Professional soccer's K League 2 (second division) Busan I-Park attempted to return to the K League 1 (first division) after a four-year hiatus, but came up short.
Busan, ranked second in the K League 2, lost the second leg of the Hana One Q K League 2023 Promotion Playoffs (PO) 2-5 after an extended battle against Suwon FC, ranked 11th in the K League 1, at Suwon Sports Complex at 2 p.m. on September 9.
Busan took the lead in the first leg with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory at Busan Asiad Stadium on April 6, but failed to achieve their desired promotion to the top flight with a 4-6 aggregate score.
Busan has been a part of the K League since the inception of professional soccer in 1983, having previously been known as the Daewoo Royals and Busan Icons. They won four league titles (1984-1987, 1991-1997) and one FA Cup (2004).
However, after the change in parent company, 온라인카지노 the team's power waned as investment decreased. In 2016, the team suffered the ignominy of becoming the first corporate club to be relegated since the introduction of the K League's promotion system (2013). Suwon FC was the team that dropped Busan to the second division.
The team returned to the first division after beating Gyeongnam FC in the 2019 promotion PO, but suffered a straight relegation the following year. After a long absence from the first division, Busan finally failed to reach it this season.
Lack of backbone In the 2023 season, Busan consistently ranked in the top tier of the K League 2 and seemed to be on track to win both the title and promotion.
However, they drew 1-1 at home against Chungbuk Cheongju in the league final on March 26, allowing Gimcheon Sangmu, who had beaten Seoul Eland FC the same day, to win the title. They missed out on the title and direct promotion right in front of their eyes.
They also slipped in the subsequent promotion PO. They seemed to shake off the disappointment of missing out on the title with a dramatic upset win in the first leg.
The historical record was also in Busan's favor. Since its inception in 2013, the promotion PO has been held a total of 10 times, seven of which have been decided in the first leg. Six of those seven times, both clubs emerged as winners. We calculated that the first-leg winner, Busan, had an 85.7% chance of promotion.
In the second leg, Busan scored the first goal in the first 15 minutes to take control of the game. However, they were not able to hold their nerve and conceded two goals in the second half, sending the game into overtime. For the second time in a row, the team was unable to redress the balance of the game in overtime.
"Of the two (promotion chances), the last game of the league was more disappointing," said Busan coach Park Jin-seop. We should have ended it there," he said, adding, "I'm sorry that the fans wanted promotion so much, but we couldn't achieve it."