The keyword penetrating the early part of the K-League season is “center-back risk.” Many teams are suffering from errors, exits, and injuries by central defenders. Teams with relatively little center-back risk have continued to flow well in the beginning.
A total of eight players were kicked out from the opening of the “Hana Bank K League 1 2024” through the fifth round and Tuesday’s game. Among them, six players, or 75 percent, were center backs. Throughout the K League 1 in the 2023 season, six players were given two yellow card warnings and a direct ejection. It is not just a feeling that the number of center backs exited in the early days of this season.
Aspro, who Pohang recruited as a replacement for Grant who left for China this year, was directly sent off for the first time in the opening match against Ulsan. Kang Jung-won was banned from playing in two games due to a post-disciplinary penalty for fouls he committed against Gwangju. Jeju captain Lim Chae-min was unable to play against Pohang due to two warnings in an away match against Seoul in the third round. In the fourth round, Incheon Oh Ban-seok and Seoul Sulaka were directly sent off against Daejeon Hana and Gangwon, respectively. In the same match between Gangwon and Seoul, Gangwon center back Lee Ji-sol received a red card for cumulative warnings. In the case of Aspro and Lee Ji-sol, they committed fouls in the process of blocking the opponent’s attack, but Lim Chae-min and Oh Ban-seok were sent off for unnecessary or excessive actions, causing damage to the team.
Sulaka was dragging his feet as he held onto Gabriel’s ankle, a Gangwon striker who was breaking through near the halfway line. The move was interpreted as an attempt to prevent a loss at a time when the score was tying 1-1. However, Seoul coach Kim Ki-dong expressed regret over his management of the game, saying, “We should have been clever enough to delay the game by one tempo.” The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Seoul was thus set to trade one point for Sulaka’s exit, but will no longer be able to play as its main center back for the next two games. The team that has been disqualified will have to form a new center back combination. 룸알바
He frequently makes mistakes. In an away match against Daejeon on Sunday, Korean national team Kim Young-kwon made a back pass miss at the third minute of the second half to help Leandro score the first goal. The defending champion Ulsan lost its first game of the season 0-2 when it gave up one more goal to Kim In-gyun at the 15th minute of the second half. Ulsan benefited from mistakes made by its opponent team’s defenders in the “Hyundai Guardian” against Jeonbuk in the fourth round. In the 21st minute of the first half, Koo Ja-yong made a pass miss near the Jeonbuk goal. Lee Dong-kyung did not miss it and scored the first goal. The game was tied 2-2. Pohang (10 points), Gimcheon (9 points) and Incheon (5 points), which tend to make fewer errors at the center back, are gradually accumulating points in the early stages. Suwon FC tied the match 1-1 at Pohang FC thanks to center back Jackson’s header at the 7th minute of the second half when it was losing 0-1 at an away match against Pohang FC on Sunday.
The risk of center back will likely remain in April. Kangwon Province is eagerly anticipating the return of Kim Young-bin, who has been injured for a long time. Kim Kang-san in Daegu and Park Chan-yong in Pohang are the final candidates for Gimcheon’s military service on Tuesday. Byun Jun-su, who is currently playing as a backup in Gwangju, will join the 2024 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, which will open on April 16.