2025 Season Preview: FC Anyang
FC Anyang shocked K League 2 by topping the table and earning a first-ever promotion to the first division of Korean football last autumn. Avoiding automatic relegation will be their target in 2025, but given the successes of promoted sides in recent seasons, Anyang will harbor outside hopes of a top six finish.
Anyang topped the table by three points but K League 2 observers will undoubtedly agree Ryu Byeong-hoon's side were, by some distance, the best and most consistent team in the division all season. After losing their grip on top spot in early April to Suwon Samsung, Anyang returned to the summit in Round 10 and stayed there right through to the end of the campaign. That amounts to 29 consecutive weeks in first (and 32 in total) for a club that finished outside the play-off spots in 2023.
As a result, they claimed several personal awards at the end of the season. Matheus Oliveira was voted Most Valuable Player, thanks largely to his league-best 11 assists. The Brazilian also won Player of the Week on two occasions. The number 7 was joined in the Team of the Season by fellow Anyang stars Kim Da-sol (goalkeeper), fullbacks Kim Dong-jin and Lee Tae-hee, centre back Lee Chang-yong, and midfielder Kim Jong-hyeon. Unsurprisingly, Ryu collected the Manager of the Year award in a very competitive field.
Anyang lacked a consistent goal scorer, a situation exacerbated by Danrlei's season-ending injury in July. His replacement, Nicolas, was utterly hopeless, and it is a testament of the squad's mental strength that they were able to maintain a title challenge without a recognized striker. In total, Anyang scored 51 goals in 36 games, less than the four sides that made up the play-off spots. But the backbone of their title success was a resolute backline (as evidenced by the team of the season) and two excellent, game-controlling midfielders in Kim Jong-hyeon and Ri Yong-jik.
They didn't have the deepest squad in the division - especially in attacking areas and between the sticks - two areas that could haunt them this year, despite one notable addition.
Notable Moves
The Brazilian hitman was unlucky to lose out on the MVP award to his compatriot and new teammate Matheus Oliveira. Mota scored 16 goals for a poor Cheonan side (league-best) earning him a deserved spot in the Team of the Season. Given Anyang's struggles up front, this signing could be the difference between survival and relegation. Plenty will rest on his shoulders as Anyang embark on a first season in K League 1.
Kim Bo-kyung (in, Suwon Samsung).
35-year-old Kim spent two largely underwhelming seasons at Big Bird, part of Suwon's first squad to experience relegation. Under former manager Yeom Ki-hun, Kim was a bit-part player, spending more time out than in of the team. It looked like he was enjoying a revival under Byun Sung-hwan but that was short-lived. The 38-times capped international will be a squad player back in K League 1.
Thomas Oude Kotte (in, Roda JC).
As we've seen, defense is an area of strength for the Violets but Kotte looks like a smart signing to add more depth. Often throughout the season, Ri Yong-jik and Kim Jong-hyeon filled in at centre back, but Kotte has the size and physicality to claim a starting spot. The Dutchman came through the Vitesse system and arrives from Roda JC having played 20 matches so far this season.
Eduardo (in, Novorizontino).
The 28-year-old is the second Brazilian to join Anyang this winter, alongside already-established stars Oliviera and Yago. Eduardo has spent most of his career in the second tier of Brazilian football, but he has played nearly 2,000 minutes in the top flight. Eduardo is a right-footed central or defensive midfielder. If he adapts to life in Korea, Eduardo should prove to be a solid squad member.
Key Player
Matheus OliveiraYoung Player to Watch
Chae Hyun-wooBiggest Question
Can Kim Da-sol keep out the goals to maintain their K League 1 status?But as the season wore on, blunders crept into his game. His clanger led to Jeonnam's 93rd-minute equalizer in late October that put the champagne on ice for another week. Kim has earned the right to start the new season as Anyang's first choice and the depth behind him looks weak if he struggles back in the top flight. Anyang's promotion was built on a great defense but if that malfunctions, will Kim, in the twilight of his career, be able to repel the better standard of player in K League 1? Much rests on the shoulders of Mota and Oliveira, but without a solid back-line and goalkeeper, Anyang's first division stint will be a short one.
Reason to Watch
Not since Suwon FC went up in 2016 has a club entered the top flight for the very first time. Suwon went down immediately and since then a succession of yo-yo clubs, like Sangmu, Gwangju, and Jeju have bounced between the divisions. The promotion picture makes it very difficult for a new club to go up but Anyang have achieved that after a decade in K League 2. How they fare should intrigue most neutrals. Added to that, FC Seoul's origins (Anyang travel to Seoul in week 2) will add spice to that fixture, and, finally, for the groundhopper, Anyang play in, arguably, the worst stadium in the league. It needs to be viewed to be understood.
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