Are unlikely title challengers Gimcheon Sangmu the real deal?

With the end of the regular season fast approaching and a grandstand finish looking increasingly likely at both ends of the K League 1 table, there are perhaps one or two sides fans would have expected to be involved at the opposite ends. But are Gimcheon Sangmu, currently second and in an unlikely title race, the real deal? K League United guest contributor Stuart Warren has a look.

Most surprisingly, we have nine-time champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors currently embroiled in a relegation battle, while at the other end, 2023 K League 2 champions Gimcheon Sangmu are riding high in second place and appear to have a genuine chance at securing the first top division title in the club’s history.

The beginning of August saw the transfer window slam shut, and while teams are usually looking to both strengthen their squads with new signings and hold onto their most valuable assets, this is of course not an issue for Gimcheon, as their squad is made up entirely of players serving their compulsory two-year military service.

Having pipped Busan IPark to the K League 2 title by a solitary point last season, thus ensuring an immediate return to the top flight following their 2022 relegation, many would not have expected the military side to trouble the upper end of the table, despite what was considered a strong batch of new recruits this year, including national team players Lee Dong-gyeong and Lee Dong-jun.

The season started well for Gimcheon, earning a 1-0 win at Daegu on the opening day of the season before going on to lose just two of their next 16 league and cup games. The only real blip during these opening weeks of the season was an emphatic 5-1 defeat away at Seoul in early April, on a night when the unplayable Stanislav Iljutcenko had a hand in all four first-half goals.

Seemingly, the defeat in Seoul was a bit of a freak result, especially when you consider that, at the time of writing, Gimcheon have the meanest defense in the league, having conceded just 30 goals in 27 games.

So what lies ahead for Gimcheon in the remaining weeks of the season? Having now tasted defeat in their last two games, including a shock 3-0 defeat away at relegation strugglers Daegu last weekend, they must now pick themselves up for a home tie against Daejeon on Sunday, who are another team fighting for their lives at the wrong end of the table. Following that, they face Jeju, Incheon, Suwon, and Gwangju, all of whom are currently in and around mid-table. Their last game of the regular season is for sure their trickiest: an away trip to reigning champions Ulsan HD, who currently sit one place below Gimcheon in third.

So what has been the secret to Gimcheon’s success this season, and do they have a genuine chance of being the first military side in Korean history to win a top-flight championship? As mentioned previously, despite a couple of blips against Seoul and Daegu, in which they shipped five and three goals respectively, they have the tightest defense in the league which has been pivotal to their success. Marshaled by the excellent Park Seung-wook, they have kept 12 clean sheets in total so far.

Perhaps their standout performer so far, though, has been attacking midfielder Lee Dong-gyeong. A championship winner with Ulsan last season, he has so far notched eight goals and six assists in what has been a very impressive season. He will, of course, want to return to his parent club as a back-to-back winner with different clubs.

With just six games remaining in the regular season at the time of writing, it remains to be seen whether Gimcheon can sustain their title push. The top of the table is incredibly tight, with just eight points separating the top six. However, if they can keep grinding out results like they have been for most of the season, then they could well cause what would be considered one of the biggest shocks in recent K League history.