Reigning Asian champions Pohang Steelers will begin the 2010 season with a new-look side after being involved in a number of the major comings and goings so far during the close season K-League transfer window.
The departure of manager Sergio Farias to Saudi Arabian side Al Ahli was followed by a number of major players heading off to pastures new, with Brazilian forward Denilson Martins Nascimento and on-loan Macedonian striker Stevica Ristic also departing the peninsula for a new start with Uzbek champions Bunyodkor. Defender Choi Hyo-jin has moved north to sign for capital club FC Seoul, and Namkung Do also headed to the capital region as he became Seongnam's first capture of the winter.
Farias's replacement, 55 year-old former Atletico-PR boss Waldemar Lemos de Oliveira, will link up with a number of new faces at the Steelyard. One new face is no stranger to K-League football, former Chunnam and Seongnam forward Joao Soares da Mota Neto returning after a short spell back in his homeland with Ceara. Mota was unveilled on the same day Ahn Tae-eun joined up from FC Seoul, but arguably Pohang's biggest capture of the window so far is the signing of national team forward Seol Ki-hyeon after the 31 year-old was released by Fulham. Choi Hyun-yeon has swapped Jeju's Seogwipo stadium for the Steelyard, and Ko Ki-gu, a title winner under Farias in 2007, returns from Chunnam with Kim Myung-joong moving in the opposite direction.
2009 K-League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors have added 30 year-old Croatian forward Krunoslav Lovrek to their attack, and picked up two talented youngsters from FC Seoul, Kim Seung-yong and Shim Woo-yeon, with Ha Dae-sung and Lee Hyun-seung being traded north in exchange. Also joining up at Jeonbuk is Busan midfielder Kang Seung-jo and Omiya Ardija defender Park Won-jae.
Capital club FC Seoul replaced Trabzonspor-bound manager Senol Gunes with former Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Jordan national team boss Nelo Vingada. Goalkeeper Kim Yong-dae has joined the Sangam side from Seongnam, with Ulsan's Hyun Young-min also joining in a trade for national team defender Kim Chi-kon. Ex-Incheon striker Bang Seung-hwan's spell at Jeju has come to an end after just one season as he joined FC Seoul in another trade that saw Lee Sang-hyub move south. Another ex-Seoul man, Kim Eun-jung, has joined up at Jeju after returning to the K-League following a spell in China with Changsa Ginde.
Suwon manager Cha Bum-keun has also made a number of changes to his personnel after an extremely disappointing 2009 season. Out-of-contract forward Eduardo Goncalves de Oliveira left the Bluewings to join German title challengers Schalke 04, and his compatriots Tiago Jorge Honorio and Sandro Hiroshi were released by the club. In their place have come three Brazilians, Molde's 30 year-old forward Jose Rorberto Rodrigues Mota and two from Botafogo in the shape of 27 year-old defender Aselmo Vendrechovski Junior and 30 year-old forward Reinaldo da Cruz Oliveira. Cho Won-hee has returned on loan to Suwon a year after he headed to England to sign for Wigan Athletic, and Jeju's Kang Min-su and Lee Dong-sik have moved up to Suwon in trade for Bae Ki-jong and Park Hyung-bum. Fringe forward Choi Sung-hyun became the third Suwon player to join Jeju during the window, and North Korean international Ahn Young-hak has ended his four season stay in the K-League by signing for Japanese club Omiya Ardija.
Gyeongnam have welcomed two new Brazilian forwards in the shape of Lucio Teofilo da Silva and Marcelo Bras Ferreira da Silva, but talented youngster Song Ho-young has moved to Seongnam. Daegu, who were rocked by news of the arrest of then-manager Byun Byung-ju for corruption in early December, have appointed former FC Seoul assistant manager Lee Young-jin as his replacement. Bolstering the Daegu playing staff are two defenders, Busan's Ahn Sung-min and Pohang reserve Maeng Jin-oh.
With the K-League due to start on February 27th, more transfers and trades can be expected in the coming weeks as teams continue their preparation for the 2010 season.
