Joy and tears are intersecting with each other. FC Anyang has achieved its dream of becoming the top division league. It has been 11 years since its foundation in 2013. Suwon Samsung, a renowned traditional Korean conglomerate, failed to advance to the top division after a single season, having fallen to the second division last year. In the first division, Incheon United's "survival king" myth, which seemed to last forever, has collapsed. Incheon will live its life in the second division for the first time next year.
The K-League, which has been sweating profusely throughout the year, is facing a season of pursuit. If the team ranks first, the team ranks last. As usual, the soccer field is filled with joy and sorrow. The whirlpool of promotion and relegation is the destiny of global professional soccer. It is the "flower" and virtuous cycle of club soccer. The K-League, which opened in 1983, introduced the promotion system only in 2013, 30 years after its inauguration.
Under the current "1+2" system, the bottom players of the first division will be directly demoted to the second division, while the bottom players of the first division will be directly demoted to the second division, while the bottom players of the first division will be determined through the winner of the playoff and the third to fifth players of the division, and the bottom players will be determined through the promotion and PO. This year, Incheon experienced the worst luck. Daegu FC and Jeonbuk Hyundai are waiting for the promotion and PO.
The interests of the first and second divisions are always in sharp conflict. Again this year, the first division is full of voices. The commanders who managed to survive are clamoring. They are also blaming the system. "Three of the 12 teams in the K League 1 are in the relegation zone. The probability is a whopping 25 percent. There is no place in the world that has a 25 percent chance of relegation. It is not 16 or 20 teams. We have 12 teams. They say that the K League 1 team is advantageous in PO, but there is no guarantee that it is soccer. A 25 percent chance of relegation is too harsh," Jeju United coach Kim Hak-beom said.
Hwang Sun-hong, the Daejeon Hana Citizen coach, also agreed, as he ranked ninth, the remaining Maginot line in the first division. "The relegation rate is high in the current reality. Or we need to increase the number of K-League 1 teams. Young leaders these days are not willing to serve as coaches. It is a harsh standard for fans to enjoy and there can be many situations, but it is very important to have a structure that meets the reality," he said.
The difficulties faced by coaches are understandable. Words cannot describe the pressure of competition for survival. It is also welcome to raise the issue at the scene. However, we cannot sympathize with the reasoning of changing the system again in three years. The reason behind the introduction of the "one plus two" system was strong proposals from the second-tier clubs, and the first-tier clubs also sacrificed themselves for the good. Hwang Sun-hong may not be aware of this, but the most vocal club at the time was the second-tier competition. It is inappropriate for a team to change its position all of a sudden just because of a change in position.
There is also a gap between the 25 percent demotion. A 25 percent demotion has never materialized. In 2022, the first season of implementation, Seongnam FC and Gimcheon Sangmu were demoted, while last year, only one team - Suwon Samsung - was demoted to the second division. Arithmetically, the two teams went back and forth between 16.7 percent and 8 percent. Based on the average, the probability of the first division demotion so far is 12.5 percent. The majority opinion is that 25 percent is highly unlikely this year as well.
It is also regrettable that consumers, namely many fans, neglected their "cheekiness." There is no denying that there are more pure functions than dysfunctions. A match with less tension is a world to themselves. The fans reject it. When flames burn until the last minute, "warmness" dances. The battlefield of the first part, where 7th to 12th places are located, has become as fierce as the competition for the title, thanks to the "1+2 system." Even in the first round of the finals, not even the 7th to 8th places were free from the relegation battle this season. There were so many things to see and exciting.
In the second division, qualification for the semi-PO now runs to the fifth place, and hence the sixth and seventh places, as well as the eighth place, did not give up and risked their lives to the end. Suwon Samsung, ranking sixth, had the same points as Busan I'Park, ranking fifth, with 56 points, but failed to advance to the semi-PO, as it was pushed back by multiple points. The fierce battle continued until the final match. 안전놀이터
When establishing a certain system or regulation in a professional league, the first target to keep in mind is the fan. The ground is full of excitement and fans are enthusiastic, but just because the representatives and coaches of some clubs are heartbroken cannot change the stance immediately.