“Seongnam are the second strongest team in the league but we are the strongest,” said Pohang Steelers boss Sergio Farias after his team defeated the K-League leaders 2-1 last Saturday. The Brazilian is exaggerating his team’s abilities but at the moment in Korea, just as the weather finally settles into seasonable temperatures, the football scene has gone haywire. How else can you explain Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ 5-2 thrashing of Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the once-feared Big Bird Stadium? Earlier in the season, Suwon couldn’t stop winning and the Motors couldn’t start. Now the Jeonju club collected three successive wins; Suwon have lost five of their last seven. For the Jeonju-based team, the fried egg on the bi-bim-bap was the five star showing in Suwon, after the meeting between the two earlier in the season had been a bad-tempered one. In May, the Gyeonngi team went to Jeonju to win 2-1 with the last kick of the game. By that 94th minute, emotions were running high after Jeonbuk striker Cho Jae-jin scored and then, in the view of the Suwon fans, celebrated provocatively in front of the massed blue ranks. Cho told them he was only following what Suwon’s Seo Dong-hyun had done earlier in the game. Suwon fans told him that they would ‘see him at the Big Bird’. They came, they saw but Cho conquered. The much-maligned male model was roundly booed and jeered on his return to Gyeonggi but he quickly made the catcalls stick in blue craws. Cho put Jeonbuk ahead and although Suwon soon equalized, four goals from the men in green in ten second half minutes stunned the home fans and kept the visitors’ hopes of a place in the top six and entry to the championship play-off series alive. It was also the most goals that Suwon goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae has ever conceded in a single match. “I expected it,” smiled Cho after the game, not referring to the 5-2 scoreline of course but the reception from the home fans. “It didn’t bother me. I was just focused on the game. In fact, it motivated me to do better.” The feeling of defeat is becoming increasingly familiar for Blues boss Cha Bum-keun. “Our condition is poor,” said the legend of Korean soccer. “We have many injuries but most importantly because of results, the atmosphere around the team is bad.” It certainly is. A comprehensive 3-1 defeat at Jeju United the week previously and a 5-2 thrashing at home at the hands of another mid-table team leaves Suwon’s season in danger of meltdown. It is a big test for coach Cha, one known for buying good players but his ability to build a team is not quite so respected. Runs like the current one happen and are never easy for a coach to break. The defeat sent Suwon, so long the leaders, down into third place and looking over a shoulder at the approaching Ulsan in fourth. It is FC Seoul that are the ones to watch. The capital club are unbeaten for 15 league matches and brushed aside Chunnam Dragons 3-0 on Sunday to move above Suwon but below Seongnam. It wasn’t the best of performances for the hosts but confidence is coursing through the veins of the players and with Dejan Damjanovic in great form in attack, Seoul are looking good at a good time. With Ulsan and Pohang looking fairly safe in fourth and fifth, a number of clubs are chasing the sixth and final play-off spot with all the fervour of a tired Seoul salaryman eyeing a free subway seat in the evening rush hour. The Uniteds of Jeju and Incheon are in there fighting along with Gyeongnam FC, a resurgent Jeonbuk and an unpredictable Daegu. The play-off system has its critics but there is no denying that at this stage of the season, it provides a fascinating sideshow to the increasingly fierce race at the top. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

With the temperatures and humidity levels rising all over the Korean peninsula, the nation’s players will be happy that the K-league is taking a five-week break. Recent games have seen most of the 22 on the pitch collapse on the turf in exhaustion as the referee blows his whistle to signal the end. Not all players will be resting, 18 of them will be heading to China to play in the Beijing Olympics- more about that next week. For those left behind, and especially the coaches, there will be a lot of thinking going on over the next month. Suwon, Seongnam and Seoul may be lording it at the top of the pile but there are plenty of others not so well off. The one with the most to consider is Hwang Sun-hong. The hero of the 2002 World Cup is one of South Korea’s best ever strikers but his first coaching job is not going so well. Busan I’Park started the season with a win on the opening day against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. 14 games later and Hwang is still looking for victory number two following four ties and ten defeats. Busan has been unlucky at times; playing well against some of the big boys and losing to last-minute strikes. The south coast team, which contains Ahn Jung-hwan, had never been handed a heavy defeat - until last Saturday that is. That was when free-scoring Daegu FC won 4-0 at Busan’s World Cup Stadium. Three of the goals came in the final minutes as Busan desperately tried to get something out of the game. Still, it was a sobering result and the defending was enough to drive long-suffering Busan fans, and perhaps coach Hwang, to drink. Ahead of Busan in the standings, but only just, are the three Jeolla clubs. Gwangju Sangmu is a perennial struggler and it is no surprise to see the military-run team, reliant on conscripts to the army and unable to sign players, struggle in the nether regions but more was expected of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The Jeonju team is improving slightly but has won just four games in a season when the 2006 Asian champions was at least expected to finish in the top six with such players as Kim Hyeung-bom, Chung Kyung-ho and Cho Jae-jin on its books. Further south, Chunnam Dragons are also struggling. The Gwangyang club has never been one of the league’s big boys but three wins all season is a poor return. Jeju United spent much of this season languishing near the bottom. Four straight wins in June and July changed all that as Brazilian boss Arthur Bernardes has the team playing some good football and the islanders are outside bets for a top six finish and a place in the play-offs. Incheon United is in the opposite situation. The west coast port city started the season on fire and won its opening three games. Only two more have followed and some of the football on display at the Munhak Stadium has not been especially exciting with an over-reliance on big Serbian striker Dzenan Radonic partly at fault. Daejeon Citizen is a team usually tough to defeat. The Purple boys squeezed into the play-offs last season but have yet to find the same sort of form this time round. Goals are very hard to come by for Kim Ho’s team with a measly 11 netted in 15 games. A 1-0 win over Suwon the round before last was well-received but the veteran silver-haired Kim has to find some magic from somewhere over the next few weeks. Gyeongnam FC has been in reasonable form and currently lies in sixth –the last play-off spot. The Changwon-based club has coped well after the coach and its two best players left at the end of last season and new Brazilian signing Indio is starting to impress along with young midfielder Seo Sang-min. Up the road, Daegu is having a real roller-coaster of a season. The team has scored 31 goals, one more than leaders Suwon but the problem is the fact it has conceded 37.Games involving Daegu are usually high scoring with the Korean duo of Lee Keun-ho and Jang Nam-seok doing the damage only to look on in dismay as the defense is breached once again. If Daegu can tighten that backline without sacrificing its potency in attack, a place in the play-offs awaits. The two South-eastern coastal cities Pohang Steelers and Ulsan Hyundai are in their usual positions of fourth and fifth. Neither team has impressed on a consistent basis but have enough good players to get the results that will put them in the play-offs. Once you book that ticket, as Pohang knows only two well, anything can happen. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

The 2008 season so far has been all about Suwon Samsung Bluewings. The Gyeonggi giants started well and haven’t looked back. If they were to take a peek over their shoulders after eight games, they would see a chasing pack that was getting ever smaller. Seven wins and one draw from eight games tell its own story. Only usual title rivals Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma have taken any points from the blue machine. Suwon are still to show they can play sustained high quality football and really dominate teams but they have amply demonstrated that they have the players capable of conjuring goals from nothing. Starting from the rock of defence and set piece menace Mato Neretljak and spreading throughout midfield and attack, there is a real goal threat in the Suwon team, one that has yet to score less than two goals in 2008. It is the forwards who have really impressed however. Seo Dong-hyun and Shin Young-rok have finally emerged from the shadows to show that they can score at the top level. Suwon’s latest win came courtesy of a last-minute goal at the home of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in front of over 33,000 fans at Jeonju World Cup Stadium. It was a bitter blow for the hosts who are having a dreadful season. While few may be surprised at the Bluewings position at the top of the perch, nobody expected to see Jeonbuk at the bottom. The 2006 Asian Champions have never really performed well in the league in the past but 2008 was supposed to be different. Macedonian marksman Stevica Ristic scored for fun in 2007 and with the addition of national team star Cho Jae-jin, supported by the talented Chung Kyung-ho and Kim Hyeung-beom, goals were expected to flow. Cho, who spent three prolific seasons in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse, has managed to find the net on a few occasions but only one win has followed. Even with the top six teams progressing to the play-offs, that dotted line is advancing ever more into the distance. Northern teams make up the top four with Seongnam, Seoul and Incheon following Suwon. Seoul look to be much more dangerous in attack but weaker at the back this season. Last weekend’s clash at Chunnam Dragons would never usually be one to get the pulses racing and it was goalless at half-time. The second half was thrilling with six goals and a whole host of chances missed. Seoul host Incheon in round nine. After a slow start, champions Pohang Steelers are in fifth and looked impressive in round eight when condemning Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma to their first defeat of the season. Wing-backs Choi Hyo-jin and Park Won-jae were in especially good form. Both players could find themselves selected in the national team squad for May and June’s World Cup qualifiers. Deagu is a city famous for apples and pretty girls but is fast becoming a place to see goals. While Incheon United striker Dzenan Radoncic helped himself to a hat-trick, the first player in the club’s history to do so, in the team's recent 4-2 win, there have been a good number of very good strikes from the home team, especially from Jang Nam–seok and Lee Keun-ho. Such attacking prowess has seen the team climb into the top half of the table, along with the less exciting Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I. At the bottom, it is a familiar old story – almost. Perennial cellar-dwellars Gwangju Sangmu are enjoying the dizzy heights of mid-table, helped by the excellent form of Kim Myung-joong, and the military outfit is looking down with interest at the Busan I’Park, Jeju United and Daejeon Citizen –teams all struggling alone with Jeonbuk at the foot of the table. Copyright: John Duerden & Soccerphile.com Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

1. Suwon Samsung Bluewings (last season 2) Solid Suwon will be there or thereabouts. The defence is not getting any younger but still contains Lee Woon-jae in goal and the inspirational Mato Neretjlak at centre-back. The midfield boasts Lee Kwan-woo and Baek Ji-hoon but no longer South Korea captain Kim Nam-il. The combative Kim has headed to Japan and Vissel Kobe and it will be interesting to see how North Korean international An Yong-hak does in his place. Ahn Jung-hwan has left but after scoring no league goals last season, the Lord of the Rings will not be missed. Suwon’s one weakness could be a lack of firepower in front of goal. Key Player: Lee Kwan-woo Coach: Cha Bum-keun 2. Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (1) The seven-time champions lost the title in the play-offs last season but have been strangely quiet in the close-season. Star midfielder Kim Do-heon has joined West Bromich Albion and fellow international and goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae has cropped his Beatles mop-top and started his two-year stint at military team Gwangju Sangmu. Kim has been replaced by Jung Sung-ryeong. The Olympic goalkeeper aside, incomings haven’t been inspiring and it remains to be seen if the club can stay at the top. Key Player: Kim Sang-sik Coach: Kim Hak-beom 3. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (8) It was another disappointing domestic season for the 2006 Asian Champions but there are positive signs for the coming year. That is mainly because Cho Jae-jin has signed on the dotted line in Jeonju. The striker’s three years near the top of the scoring charts in Japan with Shimizu S-Pulse are not quite enough to erase memories of not many goals during his time in Korea and also were not quite enough to earn a big-money move to England. He has something to prove and if he finds his shooting boots then Jeonbuk will have a very interesting forward line of Macedonian marksman Stevica Ristic and Ze Carlo of Brazil. For the first time since 1996, Jeonbuk will start the season without defender Choi Jin-cheul who has retired after over 300 appearances for the club. Key Player: Kim Hyung-beom Coach: Choi Kang-hee 4. Pohang Steelers (5) The champions actually finished with a negative goal difference in 2007 and only made the play-offs on the last day. The team caught fire in the championship series however, disposing of Gyeongnam, Ulsan, Suwon and finally Seongnam, all away from home. Popular playmaker Taveres has left for Brazilian club Internacional but Daejeon’s deadly Denilson should be an adequate replacement. The striker found the target 14 times last season. Since the title triumph, young stars such as Park Won-jae, Hwang Ji-soo and Hwang Jae-won have seen international action. It promises to be a good season. Key Player: Denilson Coach: Sergio Farias 5. FC Seoul (7) 2007 was a real roller-coaster ride for the club. New boss Senol Gunes seemed to have a magic touch when he arrived and led the club to top of the league after the first month. Then it all went wrong as the strikers couldn’t score and the players couldn’t stay fit. The big-money move of the winter was the capture of Serbian striker Dejan Damjanovic from Incheon United. If he can forge a good partnership with the inury-prone Park Chu-young then a play-off place beckons for the capital outfit. Key Player: Ki Sung-yong Coach: Senol Gunes 6. Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I (3) Ulsan are never far away from the summit of the league but the team just doesn’t have the same look of quality in-depth that it had when back in the championship year of 2005. All three Brazilians have left with Almir the one that will be missed the most. The capture of Luisinho, prolific in Daegu last year, should help fans cope with that loss. There is a little staleness about the team and the Tigers need to sharpen their claws if they are to make it a second title in four seasons. Key Player: Luisinho Coach: Kim Jung-nam 7. Chunnam Dragons (10) Despite lifting two FA Cups in the last two seasons, the South Jeolla club has struggled in the league. Defeating Pohang Steelers in the cup final in December was the last act of coach Huh Jung-moo before he left to take the reins of the national team. Since then, Huh has been calling up a number of Dragons to the national side which begs the question that if there were so many good players at the club then why did they finish in tenth last season? The capture of coach Park Hang-seo should be a positive one as is the signing of Brazilian striker Schuba. Chunnam should finish higher than last season. Key Player: Kwak Tae-hwi Coach: Park Hang-seo 8. Daejeon Citizen (6) Deajeon have seen all three foreigners leaves in the last few months. The afore-mentioned Denilson is the biggest loss but Chunnam-bound Schuba looked very good in the second half of last season. That was when 1994 World Cup boss Kim Ho took over. The wily old fox somehow steered the club into the play-offs but that was as good as it got. Kim has brought in some new faces this season. Much depends on how they settle but a top six finish could be beyond the central club in 2008. Key Player: Kim Hyung-il Coach: Kim Ho 9. Incheon United (9) Last season was ultimately disappointing for the bad boys of Korean football. For so long, the team was within touching distance of a play-off place only to fall away on the final day. The loss of Damjanovic is a big blow. Coach Jang Woe-ryeong, who has returned from a year’s sabbatical in England, has yet to spend the money from that sale. Key Player: Dragan Mladenovic Coach: Jang Woe-ryeong 10. Jeju United (11) Jeju are another team that have suddenly enjoyed a much-increased representation on the national team. The signs are that the island club could have a reasonable 2008 after two turgid terms since relocating from Bucheon in 2006. Many eyes will be on new –and fairly unknown – coach Brazilian Arthur Bernardes. He has brought in a couple of compatriots too but how the club’s young Korean prospects fare is of more interest this season. A mid-table finish will be satisfactory for the club. Key Player: Ka Ju-cheol Coach: Arthur Bernardes 11. Gyeongnam FC (4) Losing a coach is unfortunate. Losing a coach, playmaker and top scorer is downright careless and it will be a miracle if the Changwon club reproduces the fourth place finish of 2007. Boss Park Hang-seo fell foul of the politics at the club and moved to Chunnam. K-league top scorer Cabore shamelessly engineered a big-money move to FC Tokyo while Popo, acting with considerably more honour than his compatriot, will also be in Japan next season with Kashiwa Reysol. Replacement coach Jo Kwang-rae is not one to get hearts racing near the south coast and it could be a long hard season for the club. Key Player: Kim Jin-yong Coach: Jo Kwang-rae 12. Busan I’Park (13) The south coast has a new coach and the return of an old hero for the new season. The past two seasons have been fairly wretched for Busan but the appointment of 2002 World Cup star and South Korean legend Hwang Sun-hong made lots of headlines. One of the first things that the 39 year-old did was trade midfielder An Yong-hak for 2002 team-mate Ahn Jung-hwan. The Lord of the Ring made his name in Busan in the nineties and the former giant of Korean and Asian football needs some big performances from the aging attacker. Key Player: Ahn Jung-hwan Coach: Hwang Sun-hong 13. Daegu (12) Despite some good goalscoring performances from Luisinho and young Korean star Lee Keun-ho, Daegu struggled last season under new coach Byun Byung-joo. One half of the partnership has gone. The Brazilian was tempted to make the short journey to Ulsan and will be missed. The club have a history of finding reasonably good Brazilian imports and much depends as to the quality of this year’s batch – Alexandro and Joao Silva. Key Player: Lee Keun-ho Coach: Byun Byung-joo 14. Gwangju (14) What is there to say about the military club and perennial basement-dwellers? Any place above 14th is a bonus. That is more of a possibility this time round as South Korean goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae is now enlisted. It is tough for the army boys; half of the playing staff leaves every season and returns to their original club. Key Player: Kim Yong-dae Coach: Lee Kang-jo Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

The system has its critics but the play-offs gave the K-League regular season a final day to remember. Six teams out of 14 doing battle in the championship deciders may be a high percentage but without the games, we would have just been treated to the sight of Seongnam strolling to another title.