Daejeon Hana Citizen FC
Full nameDaejeon Hana Citizen Football Club
대전 하나 시티즌 축구단
Short nameDHFC
Founded1997 (1997)
GroundDaejeon World Cup Stadium
Capacity40,535
OwnerHana Financial Group Football Club Foundation
ChairmanHuh Jung-moo
ManagerLee Min-sung
LeagueK League 1
2023K League 1, 8th of 12
WebsiteClub website

Daejeon Hana Citizen Football Club (Korean: 대전 하나 시티즌 축구단) is a South Korean professional football team based in Daejeon that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. At the time of its foundation in 1997, Daejeon Citizen was the first community club in South Korea, not belonging to any company. The club first entered the K League for the 1997 season, finishing in seventh place. In spite of a limited budget, Daejeon won the 2001 Korean FA Cup. It has not achieved sustained success in the K League, historically occupying the middle and lower reaches of the standings each season. At the end of the 2013 season, Daejeon was relegated to the K League Challenge, the second-tier league.

On 24 December 2019, Hana Financial Group Football Club Foundation bought operating rights of the club, renaming the club to its current name.[1]

History

First steps into the K League

Following the foundation of the professional football league (the Korean Super League, reorganised as the K League in 1998) in Korea, there were few league matches held in Daejeon, and such matches that were held were played by visiting clubs. The absence of a local team in the league made it difficult for the citizens of Daejeon to identify with any particular team. However, in 1996 a plan to establish 'Daejeon Citizen' – their own local community club – was unveiled, which meant Daejeon citizens would have their own team to support in the league. Generally in Korea, 'community-club' means that the club issues shares. In the case of Daejeon, although shares weren't issued until 2005 (and the issuing of shares continued into 2006), they were already known as a "community club". Daejeon was the first club that did not belong to a specific company such as one of the 'chaebols' (Samsung, LG or the like) or another major company. This has a very symbolic meaning as essentially the club is founded upon the support of the local community rather than a specific company.

Kim Ki-bok was appointed the first manager of Daejeon Citizen. With high expectations, Daejeon took their first step to the K League in 1997 (at the time, the K League was known as the Rapido Super League), opening their season with a match against Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i. However, the results achieved in their first season did not live up to their high expectations for their first season. Although the club placed seventh in the league, ahead of Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma, Anyang LG Cheetahs and Bucheon SK, they won only three matches out of 18 games.[2]

The IMF Crisis

In 1998, a major economic crisis necessitated IMF intervention in the South Korean economy – this period of time is commonly referred to as the "IMF crisis" in South Korea.[3] As a consequence a number of companies, including some considered to be "Chaebol" went bankrupt, and there was widespread unemployment. Daejeon Citizen did not escape this crisis unscathed. The main board of Daejeon consisted of 4 groups – Kyeryong Construction Industrial, Dong-A Construction, DongYang Department Store and Chung-cheong Bank. But as a consequence of the IMF crisis, three of the four groups went bankrupt, leaving Kyeryong as the only survivor of the original board. There was a subsequent impact on the level of financial and management support provided to the club. This made for a particularly difficult season in the 1998 season of the K League. Again, only three games were won, but this time Daejeon finished ninth in the league, ahead of only Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma.[4]

The following year, 1999, Daejeon improved their winning record to six victories. However, changes in the K League structure since the previous year meant that an extra 9 games were played, 27 in total, from the previous season. There were a total of 18 losses, the worst in the league.[5] Despite this, Daejeon improved to eighth out of ten clubs.[5] For the 2000 season, Daejeon maintained its eighth position in the league.[6]

On the verge of disappearing

For the 2001 season, Lee Tae-ho was appointed manager, and promptly took Daejeon Citizen's first piece of silverware, leading Daejeon to victory in the FA Cup. The decisive goal of the FA Cup final came from Kim Eun-jung, which gave the team a one-nil victory over the Pohang Steelers. Due to this win, Daejeon also qualified to the 2002–03 AFC Champions League for the first time. This helped compensate for their poor performance in the K League, in which they finished 10th and last, even on points with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors but with an inferior goal differential.

South Korea was a co-host of the 2002 FIFA Football World Cup, with Daejeon as one of the host cities. The city constructed a brand new stadium for the World Cup, and following the conclusion of the tournament, Daejeon Citizen changed stadiums. The shift from their former stadium, Daejeon Hanbat Stadium, to Daejeon World Cup Stadium meant the club not only benefited from the new facilities, but also the greater capacity of the stadium. Daejeon's poor league performance from the previous year was carried into the 2002 season, and the club finished last again, and by some margin, having won but a single game throughout the season. Lee Tae-ho eventually resigned taking responsibility for the poor results. However, more creditable results were achieved in the AFC Champions League. Although they did not make proceed beyond the group phase, they did finish second in the group, beating both Shanghai Shenhua and Kashima Antlers. Their only loss was to the eventual group winner and overall runner-up, Thai club BEC Tero Sasana.

In other changes for 2002, the key financial supporter of the club – Kyeryong, which with their support ensured that Daejeon Citizen would survive the IMF crisis – declared that they would withdraw from the club's board. Daejeon City Hall decided to give financial support to the club. This ensured the club would survive to participate in the 2003 season.

Miracle 2003

The 2003 season proved to be memorable for Daejeon fans. Choi Yun-kyum, previously coach at Bucheon SK, was appointed manager to replace Lee Tae-ho who had resigned in the wake of the club's 2002 season. Choi promptly inspired the team and completely changed its dynamics by implementing the 4–3–3 formation. The outcome was a near miraculous recovery from 2002, and he, together with Daejeon Citizen, coined the catchphrase "Miracle 2003". Daejeon Citizen finished the 2003 season in sixth place, its best finish ever in the league, having won 18 out of 44 games.[7] Its sixth place was even more meritorious as the K League had expanded to twelve teams, with Daegu FC and Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix entering the competition for the first time. Daejeon also improved its average home game attendance to about 19,000.

It proved difficult for the club to maintain its performance into 2004. A lack of strike power at the attacking end of the field left the club with the worst offensive record of all the clubs in the K League, scoring 18 goals in 24 games. Daejeon slipped to eleventh place out of thirteen teams.[8] However, they did make it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, going down to eventual runners-up, Bucheon SK. Daejeon also finished as runners-up in the Hauzen Cup, behind only Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.[8]

The lack of penetration continued to be problematic into the 2005 season, with the club maintaining its record as the worst offensive side in the league, with only 19 goals scored in 24 games.[9] However, superb defence saw only 20 goals conceded (best defensive record in the league) ensuring that Daejeon finished seventh in the regular season, having lost only six games.[9] In the 2005 cup competitions, the FA Cup and the League Cup, Daejeon failed to progress to the quarter-final stage.

2007 Play-off qualification

Daejeon achieved what originally appeared by midseason at least, to be a highly unlikely qualification for the playoff phase of the K League following a 1–0 win over Suwon Samsung Bluewings which ensured a superior goal difference to FC Seoul, with whom Daejeon finished equal on points.[10] The win over Suwon was Daejeon's fifth consecutive victory and ultimately enabled them to qualify for the championship playoffs for the first time in their history. By midseason, it had seemed like another disappointing season was in store for Daejeon fans, with precious few wins recorded, and a number of losses. When Kim Ho took over from previous manager Choi Yun-kyum in the mid-season, Daejeon were sitting in eleventh place. However, under the guidance of their coach, and with good performances from Denilson, who scored 14 goals, and one of Korea's best technical players, Ko Jong-soo, they eventually qualified for the play-offs. They were ultimately beaten by Ulsan Hyundai in the first phase of the play-offs.[10]

Stadium

Since the 2002 K League season, which kicked off within a few weeks of the conclusion of the 2002 FIFA Football World Cup, Daejeon Citizen FC have played their home games at Daejeon World Cup Stadium. The stadium was specifically constructed for the world cup, and was completed in September 2001. Daejeon World Cup Stadium hosted two group games of the world cup, as well as the South Korea/Italy quarter-final. The fans of Daejeon Citizen have nicknamed the stadium "Purple Arena". The stadium has a seating capacity of 40,535. The last four home games of the 2014 season were played at the Hanbat Stadium, Daejeon's old ground to allow time for maintenance work to be carried out at World Cup Stadium. Daejeon will return to the World Cup Stadium for the 2015 season.[11]

Players

Current squad

As of 23 July 2023[12]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK South Korea KOR Lee Chang-geun (vice-captain)
2 DF South Korea KOR Seo Young-jae
3 DF South Korea KOR Kim Min-deok (vice-captain)
4 DF South Korea KOR Kim Hyun-woo
5 DF South Korea KOR Lim Duk-geun (vice-captain)
6 MF South Korea KOR Im Eun-su
7 FW Japan JPN Masatoshi Ishida
8 MF South Korea KOR Ju Se-jong (captain)
10 FW South Korea KOR Yu Kang-hyun
11 FW South Korea KOR Kim In-kyun
13 FW South Korea KOR Jeon Byung-kwan
14 MF South Korea KOR Kim Young-uk
15 DF South Korea KOR Byun Joon-soo
16 MF South Korea KOR Kim Gyeong-hwan
17 MF South Korea KOR Lee Hyeon-sik
19 FW South Korea KOR Shin Sang-eun
20 DF South Korea KOR Cho Yu-min
22 DF South Korea KOR Oh Jae-suk
23 GK South Korea KOR Jeong San
24 DF South Korea KOR Bae Seo-jun
25 GK South Korea KOR Lee Joon-seo
26 DF South Korea KOR Kim Ji-hoon
27 DF South Korea KOR Lee Jong-hyeon
No. Pos. Nation Player
28 FW Brazil BRA Tiago Orobó
29 MF South Korea KOR Kim Do-yun
30 MF South Korea KOR Lee Eun-jae
31 GK South Korea KOR Lim Yoo-seok
32 DF South Korea KOR Kim Tae-hyun
33 MF South Korea KOR Bae Jun-ho
34 DF South Korea KOR Choi Jae-hyeon
37 MF South Korea KOR Jung Kang-min
41 GK South Korea KOR Ahn Tae-yoon
42 MF South Korea KOR Jung Jin-woo
43 FW South Korea KOR Yoo Sun-woo
46 FW South Korea KOR Lee Dong-won
47 FW South Korea KOR Jung Won-sik
51 GK South Korea KOR Bae Sang-pil
55 DF South Korea KOR Lee Han-bin
58 FW South Korea KOR Jung Woo-bin
66 DF South Korea KOR Lee Seon-ho
70 FW Brazil BRA Leandro
71 DF South Korea KOR Kang Yoon-sung
77 FW South Korea KOR Lee Seon-yu
97 MF South Korea KOR Lee Jin-hyun
98 DF Azerbaijan AZE Anton Kryvotsyuk
99 FW Latvia LVA Vladislavs Gutkovskis

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF South Korea KOR Choi Ik-jin (to Jinju Citizen for military service)
DF South Korea KOR Kim Jae-woo (to Gimcheon Sangmu for military service)
DF South Korea KOR Min Jun-yeong (to for military service)
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF South Korea KOR Park Jun-seo (to Zweigen Kanazawa)
FW South Korea KOR Gong Min-hyun (to FC Anyang)
FW Brazil BRA Willyan (to FC Seoul)

Retired numbers(s)

18Kim Eun-jung
21Choi Eun-sung

Managers

No. Name From To Season(s)
1South Korea Kim Ki-bok1996/11/212000/10/251997–2000
2South Korea Lee Tae-ho2000/10/262002/12/302001–2002
3South Korea Choi Yun-kyum2003/01/082007/06/302003–2007
4South Korea Kim Ho2007/07/132009/06/262007–2009
CSouth Korea Wang Sun-Jae2009/06/272009/10/262009
52009/10/272011/07/022009–2011
CSouth Korea Shin Jin-won2011/07/032011/07/162011
6South Korea Yoo Sang-chul2011/07/202012/12/012011–2012
7South Korea Kim In-wan2012/12/052013/10/022013
CSouth KoreaCho Jin-ho 2013/10/032014/05/082013–2014
82014/05/082015/05/202014–2015
CCanada Michael Kim2015/05/212015/05/312015
9South Korea Choi Moon-sik2015/05/282016/10/302015–2016
10South Korea Lee Young-ik2016/11/172017/08/312017
CSouth Korea Kim Jong-hyun2017/08/312017/10/292017
11South Korea Ko Jong-soo2017/12/012019/05/232018–2019
CSouth Korea Park Chul2019/05/232019/06/302019
12South Korea Lee Heung-sil2019/07/022019/12/162019
13South Korea Hwang Sun-hong2020/01/042020/09/082020
CSouth Korea Kang Chul2020/09/082020/09/172020
CSouth Korea Cho Min-kook2020/09/182020/11/252020
14South Korea Lee Min-sung2020/12/092021–

Honours

League

Cups

Season-by-season records

Season Division Tms. Pos. FA Cup AFC CL
1997 1 10 7 Round of 16
1998 1 10 9 Round of 16
1999 1 10 8 Round of 16
2000 1 10 8 1st round
2001 1 10 10 Winners
2002 1 10 10 Semi-finals
2003 1 12 6 Quarter-finals Group stage
2004 1 13 11 Semi-finals
2005 1 13 8 Round of 16
2006 1 14 10 Round of 16
2007 1 14 6 Round of 16
2008 1 14 13 Round of 32
2009 1 15 9 Semi-finals
2010 1 15 13 Semi-finals
2011 1 16 15 Round of 16
2012 1 16 13 Quarter-finals
2013 1 14 14 Round of 32
2014 2 10 1 Round of 32
2015 1 12 12 Round of 16
2016 2 11 7 Round of 16
2017 2 10 10 Round of 16
2018 2 10 4 Third round
2019 2 10 9 Third round
2020 2 10 4 Round of 16
2021 2 10 3 Third round
2022 2 11 2 Second round
2023 1 12 8 Round of 16
Key
  • Tms. = Number of teams
  • Pos. = Position in league (regular season)

AFC Champions League record

All results (home and away) list Daejeon's goal tally first.

Season Round Opposition Home Away Agg.
2003 Third qualifying round Macau Monte Carlo 3–0 5–1 8–1
Fourth qualifying round India Mohun Bagan 6–0 2–1 8–1
Group A China Shanghai Shenhua 2–1[lower-alpha 1] 2nd
Thailand BEC Tero Sasana 0–2[lower-alpha 1]
Japan Kashima Antlers 1–0[lower-alpha 1]
  1. 1 2 3 Played at a neutral venue.

References

  1. Choi Song-a (24 December 2019). "대전 시티즌, 주주총회서 하나금융그룹과 영업양수도 승인". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  2. "South Korea 1997". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  3. "[Daejeon / Chungnam] The Daejeon Citizen rescue campaign". Dong-A Newspaper.
  4. "South Korea 1998". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  5. 1 2 "South Korea 1999". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. "South Korea 2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. "South Korea 2003". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  8. 1 2 "South Korea 2004". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. 1 2 "South Korea 2005". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  10. 1 2 "South Korea 2007". RSSSF. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  11. Daejeon Metropolitan City Facilities Website – in english
  12. "선수단". dhcfc.kr (in Korean). Daejeon Hana Citizen. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
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