Jeonbuk Hyundai coach Kim Doo-hyun’s words, “Formation is meaningless,” were not a pretense.
Jeonbuk, which played the 15th round of Hana Bank K League 1 2024 at Songam Sports Town in Chuncheon on the 29th, beat Gangwon FC 유흥알바.
Ahead of the match, Kim held a press conference at his hotel in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province. At the meeting, he explained the soccer to be implemented in Jeonbuk under the keywords “time, space, positioning and balance” and stressed, “Formation is meaningless. How to position well is important.” He diagnosed that Jeonbuk needs to select a location that fits the situation rather than a fixed role.
As if to prove the fact, Jeonbuk played in a formative style that cannot be defined. There were only several typical styles that were implemented during the game, such as 5-4-1, 3-4-3 and 4-4-2.
The position of each player was clear compared to that. Thiago was in charge of the front line and Jeon Byeong-gwan was in charge of the left attack. Ahn Hyun-beom was busy moving from the right to the front during attack and to the last room during defense. Lee Soo-bin and Boateng were mainly located in the midfield, while Lee Young-jae with them stayed on the right side during defense and controlled the opposing side. Park Jin-seop became a member of the three-back team at the time of defense and moved up half a space at the time of attack, becoming the backbone of the build-up. Kim Jin-su was in charge of left back in defense and left stopper in attack. Lee Jae-ik and Jung Tae-wook were center backs.
They can be understood that the formation was operated differently in attack and defense. However, to explain the formation alone, there were many players who could hardly be defined as a single position, such as Jeon staying at a high left area or Park Jin-seop continuing to play defense with midfielder.
For this reason, players were confused in the beginning of the game. Players appeared to be confused between their roles and positioning in terms of formation, and in the fourth minute of the first half, they gave way too much space between them to Gangwon, dedicating the first goal to Yang Min-hyuk.
Still, as time passed, the players played soccer based on positioning. As Jeonbuk players preempted Gangwon players in the position appropriate to the situation, short passes were linked smoothly in the development of the attack, threatening Gangwon. Lee Young-jae’s equalizer was relatively individual, but in the process, Kim Jin-soo played his unique play of leading the ball in the center, not simply staying in the defense.
Unfortunately, we have not seen Kim change his tactics with mercenary skills. As Jeon Byung-kwan was sent off in the 17th minute of the second half due to accumulated warnings, it became difficult for Jeonbuk to lead the game. It was the best choice to exclude striker Thiago and midfielder Boateng, and to include Park Chu-young with speed and center back Koo Ja-yong.
Jeonbuk allowed Yago to lose points in the 33rd minute of the second half, losing 1-2. Kim added Moon Seon-min, Han Kyo-won, and Jung Woo-jae one after another to put weight on the counterattack, but failed to secure a point in the debut match.
The color of the tactics Kim is pursuing has clearly been revealed. “I look at it positively because of what I told the players,” he said at a press conference after the game. “I was close to being satisfied because of the play I wanted.” As he showed changes from the first game, expectations for Jeonbuk that Kim will lead have increased.