With most attention on the exploits of Pohang Steelers in the Asian Champions League and the national team's friendly matches in Europe against Denmark and Serbia, the fact that the K-League is about to embark upon its championship play-off series has almost gone unnoticed.
Six teams are still in with a chance of the domestic title. Click to continue reading...

With the Chuseok holidays in South Korea over, it is traditionally time for local fans to put down their overheated chopsticks and check out the race for the play-offs.
Past battles have been thrilling and this season is no different. As always, we teams that have long forgotten thoughts of merely finishing in the top six to book a place in the championship play-off series and have eyes on top spot. Click to continue reading...

East Asia has long struggled to produce prolific goalscorers and most clubs import attackers from Brazil, Africa and Eastern Europe.
It is a chicken-and-egg situation. Do clubs buy foreign forwards because there isn't enough local talent or is there not enough local talent because clubs pack their offensive lines with overseas stars? Click to continue reading...

Rampant Commercialism
19 Football Clubs Whose Names Incorporate Those Of Companies And Other Organisations
1. Airbus UK - Wales
2. Air India - India
3. Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Germany
4. Cable & Wireless Pointe Michel - Dominica
5. Camell Laird - England
6. Carl Zeiss Jena - Germany
7. Click to continue reading...

Jeonju is not all Bibimbap and pretty temples; it is also the home of the K-League pacesetters Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. The team from the south-west hasn't made a huge impression on past title chases but after four games of the season, the Motors, are, well, motoring and with Gwangju fans enjoying the sight of their team sitting in second, it is a good time to be a football fan in the region. Click to continue reading...

The regular season of the K-League has come to an end; now six teams are standing and dusting themselves down in preparation for the championship play-off series.
Despite a mid-season dip that threatened to go the way of Seoul's KOSPI index and head into a plunge, Suwon Samsung Bluewings bounced back to finish in first – just. Click to continue reading...

"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. Click to continue reading...

South Korea's Olympic Football squad for Beijing 2008: Coach: Park Sung-Hwa Goalkeepers: Jung Sung-Ryong (23) (Seongnam Ilhwa) Song Yoo-Geol (23) (Incheon United) Defenders: Shin Kwang-Hoon (21) (Pohang Steelers) Kim Dong-Jin (26) (Zenit St. Petersburg, Russia) Kang Min-Soo (22) (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors) Kim Chang-Soo (23) (Busan I'Park) Kim Jin-Kyu (23) (FC Seoul) Kim Geun-Hwan (22) (Kyung Hee University) Midfielders: Oh Jang-Eun (23) (Ulsan Hyundai) Kim Jung-Woo (26) (Seongnam Ilhwa) Lee Chung-Yong [. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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. Click to continue reading...

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.
It is partly Seongnam's fault that the system was reinstalled. Click to continue reading...