The Pentagon - An Intercontinental Adventure

November 2012

Busan TC 2-1 Chungju Hummel
A close fought encounter, but Dong-Hyo once again came to the rescue with two goals. The more important thing, however, is that we avoided any injuries ahead of the play-offs.

Goyang Kookmin Bank 2-1 Busan TC
We lost our last league match of the season in the 93rd season, and we deserved to lose. They had 20 shots to our 2. But in some ways I am pleased that we lost today, as it should rule out any possibility of heading into the play-offs complacent. However, our best defender did pick up an injury which rules him out of the play-off semi-final. But hopefully he will be back for the final should we get there.


In the end, we finished clear at the top of the closing stage, but one point off top spot in the overall league table. That last minute goal against Goyang Kookmin Bank came back to bite us, as it meant that they finished top and we will have the harder play-off draw.

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Bring it on. We have taken four points from our two meetings this season, and Busan are in the middle of a board takeover. As far as I can tell it’s a one off match with the winner progressing to the two-legged final.
 
Good work getting to the play-offs. Ansan aren't really that bad though, they are a decent challenge to have. Good luck getting to the K-League!
 
N League Playoff Semi Final
Busan TC 0-0p Busan

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So our hopes of promotion have ended in a penalty shootout defeat. Busan had a man sent off one minute into the second half, but we couldn’t capitalise. I was actually happy enough to see it go the distance, but when it came to the shootout two of our players missed and all of theirs scored. The irony is that the missed penalty that put us out came from Dong-Hyo, our player of the season and the league’s top scorer.

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It has been a brilliant season by all accounts, but yet more playoff heartbreak ridded us of our shot at the K-League. Busan I’Park went on the win the final and bounce straight back up, but we can take great positives from the fact that we finished above them in the league. I guess we will go again next season when I will be even more desperate for promotion.

Player of the Season: Kim Dong-Hyo

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20 goals in 23 games says it all. He signed for a hefty fee of £100k, causing a certain degree of scepticism amongst the fans. But he soon proved them wrong, and I cannot believe he wasn’t crowned as the league’s best player, instead coming in third. But he has been our key player this season, and will have a similarly important role next year.

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I said, and still say, that I want to stay at Busan for the next few years and build the club up (we already have new training facilities on the way). But I still love Bidvest Wits, and if they offered me the job I’m not sure I could say no. That being said, they probably won’t offer it to me anyway.
 
Ha bit early mate. They aint bad i played them im thinkng of starting again cus i cant find a job after i left BL and didnt save :( Will you follow mate??
 
Sure, I'll follow. But did you really not get a single offer? Because you did win the First Division.
 
Maybe you should take any offer and see what happens. It is probably unlikely you would get a job at a bigger club than Black Leopards. But if you did make a new one would you change club?
 
Yeah im gunna start in the N-League because i like the league but last year it didnt have promotion but this year it does :)
 
Pre-Season Update

After last season’s playoff disappointment, I am desperate to go one better this year. I told the board I believed we could win the league, and they backed me accordingly, although I only used a small fraction of the money on offer. Also, after Busan’s promotion back to the K-League, we have re-established our relationship with them, but unfortunately the link didn’t provide us with any loan players. Another positive is that the training facilities upgrade has been completed.

Transfers


Lee Se-Hwan


We fought off K-League opposition to secure the signature of this versatile player. He cost £10k plus Hyuk-Soon, who I was wanting to get rid of anyway. He can play at centre-back or in midfield, and he adds real quality to the team.

Alexander Rennie


He was a free agent, so I took him no trial along with his Liberian international team-mate. I liked the look of him, and so I decided to snap him up. He is only 19, so has great potential, and I was delighted to be able to sign him to a professional contract to help him develop. However, he will probably only play a bit part this season.

Diarra Gaoussou


The Malian was another free agent after being released by Ajax CT. I took him on trial before deciding to sign him, and he should sure up the midfield. He is quite a good all round midfielder.

Cristian Tiboni

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I was delighted to bring this Italian to the club from a club from Panama for free. He has an impressive history, having been at a number of clubs which include Atalanta, Udinese and CSKA Sofia. He will probably be paired with Dong-Hyo for most matches, but we now have five great options in attack.

Song Ha-Jin


We had to fork out £50k to sign this player from Ansan Hallelujah, but I was desperate to bring him in. He can play centre-half, right back or right midfield, so he provides great cover particularly when we play with four at the back.

I am very happy with the players we have been able to bring in. We only spent £60k, and managed to make £19k from selling of some deadwood. £14k of that came from a centre-back who has been on national service for the last two years, and so I have never managed him. When he returned, K-League side Suwon City were happy to sign him.

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Again we got some impressive results in pre-season, and I am looking forward to starting the season with the new options the transfer dealings have brought us.

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Really like this story, and your progress. KIU mate, hope u can bounce back from last seasons disappointment.
 
You afraid of Oceania and Romania ?

As I said, I didn't want to have to download any additional leagues so couldn't use Oceania. And I wanted to load Romania, but it would have added a lot more players than a smaller league such as Czech Republic.
 
April 2013

Mokpo 0-3 Busan TC
A brilliant way to kick off the season, away to our fellow play-off challengers. It was 0-0 until the 68th minute when 21-year-old midfielder Park Won-Kil, only on as a sub five minutes before, opened the scoring. The old partnership of Dong-Hyo and Jae-Young then sealed the win, both of them getting on the scoresheet.

Busan TC 4-1 Gangneung City
Another good three points, but we turned up even later this time. It was 1-1 until the 80th minute. Won-Kil came on after 74 minutes this time, and scored twice to make it three from two sub appearances! And his goals sent us on the way to what seems like a more comfortable win than it was.

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Daejeon KHNP 4-3 Busan TC
Italian Tiboni scored two headers to put us 2-0 up early on, his first goals for the club. But the home side somehow fought back to take a 3-2 lead. Dong-Hyo looked to have salvaged a point when he scored in the second half, but we conceded a late winner. It is a disappointing way to lose for the first time this season.

Busan TC 1-2 Kimhae
Although Kimhae have had a good start to the season, they are still a team we should be beating, especially at home. But they shocked us with two first half goals. We pushed forward, but all we could manage to force was an own goal in stoppage time.

Yesan 0-1 Busan TC
A Tiboni goal in the first ten minutes was enough to get us back to winning ways. It was a nervy second half as we failed to extend our lead, but I am glad we have been able to get a result and keep a clean sheet.

Busan TC 3-1 Ansan Hallelujah
I went with Dong-Hyo and Jae-Young upfront in the roles they occupied last season, and Dong-Hyo scored a hat-trick. He was brilliant today, and that has given me a selection dilemma, with Tiboni having also had a good start to the season.


It has been a mixed start to the new season, which kicked off with a fantastic win over Mokpo. We are still in a good position to push on and make the play-offs which is our aim. It is also nice to see the new signings have settled in reasonably well.

Player of the Month: Park Won-Kil


I had to give it to this young midfielder, who was picked up on a free transfer halfway through last season. He came off the bench in our first two matches and scored three vital goals. That meant I rewarded him with a couple of starts, and he did a good consistent job.
 
May 2013

Ulsan HMD 0-0 Busan TC
I am slightly disappointed, as we lacked any spark to bring the match to life, but the draw isn’t the end of the world. My main concern is the injury sustained to Dong-Hyo, but he should only miss a couple of games.

Busan TC 1-3 Yongin City
This was a really poor defeat. Tiboni had two goals disallowed in the first half before we eventually opened the scoring from a free-kick. But the second half saw us concede three sloppy goals, and slump to a defeat in a match we definitely should have won.

Changwon 1-1 Busan TC
The poor form continues as we lack the cutting edge to penetrate the Changwon defence. Malian midfielder Gaoussou’s long range strike gave us a first half lead, but we couldn’t hang on. We need to turn this form around soon, as we just haven’t looked the same team we were last season.

Busan TC 1-0 Chungju Hummel
It looked as if it was heading for a goalless draw, until the 75th minute when we were reduced to ten men. But immediately after, a high ball dropped to Bong-Hyun about 25 yards out, and he caught it on the full volley, sending it into the bottom corner of the net. It was a brilliant striker, worthy of winning any match, and it was enough to win this one.

Cheonan City 0-0 Busan TC
We couldn’t build on that win, but at least we managed another clean sheet. Although I do feel we need to build up a run of form, as we have been far too inconsistent this season.

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Busan TC 5-2 Incheon Korail
The first hour was closely contested, as we took the lead twice only to be pegged back twice. But two quick fire goals from Tiboni finally gave us a comfort zone, and we went on to record a comfortable victory. After a bit of a goal drought, to score five is brilliant, we just need to build on this.

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It has been by most accounts a poor month. But that comprehensive victory over Incheon Korail at the end of May means we go into June with a sense of optimism. We have pushed our way back into the play-off spots, and hopefully we can stay there. It has also been a mixed month off the pitch, as Gaoussou told me he was struggling to settle in after his move from Africa to Asia.

Player of the Month: Han Bong-Hyun

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Until recently Bong-Hyun had been vastly under-performing, considering the ability he has. But two goals in the last three games, including one screamer, have shown how he is beginning to find his form again.
 
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I have no idea what happened. We lost one match away to the top team, and they sacked me. There was no speculation that I was under pressure, and we were completely in the hunt for promotion still. I am certain we would have got a play-off place, and then possibly gone up. But I suppose I probably paid the price for setting the expectations too high at the beginning of the season. Here's the league table when I left.

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Where to next? Whoever will take me, I guess...
 
Great update, excited to see where you land.
What is your reputation after the sack?
 
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