefully prepare for another top-flight K League campaign. Gus Poyet has been tasked with restoring stability to the club and igniting Champions-like performances from a bloated squad of heavy investments that should have something to prove. With little business in the window to date though, will the Green Warriors be ready for the season ahead?

Last Season

10 Wins - 12 Draws - 16 Losses. Final Position:10th

What Happened?

Korea's most successful club, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, conspired to make their 30th anniversary a memorable one, parking the plight for silverware and steering themselves recklessly close to the ravine of relegation all while pointlessly poking at the satnav in unbridled frustration. They pulled up in 10th and only secured their top-flight status after narrowly defeating Seoul E-Land in the humiliation of a two-legged promotion-relegation playoff. It was a shocking fall from grace for a team that has dominated Korean football for the best part of the last two decades.

[READ: Jeonbuk edge past Seoul E-Land to avoid humiliation]

The warning signs had been evident after the Green Warriors endured a trophyless 2023, their first in ten years. Despite this, the board kept faith in manager Dan Petrescu, reasoning that he had only half a season to rectify the issues left behind by his predecessor, Kim Sang-sik. Heavy investment followed, with numerous signings arriving in an attempt to reverse the club’s fortunes instantly. However, injuries, poor performances, and a swollen squad meant that many struggled to make an impact, while existing players looked a shadow of their former selves. As Jeonbuk drifted dangerously toward the bottom of the table from the start of the campaign, Petrescu resigned just five league games into the season.

The search for his replacement dragged on for another ten league matches, only for the board to settle on Kim Do-heon, who had previously served as interim manager after Kim Sang-sik, and immediately acquired eight more summer signings to squeeze in. While a promising young coach, his appointment seemed borne of desperation rather than strategy. Unable to lift Jeonbuk out of danger, Kim at least ensured survival via the playoffs before stepping down to avoid further damage to his reputation. On a brighter note, his decision to prioritize the league by fielding the club’s K4 League-winning B team in the ACL2 group stages saw them surprisingly advance to the knockout stages with ease. As a result, his successor, Gus Poyet, enters 2025 with a strong youth core, continental football to compete in, and, somehow, a club that is still in the top flight.

Song Bum-keun (In, Shanon Bellmare): Former Jeonbuk goalkeeper Song Bum-keun returns to North Jeolla after two seasons at J.League’s Shonan Bellmare, where he lost his starting spot in his second year. With his place on the fringes of the Korean National Team under threat from Kim Joon-hong, ironically a Jeonbuk keeper who just moved to MLS side D.C. United, a return to the club that built his reputation made sense for all parties.

Kim Jin-su (Out, FC Seoul): A former international full-back who has embraced his mastering of the dark arts, it somehow seems fitting that Kim Jin-su's final act would be to rock up at rivals FC Seoul alongside one of last year's standouts Moon Seon-min after both of their services were deemed surplus to requirements. Kim was much adored at Jeonbuk since joining in 2017, and was appointed captain ahead of last year's cursed campaign, only for his on-pitch discipline and frustrations to see him stripped of the title by Kim Do-heon, with on-pitch showings and injuries seeing him out of the squad for most of the final straight.

Kim Young-bin (In, Gangwon FC): Such is the state of things in North Jeolla that 33-year-old centre-defender Kim Young-big from last year's runners-up Gangwon FC represents their most notable other piece of confirmed business at the time of publication, with just under two weeks remaining until the start of the campaign. In fairness, Kim is very reliable and, for a team that conceded 59 league goals in 2024, Jeonbuk can hardly afford to be picky in the defensive department. With Hong Jong-ho's fitness struggles, having another experienced centre-back to partner Park Jin-seop should help shore things up and bring some stability to a porous backline.

Key Player

Kim Jin-gyu

Come the end of last season, few players could feel they were worthy of consideration for this role in a new campaign.Kim Jin-gyu, one of a small club of Jeonbuk players who can boast his military duty ended with leaving a title-chase for a relegation scrap, bolstered the squad mid-season far more than any high-profile signing could. Perhaps it was the winning mentality forged at Gimcheon, but his impact was immediate, featuring in a 2-0 win over Ulsan HD before scoring in the following match against Gangwon. He finished with four goals in just 14 appearances, Jeonbuk’s fourth-highest scorer despite making less than half of the appearances of those above him. More than his numbers, however, it was his drive and creativity in a team that seemed to have lost all hope that makes him one of the strongest contenders to influence things positively in 2025.

Young Player to Watch

Jin Tae-ho

Somewhat befitting of things at the moment for the Green Warriors, their two best candidates that would have been eligible for under-22 selection, goalkeeper Kim Joon-hong and full-back Park Chang-woo, have both left the club in the winter while Jeon Byung-kwan is now no longer suitable having been born in 2002. However, with Jeonbuk’s B team (recently renamed N-Team for sponsorship reasons) excelling in the K4 League and ACL2, several promising young players could break through this season. One to watch is 19-year-old midfielder Jin Tae-ho, who featured in all six ACL2 group matches, starting four, while contributing two goals and an assist. He also made 11 appearances in the fourth tier, scoring three times, and remains a regular in Korea’s youth national teams, having played in the squad that finished runners-up to Thailand in the 2023 AFC U17 Asia Cup. If provided the opportunity, he could be an exciting emerging talent for Jeonbuk in 2025 and beyond.

Biggest Question

Is Gus Poyet the manager to fix things?

After the drawn-out and supposedly meticulous process that led to Kim Do-heon's midseason appointment, the board wasted little time naming his replacement in the off-season, announcing Gus Poyet’s arrival on Christmas Eve.

The Green Warriors have had mixed results with their previous two permanent international appointees. José Morais inherited arguably one of the strongest Jeonbuk iterations and led them to three trophies in two seasons before bowing out on a domestic double, while Dan Petrescu was unable to convey his message and had departed well within twelve months.

Concerningly, Petrescu's managerial success record seems to have the edge over the new appointment but Poyet will likely have shared notes with hismuch-admired former Chelsea teammate in addition to consulting with Jeonbuk's technical advisor Roberto Di Matteo on what to expect. Poyet's varying coaching global successes and struggles, including a brief stint in Asia with Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua, should give him some continental insight of the situation he is entering.

On a positive note, Poyet favours an attacking philosophy, which aligns with the board’s preferred style of play. He also has a solid track record of working with young talent, which could lead to more promotions from Jeonbuk’s successful reserve squad. Whether that, along with his experience, will be enough to steer the club back on track remains to be seen.

Reasons to watch Jeonbuk for neutrals have always felt flimsy given the certainty in which they would devour all in their path, with questions mostly concerning to the extent they would win it and the talents that would be on display. After the direness of last season, however, not to mention a globally-recognised managerial appointment ahead of this one, there is a genuine unpredictability to how this all may play out. The Green Warriors still boast one of the most expensively assembled squads in the country plus a strong reserve pool to draw from, yet they have done little business to better it this window after its drastic misfire and have decided to place their faith in the new coaching team to ascertain what is wrong and tune it accordingly. Ultimately, the team could lurch towards disaster once more or just as equally be in the discussion for silverware. The club currently sits at a crossroads and the rest of the league watches with both bated breath and morbid curiosity as to which direction it will take.