Gangwon FC - The story of their season so far
Generally speaking,
bears are considered intimidating, occasionally threatening animals. They enjoy
asserting dominance, especially amongst their fellow species, and have the
scars to prove it. Ruthless predators when they wish to be, you wouldn’t want to
cross a bear at the wrong time. It’s a given.
Yet, despite the room for fear and uneasiness if ever caught in a situation with a bear, they can also be quite timid creatures. Shy and rather passive, they avoid conflict and almost become the prey, rather than the predator. The same can be said for Korea’s metaphorical bears, Gangwon FC, who have endured something of a two-faced season which fits, at times, both sides of the definition of an animal which is often misunderstood.
A Shaky Start
After a packed
transfer window which consisted of a rather sizeable squad overhaul for
Gangwon, expectations were set reasonably high for the 2021 season. Many
predicted the club to build on consecutive seasons of mid-table comfort, and in
the process thrust themselves into a position which would see them potentially
fighting for Champions League qualification.
However, reality
soon set in. Ulsan mauled the Bears 5-0 on the opening day of the season,
capitalising on early Gangwon wastefulness with four second-half goals, all of
which came after Lim Chai-min’s sending off. It was a nightmare beginning, and
one which manager Kim Byung-soo sought instant solutions for.
For starters, young
goalkeeper Lee Gwang-yeon found himself dropped for the first home fixture of
the new season, but his replacement Kim Jeong-ho did little to inspire
confidence. Pohang Steelers consequently emerged victorious by three goals to
one. Kim retained his place between the sticks for the meeting with Jeonbuk,
though, a decision which proved unfortunate as the 23-year-old cost his team a
valuable point with a calamitous error deep into stoppage time. With that being
said, on the whole performances were starting to improve for the struggling
side, and it seemed like it’d only be a matter of time before fortunes would
start to change.
Seven Unbeaten
After three
consecutive defeats, things did begin to pick up for Gangwon, albeit slowly.
First came a promising point gained at the hands of Suwon Samsung Bluewings,
followed by a hardworking draw at home to a resilient 10-man Seongnam, which
consequently saw the Bears attain their first clean sheet of the season. Then,
the win finally came.
It was arguably
Gangwon’s most impressive outing of the campaign thus far, the Bears emerging
victorious by two goals to nil amidst a sending off for Kim Dong-hyun in the
middle of proceedings. Here, instead of the occasionally submissive, nervous
performances, the team were confident, believing in their abilities and fully
aware of when to graft, and when to zip the ball around with conviction. It was
hoped that this would be a sign to come, and in some ways it was.
Shortly after, for
example, Kim Byung-soo’s side claimed the scalp of FC Seoul, and subsequently
acquired their first away victory of the year, all by being entirely pragmatic.
They dug deep, essentially minimising the impact of players like Osmar and Ki
Sung-yueng, before a late penalty handed the organised incarnation of a side
once heralded for their commitment to free-flowing football - even if it didn’t
work out - all three points. Perhaps this was the push the mid-table team
needed to drive towards the top half, and their chance to prove that they could
deliver on early expectations of a strong season.
For a short while,
they did. Away to Jeju, Gangwon failed to impress in the same way they did
against FC Seoul, but thanks to a smart Kim Dae-won finish, came away with a
hard-earned draw. Against Daegu three days later, the trademark ‘Byung-soo
ball’ made a return, with a somewhat surprising 3-0 win showing signs of a team
high on confidence, belief, and with the skillset to mix it up amongst the
better teams without losing their core philosophies. An FA Cup win away to
Cheongju following their potentially season-defining triumph only emphasised
these sentiments. The Bears were on the way up.
Back Down to Earth
Or were they? A 2-1
defeat at the hands of then struggling Suwon FC brought a sense of reality back
into the situation. Sure, reliable goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo came off injured
which seemed to disrupt the balance of play, and other absences, as well as
fatigue were starting to catch up with a team which had otherwise started to
remain consistent, but the truth still remains that Gangwon were outplayed on
the day. They mightn’t have deserved to lose, in a similar fashion to an
earlier game against Jeonbuk, with a goal right at the apex of the match that
comes courtesy of dire defending, but in a competitive league concentration is
a must.
That fact remained
absolute in the following fixture, a turgid 1-0 loss to Gwangju which came
thanks to a set-piece calamity which allowed Lee Han-do to head the ball into a
practically empty net. In this game, Gangwon had 68% possession, but with only
three shots on target, proved that there’s no use having the ball if you don’t
know what to do with it, especially if you don’t believe that you have a chance
of doing anything with it. The Bears were well and truly back down to earth,
saved of embarrassment by the fact that Kim Byung-soo’s predominantly trustworthy
defensive structure meant that losses were kept to a one goal margin, and that
his side were never truly out of games.
A Two-faced Team
By now, Gangwon were
back amongst the mid-table scrum, and deservedly so. For every good performance
there had been an equally poor one. For every reason to be optimistic there was
one to be hesitant. Such sentiments were amplified in the
Bears’ next two fixtures which showed both the best, and the worst, of the
team’s 2021 incarnation.
First, there was a
hard-earned, exciting 1-1 home draw to defending champions Jeonbuk. Go Moo-yeol’s header allowed
Gangwon to take the lead, and for the most part they looked like holding on
with resolute defending until a Takahiro Kunimoto equaliser set them back. It
was still a strong performance, though, and gave ample room for optimism. That
was until, as was becoming a common occurrence during the campaign, a deeply disappointing
loss, this time at the hands of Incheon. Kim Byung-soo’s men dominated both
possession and key chances, but severely lacked confidence, conviction and
commitment. It felt lazy, occasionally directionless, and was a complete change
from what had occurred the week before it.
Building Blocks
For a short while,
though, the defeats ceased. Gangwon began to look more settled, albeit devoid
of creativity - understandable given the likes of Kim Dae-won, Go Moo-yeol and
Cho Jae-wan were unable to play parts in most, or all, fixtures during this
period - and were still unable to find the certainty necessary in a competitive
league. Draws against top-half mainstays Pohang Steelers and high-flying Ulsan were praiseworthy, whilst
consecutive stalemates in fixtures with similar placed opponents (Suwon FC and
FC Seoul, respectively) left a lot to be desired in spite of clean sheets.
Nevertheless, there was no denying that the Bears were slowly heading towards an upwards trajectory. “If you can’t win, don’t lose,” Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman said when in charge of Everton, and it’s a statement which rung true for a side which was no longer often slipping towards needless, unfortunate defeats.
Can Kim Byung-soo Deliver Top-half Football?
Before the Asian
Champions League break, Gangwon once again showcased the highs and lows of
their performances this season. Their FA Cup victory against Seoul E-Land was
calm and assured. It had moments of fear and trepidation, sure, but the Bears
had an aura about them which was often missing in a lot of prior matches. A
stunning Rim Chang-woo goal capped off the performance, and highlighted a lot
of the strengths in Kim Byung-soo’s side. Four days later, however, a 1-0 loss
to Daegu which came at the hands of a brutally unfortunate own goal, shone a
bleak light on the side’s ineffectiveness when going behind in games (for
reference, Gangwon have won just one point all season when coming from behind).
Fortunately, the
Bears’ unenviable run in failing to come out victorious in the league was soon
to end. After nine fixtures without a win, Gangwon - complete with many
integral players returning - pulled off an impressive 2-1 triumph against
Seongnam. Here, they showed the benefit in surrendering more of the ball to the
opposition by being proactive on the break, and felt generally more composed
when in possession. Cho Jae-wan marked his return with a fine finish, and the
consistently inconsistent Vladimir Siladji found himself on the scoresheet too.
With a game against the league’s bottom-placed side, Gwangju, next on the cards, and with Gangwon now sitting in ninth place and just two points away from the top-half, could Kim Byung-soo manage to sneak his team into the upper echelons of the table as the 2021 season progresses? To do so, he’ll need to rely on his players to show more of the excitingly optimistic sides to their game, as opposed to the disappointingly meagre moments that have plagued an otherwise reasonably solid, if not slightly frustratingly inconsistent campaign.
Who to Watch?
For those wanting to
know who to look out for when Gangwon’s season restarts later this month, look
no further.
The Reliable Hand (Lee Bum-soo)
Not only is goalkeeper Lee Bum-soo the owner of arguably the league’s finest head of hair, he’s also been largely responsible for Gangwon’s defensive improvements throughout the year. He has kept six clean sheets in twelve appearances and conceded just six goals, only ever letting more than one past him in a single game on one occasion (a 2-2 draw against Ulsan). The 30-year-old continues to be reliable between the sticks, and will look to continue his fine form as his team attempt to propel themselves forward after the break.
The Surprise Package (Seo Min-woo)
For a while this
season, Seo Min-woo found himself playing in Korea’s fourth division. He played
in four of Gangwon Reserves’ opening six games, and failed to feature in the
first team (he did make the squad on three occasions during this time, though).
However, he soon started to grow into a low-key important figure in a
wafer-thin squad plagued by injuries, impressing with sharp performances
against Ulsan, Suwon and Seongnam. Playing at central midfield, centre forward
and on the wing, the 23-year-old is a versatile talent who may just prove
himself as a vital cog in Gangwon’s machine going forward, particularly with
Kim Dong-hyun off to the Olympics.
Sometimes, a player
needs a point to prove to excel. Attacker Kim Dae-won finds himself with more
than one as he enters a key period in his debut season as part of the Bears.
With just four goals so far and a disappointing single assist, the bright and
energetic 24-year-old will want to silence his doubters by gaining some level
of consistency in upcoming fixtures. After failing to make the cut for the
Olympics, Kim may just come back in resurgent form.
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