Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
How they qualified: Winners – Korean FA Cup 2011
Established 1989
Nickname Chunma (Pegasus)
Home stadium Tancheon Sports Complex (16,000)
Website www.esifc.com
Honours
AFC Champions League winners 1 – 2010
Asian Club Championship winners 1 – 1995
Asian Super Cup winners 1 – 1996
K-League champions 7 – 1993, 94, 95, 2001, 02, 03, 06
Korean FA Cup winners 2 – 1999, 2011
K-League Cup winners 3 – 1992, 2002, 04
Club Previous ACL appearances
2003 – Group stage
2004 – Runners-up
2007 – Semi-finals
2010 – Champions
Despite lifting the AFC Champions League two years ago with a 3-1 victory over Iranian side Zobahan in the final, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma suffered the ignominy of not being able to defend their title last year after failing to finish in the top three in the K-League during the 2010 season.
They fared even worse in their domestic league last year when they finished 10th and missed out completely on the championship play-offs. But they salvaged their campaign and earned a spot in this season’s AFC Champions League with a 1-0 win over Suwon Bluewings in the FA Cup final.
After that disappointing campaign, head coach Shin Tae-young made extensive changes to his squad for 2012 with four players who started in the 2010 ACL final – left-back Kim Tae-yoon, winger Jo Jae-cheol and forwards Cho Dong-geon and Song Ho-young – leaving Seongnam along with Macedonian striker Dzenan Radoncic.
Among the players signed to replace them are centre-back Hwang Jae-won and forward Lee Hyun-ho, who played in last year’s AFC Champions League for Suwon Bluewings and Jeju United respective, and the exciting young Korea Republic international midfielder Yoon Bit-garam.
Expectations
Seongnam have not failed to reach the semi-finals on their last three appearances in the AFC Champions League but based on their performance of last year, they may find it difficult to maintain that impressive run this season. The other teams in Group G have all played in the AFC Champions League previously and will hold few fears of the Korean side when they face them.
Coach
Shin Tae-yong
Having lifted the Asian Club Championship in 1995 with the club then known as Ilhwa Chunma, Shin Tae-yong became the first man to win continental titles as both a player and a head coach when Seongnam clinched the AFC Champions League two years ago. The 2012 season will be a crucial one for the 41-year-old as he tries to rejuvenate the club after last year’s sub-par campaign.
Did you know?
Seongnam scored a record-breaking 40 goals in 12 games during the AFC Champions League season in 2004. Their impressive haul included a 15-0 demolition of Indonesia’s Persik Kediri during the group stage and an 11-2 aggregate victory over Sharjah of the United Arab Emirates in the quarter-finals.
Key Player
Sasa Ognenovski
After reaching the AFC Champions League final with Adelaide United in 2008, Sasa Ognenovski skippered Seongnam to victory in the competition two years ago and picked up the AFC Player of the Year award for his troubles. The 32-year-old Australian centre-back, who stands 1.95m tall, is a rock at the heart of the Seongnam defence who has also netted some important goals for the club.