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Against the Odds: Looking Back at Daejeon Citizen’s Historic AFC Champions League Campaign

2026-09-07T11:00:00.000+09:00

Daejeon Hana Citizen know which teams they'll face upon their return to the AFC Champions League, but who did they face last time, and how did their maiden voyage into Asia pan out?

Daejeon Hana Citizen have been drawn to play against Kyoto Sanga, Vissel Kobe, Beijing FC, and Kashima Antlers at home, as well as Shanghai Port, Kashiwa Reysol, Johor Darul Ta'zim and Gamba Osaka away in the 2026-2027 AFC Champions League Elite.

Although this isn't their first foray into continental football, it will be the Purples' first time playing home and away in ACL proper.

Daejeon are in the AFC Champions League for the first time since the 2002-2003 campaign, which was earned following their FA Cup win in 2001. A lot has changed since then, both at Purple Arena and on the continent.

Daejeon Citizen have since added "Hana" to their name, of course, courtesy of the 2019 Hana Financial Group takeover, making no secret that the aim was always ACL qualification, as well as the expansion and format change of the AFC Champions League.

The format of the competition has changed a lot since the 2002-2003 edition, which had just 16 teams, eight from the West and eight from the East. It was played in a hub throughout March of 2003 in Bangkok for the East and Al Ain for the West.

Qualifying

It all got off to a very good start with big wins in qualification in November of 2002. Despite being a cup winner, Daejeon were required to go through two rounds of qualification to reach the group stage. The Purples entered in the third round, where they beat Monte Carlo of Macao 8-1 on aggregate over two legs, courtesy of a 5-1 away win - a match that saw goalkeeper Choi Eun-sung score and become the first goalkeeper to score in the ACL - then 3-0 at home to progress to the next phase. It was a tricky journey to Macau as Daejeon arrived a day before the match against Monte Carlo. Despite that, they scored four times inside the opening 20 minutes and eventually won 5-1.

Citizen then beat Mohun Bagan of India by the same aggregate scoreline in the next phase - 6-0 at home, then 2-1 away. The India trip was even more ridiculous. Daejeon had to travel to Kolkata, changing planes twice. Kim Eun-jung and Lee Kwan-woo became seriously ill because they couldn't adapt to the weather. Yet Daejeon still won 2–1, with goals from Lee Chang-yup and Kong Oh-kyun.

Group Stage

Fast forward to March 2003 and Daejeon were ready for the group stage, heading to the Thai capital, Bangkok. Shanghai Shenhua, BEC Tero Sasana, and Kashima Antlers were Daejeon's opponents in Group A. All three matches would be played over five days in the Bangkok heat and humidity.

Daejeon weren't exactly flush with cash at the time, nor were they a team that had enjoyed much success - FA Cup win aside. In 2002, Daejeon had won only one of their first 27 league games, players were reportedly three months behind on wages, and there were even rumours that the club might fold. Yet in the middle of all that, they were travelling to play in the Champions League.

[READ: Kim Eun-jung Daejeon ACL Interview]

Shanghai Shenhua 1-2 Daejeon Citizen

Daejeon got off to the perfect start to their first ACL group stage match, taking an eighth-minute lead through Han Jung-kook. Kim Eun-jung, who got the winning goal in the FA Cup Final that earned Daejeon's place in the ACL, then made it 2-0 just before halftime, getting on the end of a ball from Jang Cheol-woo. Shanghai Shenhua pulled a goal back five minutes from time but Daejeon held firm and got the three points.

Date: 10th March 2003
Venue: Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok

Daejeon Citizen 0-2 BEC Tero Sasana

The middle group stage match that proved to be decisive for Daejeon. Manager Choi Yun-kyum made a handful of selection changes, with one eye on the Kashima match. Lee Seung-jun, for instance, started in goal ahead of Choi Eun-sung, but it was a game that saw Kong Oh-kyun, Kim Jung-soo and Kang Jung-hoo all reportedly playing through the pain barrier with injuries.

Goals from Panai Kongpraphan and Therdsak Chaiman meant it was the team with home advantage made it two wins from two. It was the only match Daejeon had failed to score in throughout their entire Asian journey up until this point. The players actually went into the stadium early and watched BEC Tero–Shanghai together, waiting to see whether their own match would still matter for qualification. The BEC Tero–Shanghai match was 1–1 until the 85th minute, meaning Daejeon were temporarily in a position where beating Kashima would send them through. Their semi-final dream was over before they had even kicked a ball.

Date: 12th March 2003
Venue: Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok

Daejeon Citizen 1-0 Kashima Antlers

After learning they were already eliminated, the players apparently lost their motivation. They'd spent the previous few days preparing themselves for a possible "winner takes all" game against Kashima. Then goalkeeper Choi Eun-sung called the players together in the dressing room and essentially said: we've already achieved something remarkable; let's finish by beating the J.League Cup winners.

In what was a mismatch of resources, Daejeon ended the group campaign with a 1-0 win over Kashima Antlers, thanks to a Papa Oumar Coly goal three minutes from time - Jang Cheol-woo created it from the right, delivering the ball for Papa Oumar Coly to convert. Jang had therefore supplied the assist for two winning goals in the ACL.

Date: 14th March 2003
Venue: Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok

For Daejeon, 2001 to 2003 was a whirlwind few years with the highs of the 2001 FA Cup win, the lows of finishing bottom of the league two years in a row and winning just one match all year in the second, to then going up against and beating some of Asia's best. These players had character and beating Kashima proved that the 2001 FA Cup triumph wasn't simply a fluke

What the English Commentary Matches Say About the K League 1 Storylines

2026-09-04T15:27:08.401+09:00

Can anyone actually catch FC Seoul? Who gets into Final A? Who survives? What the matches selected for English commentary tell us about where broadcasters see the main storylines.

There are 25 English-commentary matches selected across Rounds 27–33. There are eight current Final A vs. Final A matches, 13 Final A vs. Final B clashes, and just four Final B vs. Final B as the league table stands heading into Round 27. This means that 84% of the selected matches involve at least one team currently in the top six, which tells you where the perceived drama is.

League leaders FC Seoul will be featured the most with seven matches, followed by Ulsan HD and Pohang Steelers with six, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Gimcheon Sangmu with five, Gangwon FC, FC Anyang, Incheon United, and Gwangju FC with four, Bucheon FC 1995 with three, and then just one for Daejeon Hana Citizen and Jeju SK.

The Biggest Pre-Round 33 Stories

Who gets into the top six

There are five teams separated by just four points fighting for what will likely be just one Final A place - Pohang Steelers, FC Anyang, Incheon United, Daejeon Hana Citizen, and Bucheon FC 1995. The commentary picks seem to lean into this race for Final A storyline, with 11 matches involving these teams.

Pohang might be the team under the microscope

Pohang are currently sixth on 35 points, but their schedule is loaded with teams around them. Their selected games see them facing Jeonbuk, Gimcheon, Ulsan, Seoul, Incheon, and Anyang. That's six matches, and four of those six are against teams either immediately around them or fighting at the top. Rounds 31 to 33, in particular, provide quite the run-in for the Steelers - Incheon away, Anyang at home, and Ulsan away.

FC Seoul are the other obvious protagonists

Seoul have seven selected games, more than anybody else. Five of those seven are currently in Final A, so although Seoul are 16 points clear at the top, they're being dropped into virtually every important part of the title/Final A narrative.

Fascinating best of the rest battle

If you can say there is a title race to speak of, with FC Seoul 16 points clear, then there are five teams are separated by just five points for second to sixth who could either be seen as the best of the rest, or the teams that could mount a late title push if Seoul begin to drop points. The tightness of second through sixth an enormous amount of drama because second and third are also important positions for AFC qualification, while third and fourth have different continental implications depending on the Korea Cup outcome.

The Seoul–Ulsan–Jeonbuk triangle

The first three rounds are particularly revealing, almost a mini-block of title or continental football. And by the end of Round 29, Seoul will have played both Ulsan and Jeonbuk. That could either kill off the title race completely, give Ulsan or Jeonbuk hope, or establish a very clear order among the chasing pack.

The relegation battle is actually the weird one

This is where 2026 makes the story quite different, when looking at the current bottom six. So the normal "11th vs 12th" survival narrative is somewhat distorted. Gwangju are 15 points behind Gimcheon, and with seven matches left, they can theoretically catch them - but they'd need a huge turnaround. There are nine matches involving the current bottom two teams, and this pre-Round 33 run-in begins with Gimcheon vs. Gwangju, giving the latter a chance to start to reduce the deficit.

The really interesting omission: Daejeon

Daejeon are ninth on 32, only three points behind Pohang and two behind Anyang and Incheon. They are absolutely alive in the race for sixth, yet they receive only one English commentary match despite featuring heavily in the first 26 rounds of the season. From a purely table-based perspective, Daejeon are probably the biggest "hidden storyline" in the selection. If they win a couple of games while Pohang or Anyang or Incheon drop points, they could absolutely enter the Final A picture.

Bucheon are another interesting one

Bucheon are 10th on 31, only four points from sixth. They get Incheon away, Gimcheon at home, and Ulsan away. Incheon and Ulsan are particularly useful: Incheon vs Bucheon is basically a direct battle among the chasing pack, and Ulsan vs Bucheon could be fascinating if Bucheon are still within touching distance of sixth by Round 32.

English Commentary Matches

Round 27

Saturday 5th September

FC Seoul vs. Incheon United - 19:00 (Alex Jensen)
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors vs. Pohang Steelers - 19:00 (Matthew Binns)

Sunday 6th September

FC Anyang vs. Gangwon FC - 19:00 (Alex Jensen)
Gimcheon Sangmu vs. Gwangju FC - 19:00 (Paul Neat)

Round 28

Tuesday 8th September

Ulsan HD vs. FC Seoul - 19:30 (Alex Jensen)
Incheon United vs. Bucheon FC 1995 - 19:30 (Paul Neat)

Wednesday 9th September

Gangwon FC vs. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors - 19:30 (Alex Jensen)
Pohang Steelers vs. Gimcheon Sangmu - 19:30 (Paul Neat)

Round 29

Saturday 12th September

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors vs. FC Seoul - 16:30 (Alex Jensen)
Ulsan HD vs. Incheon United - 16:30 (Paul Neat)

Gimcheon Sangmu vs. Gangwon FC - 16:30 (Alex Jensen)
Gwangju FC vs. FC Anyang - 19:00 (Paul Neat)

Round 30

Saturday 19th September

Bucheon FC 1995 vs. Gimcheon Sangmu - 16:30 (Alex Jensen)
FC Anyang vs. Ulsan HD - 19:00 (Matthew Binns)

Sunday 20th September

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors vs. Gwangju FC - 16:30 (Alex Jensen)

Pohang Steelers vs. FC Seoul - 19:00 (Paul Neat)

Round 31

Friday 9th October

Daejeon Hana Citizen vs. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors - 14:00 (Alex Jensen)
Incheon United vs. Pohang Steelers - 16:30 (Matthew Binns)

Saturday 10th October

FC Seoul vs. Jeju SK - 14:00 (Alex Jensen)

Sunday 11th October

Gwangju FC vs. Ulsan HD - 14:00 (Paul Neat)

Round 32

Saturday 17th October

Ulsan HD vs. Bucheon FC 1995 - 16:30 (Alex Jensen)

Sunday 18th October

FC Seoul vs. Gimcheon Sangmu - 14:00 (Matthew Binns)
Pohang Steelers vs. FC Anyang - 16:30 (Alex Jensen)

Round 33

Saturday 24th October

Ulsan HD vs. Pohang Steelers - 14:00 (Alex Jensen)
FC Seoul vs. Gangwon FC - 14:00 (Paul Neat)

Where to Watch

Watch live on TV.KLeague.com, English commentary provided where indicated.

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‘A Truly Precious Gift’: Kim Eun-jung Remembers Daejeon Citizen’s Historic First Trophy and AFC Champions League Journey

2026-09-03T16:49:59.304+09:00

Intro

It's November 2001 and Daejeon Citizen have just won the FA Cup. It's a miracle. Daejeon spent 2001 propping up the K League table but defied all the odds to win the FA Cup, which at the time was played separately after the conclusion of the K League season. Kim Eun-jung scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win over Pohang Steelers.

Being the first team to win a trophy at Seoul World Cup Stadium - a fact which could be the subject of decent pub quiz question - Daejeon then qualified for the AFC Champions League. These days it's a given that continental qualification follows a cup win, but it wasn't like that in 2001.

“Actually, I didn't know that we had qualified for the Champions League," says Kim Eun-jung, a Daejeon club legend, even without the FA Cup-winning goal. "I think the joy of winning the trophy was even greater because it was Daejeon's first-ever trophy since the club was founded.”

The path to the group stage wasn't easy; there was what Kim described as a "physically exhausting" away trip to India in a second round of qualification before a hub-style group stage of three matches played in Thailand.

“In the matches held in Thailand, we played Kashima Antlers from Japan, Shanghai Shenhua from China, and the Thai team (BEC-Tero Sasana)," recalls Kim. "We finished second in the group with two wins and one defeat. The Thai team, who were the home side, finished first, so only they advanced to the knockout stage.”

Winning two of the three matches and still not advancing to the knockouts was incredibly unlucky. But, as well as scoring the winning goal in the cup final, Kim Eun-jung also has his name in the history books as a Champions League match-winner, scoring the second goal in a 2-1 win over Shanghai Shenhua.

[READ: Daejeon's FA Cup triumph remembered 20 years on]

But when asked about that goal, Kim still seems more disappointed that Citizen didn't make it out of the group.

“It was the match against Shanghai Shenhua, which we won 2–1, and I scored the winning goal. It was disappointing that we finished second in the group with two wins and one defeat and didn't advance to the knockout stage.

“I think we achieved a fairly good result in our first appearance in the Champions League, but it was disappointing because, under the format at the time, only the group winners advanced to the knockout stage.”

That selflessness is evident when asked about what it was like to score such a meaningful goal for the club, instead pointing to how it was a collective achievement.

“The club was struggling financially at the time, but the club, the players and the fans were all passionate. In particular, the atmosphere within the squad was like a family. We all came together, supported one another and gave our best in every match.”

In 2001, Daejeon had been in existence for four years. It was a difficult start to life as a K League club, finishing either bottom, second-bottom, or third-bottom in the first six seasons, which is what made the FA Cup triumph an even greater achievement.

Even more so for a player who was only 22 when Daejeon won the FA Cup, and 24 by the time the Purples started the ACL group stage.

“I started with Daejeon when the club was founded, and after going through difficult times together, we achieved the great accomplishment of winning the FA Cup. It was a period when we lost more games than we won, so the FA Cup victory was a truly precious gift. It was Daejeon's first trophy since the club was founded, and it was also my first professional trophy.”

As for the current Daejeon side, which will feature in the AFC Champions League Elite in 2026-2027, Kim believes that the squad has enough to put their disappointing league campaign behind them and put their best foot forward in the ACL.

“Daejeon aren't performing quite as well as expected in the league at the moment, but they have a good squad, so I think they can put in good performances and achieve good results in the Champions League.”

Five of Daejeon's eight ACLE opponents will be J.League sides, Kyoto Sanga, Vissel Kobe, Kashiwa Reysol, Kashima Antlers, and Gamba Osaka. Kim, who had a loan spell with J1 side Vegalta Sendai in 2003, says that football has improved a lot in Japan.

“The level of the J League and Japanese players has improved a lot. However, having consistently watched J. League matches, I think K League teams have also improved considerably and are certainly capable of competing with them."

So what should this current crop of Daejeon players keep in mind when they take on Asia's elite?

“International matches are more physically demanding than domestic league games, so the preparation process is important. In particular, when playing away from home, adapting to things such as the weather, food and surroundings is important. Ultimately, if they prepare thoroughly, I think they can achieve good results in every match.”