The K-League has already announced the 'two-river structure', and only two teams in Daejeon and Jeonbuk have shouted 'Winning.'

*This content was translated by AI.

The professional soccer K League 1 held a media day and announced the opening of the 2026 season. Among the 12 coaches of the team, only two coaches, Hwang Sun-hong, head coach of Daejeon Hana Citizen, and Chung Jung-yong, head coach of Jeonbuk Hyundai, have shouted "winning." Other head coaches' eyes on the new season's favorite were also on these two teams. Unlike previous years, when most of the fierce competition for the championship was predicted, this season is already weighing on the "two-river structure" between Daejeon and Jeonbuk.

On the 25th, the Korea Professional Football Association held the opening media day of Hana Bank's K League 2026 at the Swiss Grand Hotel in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It is a place where the heads of each club will gather and announce their candidacy ahead of the new season after winter training. K League 1 will start its full-fledged schedule on the 28th through Incheon United-FC Seoul's Gyeongin Derby.

The number of candidates to win the new season has largely been narrowed down to two teams due to changes in power compared to the previous season, such as changing the head coach or moving the winter transfer market. Last season's runner-up Daejeon and Jeonbuk, the defending champion.

Daejeon has been nominated for the new season by as many as six (including duplicates) among the head coaches or representative players of 11 other clubs. He is the No. 1 favorite with the most votes, beating Jeonbuk (3 votes). There was also a head coach who picked both Daejeon and Jeonbuk, but weighed in on Daejeon after much consideration.

Daejeon has made a massive reinforcement of its power by recruiting Um Won-sang and Rubik'sson in the winter transfer market to shake off the disappointment of finishing second in the K League 1 last season. Coach Hwang Sun-hong continues to take the helm, so there is no risk of replacing the head coach compared to other competing teams. There is even an expression that it is the right time to win.

Chung Kyung-ho, head coach of Gangwon FC, said, "If Jeonbuk, Ulsan HD, and Seoul made active investments, Daejeon has recently made investments. I hope the team that invested wins and becomes a competitive league with the love of K-League fans. Coach Hwang Sun-hong, I will support you," he said, hoping that the results of the Daejeon club's investment will lead to a virtuous cycle in the entire K-League.

Joo Seung-jin, manager of Gimcheon Sangmu, also said, "Hwang Sun-hong is running the team stably and developing it. I think it's the right time to win," he said. In addition, Bucheon FC coach Lee Young-min, Gwangju FC coach Jungkyu Lee, Pohang Steelers coach Park Tae-ha, and Ulsan HD coach Kim Hyun-seok chose Daejeon as the favorite.

Coach Hwang Sun-hong expressed confidence, saying, "Daejeon will win." Earlier, when Hwang announced his new season's launch early on Media Day, he said, "I feel like we have to go toward a bigger goal. I think the burden is the weight of our team. I will play hard so that I can try to win at the top," he said, directly suggesting his goal of "winning."

In addition, when asked about the specific goals of the new season, head coach Hwang Sun-hong said, "Since I finished second last year, other rankings cannot be my goal," adding, "I will run hard to win." The tie color (green) worn today is unique to Hana Financial Group (a parent company), and if I win, I will dye my hair this color."

Jeonbuk, the "defending champion" who left coach Gus Foye and made a fresh start under coach Chung Jung-yong, received relatively less attention than Daejeon. Jeju SK coach Sergio Costa, FC Anyang coach Yoo Byung-hoon, and Ulsan coach Kim Hyun-seok (overlapping) have designated Jeonbuk as the favorite to win. Gwangju coach Jungkyu Lee gave a vote to Daejeon after agonizing over Daejeon and Jeonbuk.

It is regrettable that the team has little attention even if it has another "winning title" with its overwhelming victory last season and a 2-0 complete K-League Super Cup victory against Daejeon recently. The range of changes in power is not small, and the variables of replacing the head coach are quite different from those of Daejeon. Coach Chung Jung-yong, however, expressed his determination to prove himself with Jeonbuk as "another star."

Coach Chung Jung-yong said, "There is a big star (10 wins) on the emblem, and I hope to engrave one more next to that star," adding, "My goal this year is to put a new star." In addition, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Elite (ACLE) will begin in the second half, and I hope it will go to the ACLE quarterfinals. I will think about the pledge again with the fans and decide by then," he said.

Other than the two teams, Pohang Steelers received two votes (Incheon United manager Lee Myung-joo and Seoul manager Kim Ki-dong) and Ulsan one vote (Jeonbuk Kim Tae-hwan) received the favorite.

Pohang coach Park Tae-ha said, "In reality, we are advancing to the ACLE playoffs with better performance than last year (4th place) and last year's performance, but we set the goal of ranking directly to go to the finals this year."

In addition, Ulsan coach Kim Hyun-seok, who explained "black hole soccer" as a keyword for the new season, said, "I will make sure to give you joy and pride. "I'll suck everything in and be left alone," he said, vowing to rebound in the new season, saying, "(The competition for the championship) Jeonbuk or Daejeon seems likely, but I think we can also enter the axis."

In addition, Incheon United, Jeju SK, FC Anyang, Gwangju FC, Gangwon FC, and Gimcheon Sangmu have set their new season's goal of entering the final round A group (top split). Bucheon FC, which was promoted to K League 1 for the first time since its foundation, has set its goal of 11th place, the only one that can avoid direct relegation. Kim Jin-soo, who announced his new season goal instead of head coach Kim Ki-dong, said, "I will try to win the ACLE first and then."

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*This content was translated by AI.