Busan IPark

Busan IPark (Korean: 부산 아이파크) is a South Korean professional football club based in Busan that competes in K League 2, the second tier of the South Korean football pyramid. They play their home games at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium.

Busan IPark
Full nameBusan IPark Football Club
부산 아이파크 축구단
Founded22 November 1979 (22 November 1979)
GroundBusan Asiad Main Stadium
Capacity53,769
OwnerHDC Hyundai Development Company
(affiliated with HDC Group)
ChairmanChung Mong-gyu
ManagerPark Jin-sub
LeagueK League 2
2022K League 2, 10th of 11
WebsiteClub website

Busan IPark was founded as a semi-professional team in November 1979 by Saehan Motors. The club was one of the original five founding members of the K League and continuously competed in the first division from 1983 to 2015, when they were relegated for the first time. Initially, the club was called Daewoo Royals, in reference to the motor company that originally owned and financed it. Since the early 2000s, Busan has received financial backing from the HDC Group and its apartment brand IPARK, rebranding as Pusan i.cons and later as Busan IPark.

History

Daewoo Royals

After topping the league for most of the 1983 season, Daewoo finished second in their debut season, losing the title by one point to Hallelujah FC after a goalless draw against Yukong Elephants in the Masan Series. In its sophomore season, the club turned professional, renamed as Daewoo Royals, and clinched its first league title after defeating Yukong Elephants by an aggregate score of 2–1 in the 1984 K League Championship playoff.[1]

Daewoo Royals headed into the 1986 K League season as continental champions after clinching the 1985–86 Asian Club Championship, becoming the first South Korean side to accomplish this feat after defeating Al-Ahli 3–1 after extra time in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Despite the continental success, the team suffered a poor season and failed to reach the 1986 K League Championship playoff after finishing fourth in the first round of the league and third in the second.

The Royals clinched their second league title after finishing atop the league with 46 points in the 1987 season. They won their third title in 1991 after finishing ten points clear of their nearest rivals that season, Hyundai Horang-i. The Royals' momentum didn't last as the club struggled in subsequent seasons, finishing at or near the bottom of the league.

Pusan Daewoo Royals

At the end of the 1995 season, K League sides began the process of "localizing", and the club became known as Pusan Daewoo Royals (Korean: 부산 대우 로얄즈) in reference to its city of residence. In 1997, they won their fourth league title, becoming the first team to win the K League Championship four times.

Although the 1998 season marked the emergence of a forward Ahn Jung-hwan, the Royals finished mid-table. The club did however manage to qualify for the 1999 K League Championship playoffs after finishing fourth in the regular season. During the playoffs, the Royals managed to knock out Chunnam Dragons and Bucheon SK to secure the right to face the defending champions, Suwon Samsung Bluewings, but lost in the final 4–2 on aggregate.[2]

Pusan i.cons

As a company-owned club, the Royals' success was invariably linked to the health and success of its owner, Daewoo Corporation. In the early 2000s, the company parted ways with its once-successful sports franchise due to major financial problems that had accumulated since the late 1990s. IPark Construction, the domestic construction division of Hyundai, secured ownership of the club and acquired all of its history and records. The new owners not only renamed the club as Pusan i.cons, but also changed the club's home colours from blue to red and relocated the club from Busan Gudeok Stadium to Busan Asiad Stadium.

Under new ownership, the club rarely challenged for the title, finishing mid-table or near bottom of the league in the 2000s. Aside from winning the Korean FA Cup for the first time in the club's history in 2004 under the guidance of Scottish manager Ian Porterfield (defeating Bucheon SK in a penalty shoot-out), the trophy cabinet remained largely empty.

Busan IPark

On the onset of the 2005 season, the owners changed the club's name to Busan I'Park (currently Busan IPark). After winning the first round, Porterfield's Busan side reached the 2005 K-League Championship play-offs, but lost to a traditionally lightweight, but then-inspired Incheon United side led by Chang Woe-ryong.

For the 2008 season, Hwang Sun-hong took over as manager. Although Busan did not win any silverware during his tenure, he did manage to bring in players such as Kim Chang-soo, Jeong Shung-hoon, Yang Dong-hyun and Kim Geun-chul while injecting the team with much needed youth by giving prospects such as Han Sang-woon, Park Hee-do, and Park Jong-woo first team opportunities. In his final season in charge of Busan, Hwang managed to lead his side to the 2010 Korean FA Cup final.

For the 2011 season, the board appointed An Ik-soo to take over from Hwang Sun-Hong who had left to manage his former club, Pohang Steelers. Under An, Busan managed to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2005 after finishing fifth on the league table in the regular season. An's Busan side was knocked out in the first round of the play-offs by Suwon Samsung Bluewings by a familiar scoreline of 1–0.

In February 2012, an adjustment was made to the club's name by dropping an apostrophe making the official name read Busan IPark.

In 2015, after nine successive bottom-half finishes, Busan IPark were relegated to the K League Challenge for the first time in their history.

Towards the end of the 2016 season, with an immediate return to the K League Classic looking unlikely, IPark moved back to their smaller, previous home ground, the Gudeok Stadium.

Busan IPark had an impressive 2017 season, although this was overshadowed by the death of then-manager Cho Jin-ho with only two weeks remaining in the season. Busan finished runners up in the K League Challenge to Gyeongnam FC, losing only 6 games all season. With caretaker manager, Lee Seung-yub in charge, Busan defeated Asan Mugunghwa, in the playoff semi-final, but lost on penalties after a two-legged final to Sangju Sangmu FC, who became the first K League Classic team to retain their league status via the playoffs. Busan also reached the final of the FA Cup, knocking out higher league opposition in Pohang Steelers, FC Seoul, Jeonnam Dragons and Suwon Bluewings but once again lost over a two-legged final, this time to Ulsan Hyundai.

For the 2018 season in the newly re-branded K League 2, Choi Yun-kyum was appointed manager after previously gaining promotion with Gangwon FC. Busan IPark eventually finished third in the K League 2, but for the second consecutive season lost in the two-legged playoff final, this time to FC Seoul. Despite again failing in their promotion bid, Busan broke numerous attendance records for the K League 2, including over 10,000[3] for the home leg of the playoff final. After failing to get promoted, manager Choi Yun-kyum resigned in the off-season and was replaced by Cho Deok-je. Busan enjoyed a successful 2019 season, with Cho Deok-je implementing an attacking brand of football that saw Busan finish as the top-scoring team in the division. Cho's side were built around young talents such as Kim Moon-hwan, Lee Dong-jun, and Kim Jin-kyu, as well as then national team striker Lee Jung-hyup, veteran midfielder Park Jong-woo, and Brazilian playmaker Rômulo. Busan IPark finished second in the K League 2 behind Gwangju FC, entering the promotion playoffs for the fourth season in a row. After defeating FC Anyang 1–0 at home, Busan faced local rivals Gyeongnam FC in a two-legged final. After a goalless first leg at the Gudeok Stadium, Busan won the away fixture 2–0 to secure their return to Korea's top division for the first time since 2015.

The 2020 season brought quite the opposite feelings, in comparison: the club quickly found itself fighting against relegation, and coach Cho Deok-je eventually left the club in September after a poor run of results. Former Incheon United coach Lee Ki-hyung took over in a caretaker capacity for the remaining four games of the season. After taking four points from his first two games in charge, Busan only needed a single point from either of their final games of the season to guarantee their top flight status for another year. However, despite leading at half-time against both Incheon United and Seongnam FC, Busan lost both games and finished in last place, thus getting relegated back to the K League 2.[4]

Because of this major blow, at the start of 2021 Busan's board chose to pursue a general rebuild, which was opened by massive changes in the locker room: a multi-phased trade with Ulsan Hyundai saw Lee Kyu-seong and homegrown rising star Lee Dong-jun depart, in favour of Choi Jun, Park Jeong-in, Lee Sang-heon and Jung Hoon-sung; other prominent players, including Han Ji-ho (who went to Bucheon FC 1995), Kang Min-soo (to Incheon United), Rômulo (to Chengdu), Kim Moon-hwan (who joined MLS club Los Angeles FC) and Kwon Hyeok-kyu (due to military service at Gimcheon Sangmu), left the club as well; the previous year's top scorer and MVP, An Byong-jun, as well as Ahn Joon-soo, Park Min-gyu (on loan), Valentinos Sielis, Domagoj Drožđek and Ryan Edwards, were all brought in.[5]

The team also had its first permanent foreign manager since 2007, as newcomer Ricardo Peres was appointed, following a conversation between the board and then South Korean national team head coach Paulo Bento, who Peres had worked with for years.[5][6] Although the young Portuguese manager succeeded in implementing new training strategies at the club and giving young players more chances, he had a controversial relationship with supporters, while the team's results were panned by inconsistency and lack of balance: having the worst defence of the league (with 56 conceded goals) and relying mainly on two players for goals (An Byong-jun and Park Jeong-in), Busan finished fifth in the league and out of the promotion play-offs.[6] Nevertheless, new positives were still taken as backbone player Kim Jin-kyu established himself as one of the best midfielders of the season, while Choi Jun and An Byong-jun were nominated in the league's Best XI, as the latter also won both his second Top Scorer and MVP awards in a row.[6]

Club name history

Club Name Period
Saehan Motors FC 1979–1980
Daewoo FC 1980–1982
Daewoo Royals 1983–1995
Pusan Daewoo Royals 1996–2000
Pusan i.cons 2000–2002
Busan I'Cons 2002–2005
Busan I'Park 2005–2011
Busan IPark 2012–present

Current squad

As of 23 July 2023[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK South Korea KOR Koo Sang-min
2 FW South Korea KOR Eo Jeong-won
3 DF South Korea KOR Kim Dong-su
4 DF South Korea KOR Han Hee-hoon
5 DF South Korea KOR Cho Wi-je
6 DF South Korea KOR Choi Jun
7 MF Brazil BRA Fessin
8 MF South Korea KOR Park Jong-woo
9 FW South Korea KOR Kim Chan
10 MF Brazil BRA Bruno Lamas
11 FW South Korea KOR Kim Jeong-hwan
13 GK South Korea KOR Lee Seung-kyu
14 MF South Korea KOR Jung Won-jin (vice-captain)
15 MF South Korea KOR Lee Jeong-yoon
17 MF South Korea KOR Son Hwi
18 MF South Korea KOR Lim Min-hyeok (on loan from FC Seoul)
19 DF South Korea KOR Hong Uk-hyeon
20 DF South Korea KOR Lee Han-do (captain)
21 DF South Korea KOR Choi Ye-hoon
22 MF South Korea KOR Lee Sang-heon
23 MF South Korea KOR Sung Ho-yeung
24 MF South Korea KOR Cheon Ji-hyeon
25 DF South Korea KOR Lee Hyeon-kyu
26 DF South Korea KOR Choi Ji-mook
28 FW South Korea KOR Kang Yeong-woong
29 MF South Korea KOR Choi Gi-yun
30 MF South Korea KOR Yang Se-young
No. Pos. Nation Player
31 FW South Korea KOR Lee Hyun-jun
32 DF South Korea KOR Won Tae-rang
33 DF South Korea KOR Kim Sang-jun (on loan from Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
34 DF South Korea KOR Jang Myeong-keun
35 DF South Korea KOR Park Ho-young
36 MF South Korea KOR Jo Min-ho
37 FW South Korea KOR Kwon Min-jae
38 GK South Korea KOR Im Ki-mok
39 DF South Korea KOR Min Sang-gi (on loan from Suwon Samsung Bluewings)
41 GK South Korea KOR Hwang Byeong-geun
43 DF South Korea KOR Hong Seok-hyeon (on loan from Jeonnam Dragons)
44 DF South Korea KOR Choi Dong-ryul
45 DF South Korea KOR Hwang Jun-ho
47 MF South Korea KOR Jeon Seung-min
49 FW South Korea KOR Park Dong-jin (on loan from FC Seoul)
51 GK South Korea KOR Kim Min-seung
55 MF South Korea KOR Kang Sang-yoon (on loan from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)
63 MF South Korea KOR Park Gun-hee
66 DF South Korea KOR Park Se-jin
72 FW South Korea KOR Park Seong-bin
77 DF South Korea KOR Lee Jung
81 MF South Korea KOR Yeo Reum
88 MF South Korea KOR Lee Seung-gi
91 FW South Korea KOR Kwak Seung-jo
96 FW Brazil BRA Franklin Mascote
99 FW South Korea KOR Choi Geon-ju

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF South Korea KOR Lee Sang-jun (to Jinju Citizen for military duty)
MF South Korea KOR Han Joon-kyu (to Jinju Citizen for military duty)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW South Korea KOR Lee Tae-min (to Jeonnam Dragons)

Retired number(s)

12Club supporters (the 12th man)
16South Korea Kim Joo-sung, 1987–1999 (winger, attacking midfielder, centre-back)

Kits

Kit suppliers

  • 1983–1992: Adidas
  • 1993–1995: Erima
  • 1996–1998: Adidas
  • 1999: Fila
  • 2000–2003: Nike
  • 2004: Kappa
  • 2005–2006: Hummel
  • 2007–2011: Fila
  • 2012–2013: Puma
  • 2014–2017: Adidas
  • 2018–2021: None (the club used the Adidas uniform sponsored by Kika[6])
  • 2022–present: Puma[6]

Honours

League

Cups

Continental

Worldwide

Invitational

Season-by-season records

Season League FA Cup ACL Others
Division GP W D L GF GA GD Pts Pos.
19831166732114+7192
19842817654723+24591
1985219752216+6253
19862010282624+2224WAACCW
198732161424120+21461
19882485112830–2215
19894014141244440423
199030121173025+5352
199130171854932+17521
19923071492633–7285LC — 6th
199330515102232–10406LC — 3rd
19943076173756–19276LC — 3rd
19952895143040–10325LC — 3rd
19963299144551–6366QFLC — 3rd
1997181143249+153711RLC(A)W
LC(P)W
1998186482722+5255QFLC(A) — GS
LC(P)W
199927104133736+1372[lower-alpha 1]Ro16QFLC(A) — PR
LC(D) — RU
200027921642420296SFLC(A) — QF
LC(D) — GS
200127101163833+5415QFLC — RU
20022768133645–9269QFLC — GS
2003441310214171–30499Ro32
20042461262119+2307WLC — 13th
20052477102831-32810Ro32SFLC — 13th
SC — RU
20062697104042–2348Ro16LC — 10th
20072648142039–192013QFLC — GS
20082657143039–92212Ro16LC — QF
20092878133642–62912Ro16LC — RU
20102889113637–1338RULC — QF
201130137104943+6466[lower-alpha 2]QFLC — RU
2012441314174051–11537Ro32
2013381410144341+2526SF
2014381013153749–12438QF
201538511223055–252611↓Ro32
2016240197145239+13645Ro16
201736191165230+22682RU
201836141485335+18563Ro16
201936181357247+25672↑3R
2020127510122538–132512↓QF
2021236129154656–104553R
20224099223452–1836103R
  1. 4th in league, 2nd in play-offs
  2. 5th in league, 6th in play-offs
Key
  • W = Winners
  • RU = Runners-up
  • SF = Semi-final
  • QF = Quarter-final
  • Ro16 = Round of 16
  • Ro32 = Round of 32
  • GS = Group stage
  • PR = Preliminary round
  • 3R = Third round

AFC Champions League record

All results list Busan's goal tally first.

Season Round Opposition Home Away Agg.
2005 Group G Vietnam Bình Định 8–0 4–0 1st
Thailand Krung Thai Bank 4–0 2–0
Indonesia Persebaya Surabaya 4–0 3–0
Quarter-final Qatar Al-Sadd 3–0 2–1 5–1
Semi-final Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 0–5 0–2 0–7

Managerial history

No. Name From To Season(s) Notes
South Korea Lee Jong-hwan 1979/11/22 1980/??/?? Predecessor Saehan Motors FC manager
1 South Korea Chang Woon-soo 1981/01/?? 1983/10/18 1983
2 South Korea Cho Yoon-ok 1983/10/18 1984/06/20 1984
3 South Korea Chang Woon-soo 1984/06/21 1986/12/06 1984–86 1984 K League winner
1985–86 Asian Club Championship winner
4 South Korea Lee Cha-man 1986/12/07 1989/12/?? 1987–89 1987 K League winner
C South Korea Kim Hee-tae 1989/04/?? 1989/12/?? 1989
5 West Germany Frank Engel 1989/12/21 1990/11/?? 1990
6 Hungary Bertalan Bicskei 1990/11/17 1991/11/15 1991 1991 K League winner
7 South Korea Lee Cha-man 1992/01/01 1992/09/23 1992
C South Korea Cho Kwang-rae 1992/09/25 1992/12/23 1992
8 1992/12/24 1994/06/21 1993–94
C South Korea Chung Hae-won 1994/06/21 1994/09/07 1994
9 South Korea Kim Hee-tae 1994/09/08 1995/08/03 1994–95
C South Korea Shin Woo-sung 1995/08/04 1995/12/31 1995
10 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragoslav Šekularac 1996/01/04 1996/07/14 1996
C South Korea Kim Tae-soo 1996/07/15 1996/12/25 1996
11 South Korea Lee Cha-man 1996/12/26 1999/06/09 1997–99 1997 K League winner
C South Korea Shin Yoon-ki 1999/06/10 1999/09/08 1999
C South Korea Chang Woe-ryong 1999/09/14 1999/12/17 1999
12 South Korea Kim Ho-kon 2000/02/23 2002/11/05 2000–02
C South Korea Park Kyung-hoon 2002/11/05 2002/11/20 2002
13 Scotland Ian Porterfield 2002/11/21 2006/04/03 2003–06 2004 Korean FA Cup winner
C South Korea Kim Pan-gon 2006/04/03 2006/08/22 2006
14 Switzerland Andy Egli 2006/07/25 2007/06/30 2006–07
C South Korea Kim Pan-gon 2007/06/30 2007/07/17 2007
15 South Korea Park Sung-hwa 2007/07/18 2007/08/03 2007 Managed only one match in FA Cup
C South Korea Kim Pan-gon 2007/08/03 2007/12/03 2007
16 South Korea Hwang Sun-hong 2007/12/04 2010/11/05 2008–10
17 South Korea An Ik-soo 2010/11/10 2012/12/14 2011–12
18 South Korea Yoon Sung-hyo 2012/12/18 2015/07/13 2013–15
C Brazil Denis Iwamura 2015/07/13 2015/10/07 2015
19 South Korea Choi Young-jun 2015/10/07 2016/11/04 2015–16 Relegated to K League Challenge in 2015
20 South Korea Cho Jin-ho 2016/12/06 2017/10/10 2017 Died on 10 October 2017
C South Korea Lee Seung-yub 2017/10/10 2017/12/03 2017
21 South Korea Choi Yun-kyum 2017/12/11 2018/12/11 2018
22 South Korea Cho Deok-je 2018/12/18 2020/09/29 2019–20 Promoted to K League 1 in 2019
C South Korea Lee Ki-hyung 2020/09/29 2020/10/31 2020 Relegated to K League 2 in 2020
23 Portugal Ricardo Peres 2020/11/25 2022/05/31 2021–22
24 South Korea Park Jin-sub 2022/06/03 Present 2022–

References

  1. "South Korea 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  2. "South Korea 1999". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  3. "K LEAGUE / K리그". kleague.com. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  4. Marcantonio, Tomas (8 December 2020). "2020 Season Review: Busan IPark". K League United. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  5. Wilde, Todd (11 February 2021). "2021 Busan IPark Season Preview". K League United. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  6. Lee, Do-won (5 December 2021). "2021 Season Review : Busan IPark". K League United. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
  7. "선수단" [Squad]. busanipark.com (in Korean). Busan IPark. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
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