It’s always been like that, but this year it’s really in the middle of nowhere. Who will be the protagonist of the misfortune to go down to the second division?
It is impossible to predict the bottom of the K-League 1 this season until the lid is opened. It is possible to predict that Jeonbuk Hyundai and Ulsan Hyundai will compete for the championship, and that Incheon United can rise to 3rd or 4th place, but it is not known which team will be directly relegated to 12th place. It is difficult to talk about a team that will stay in 10th or 11th place and fall to the promotion playoffs.
In fact, there are very few conspicuous relegation candidates. The promoted teams Gwangju FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen are also competitive메이저놀이터, so they are not at a level that can be easily classified as lower ranks. Originally, the promoted team becomes a candidate for relegation at the same time as promotion, but the atmosphere is a little different this season.
In the case of Gwangju, they won the K-League 2 last year with a small budget. This year, due to a slight increase in player labor costs, coach Lee Jeong-hyo has upgraded some of the players he wants and upgraded his power. It seems that it will be a formidable team because it has an almost similar composition to last year plus an assortment. This is why it is difficult to point out as a candidate for relegation even if the team uses the lowest labor cost in the K-League 1.
The same goes for Daejeon. Like Gwangju, while protecting the existing members, they secured two top goal scorers in the 2nd division, and recruited foreign players well. It is not a squad that is greatly pushed back in competition with K-League 1 teams. There are many players with experience in the first division, so they have the potential to become dark horses.
It is difficult to predict the outcome just by looking at the size of the budget right now. As of last year, except for four teams – Jeonbuk, Ulsan, Jeju United, and FC Seoul – the remaining players’ labor costs are less than 10 billion won. Except for Gwangju, which is around 6 billion won, the rest of the teams have similar budgets. Money isn’t everything, but it’s undeniable that it has some influence.
Maybe that’s why this year, the only K-League mid-tier teams are nervous. A K-League 1 manager said, “I think we could become a relegated team.” It can fall by very small margins. So I think each victory point is more valuable. In order not to be pushed back in the tough competition for survival, you have to be really alert.”