FIFA Club World Cup

Club World Cup Profile: Ulsan HD FC

Since 2000, the Club World Cup has been dominated by Europe and South America. The reduced field gave non-UEFA and non-CONMEBOL teams a puncher’s chance, but no team outside of those two confederations have won the tournament.

However, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has been making some headway. Teams from Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have finished runners-up in the CWC, and five teams have finished in third place. Of course, AFC nations have hosted the event 16 times, so perhaps that’s where the advantage lies.

South Korea has been represented six times by four teams. While Pohang Steelers pulled off a third-place finish in 2009, the other three teams have never finished on the medal stand. This year’s representative—Ulsan HD FC—has appeared twice, but the Tigers are the only South Korean squad to go winless so far.

CLUB HISTORY

There may be little to know about Ulsan in the overall panoply of world soccer. That’s not to say that you wouldn’t know anyone who played for Ulsan—former USMNT and New York City FC player Mix Diskerud laced up for the Tigers in 2018, scoring nine goals in a full season of play.

Image courtesy of Ulsan HD FC

Ulsan joined the Korean Super League in 1984 as Hyundai Horang-i, an expansion squad in the league’s second season. The team was centered north and east of Seoul for much of the 1980s, represented by a cartoon tiger (as “horang-i” is Korean for “tiger”). While the team’s name has changed slightly over time, the Horang-i tiger has been a constant, starting as a cartoon in the 1980s and rebranding to the two-tone blue and white tiger in 2024.

While the team colors started without much definition, Ulsan began to wear their iconic blue and black vertical stripes in the early 2000s. Over time, the stripes have left and returned, but the black was phased out for yellow, despite the logo changing to blue and white.

Hyundai performed admirably out of the gate in 1984, finishing third with both the league’s top goal scorer and assist provider. 

While the team withstood the league’s first decade, Hyundai never fully achieved greatness, winning the lesser League Cup once in 1986. The team saw improvement after their move to Ulsan in southeast Korea and rebranding as Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i in 1990.

However, Ulsan won the K League only once in their first 21 seasons, their lone championship coming in 1996 in a double-legged final considered to be “one of the most violent matches in history of the K League”. A total of 57 fouls, 14 yellow cards, and five red cards were given in the second match, in which Ulsan won 3-2 overall over Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

The next wave of Ulsan’s success came in the early 21st century under former national-team managers Kim Jung-nam and Kim Ho-kon. Superstar midfielder Yoo Sang-chul and forward Lee Chun-soo brought a league title to Ulsan in 2005. 

Ulsan’s first AFC Champions League title came under Kim Ho-kon in 2012. While the team itself was considered too defense-minded for success, the squad won 10 of their 12 matches in the competition, blitzing Saudi squad Al-Ahli 3-0 in the final. Midway through the tournament, Ulsan picked up Brazilian striker Rafinha, who scored five goals in the knockout stages.

While Ulsan also won a second AFC Champions League title in 2020, the COVID pandemic forced the tournament to be played later in the year in Qatar with some teams withdrawing. Ulsan went undefeated in the accelerated group-play stages and edged Iranian squad Persepolis 2-1 in the final. Midfielder Yoon Bit-garam earned MVP credentials, while forward journeyman Júnior Negrão scored a brace in the final.

Overall, Ulsan has won the K League title five times, managing an impressive three-peat from 2022 to 2024. The team also has five league cups, a Korean FA Cup win in 2017, and a Korean Super Cup win in 2006. The team has also ten runner-up finishes, making them one of the stronger Korean squads in recent history.

PAST LEGENDS

  • Kim Shin-wook (FW) – 111 goals, 54 assists in 273 appearances, 2011/12 AFC Champions League title
  • Yoo Kyoung-youl (DF) – 284 appearances over 8 seasons
  • Jo Hyeon-woo (GK) – 263 appearances, 85 clean sheets, Korean national team GK since 2017
  • Júnior Negrão (FW, Brazil) – 84 goals, 125 appearances, 2019/20 AFC Champions League title
  • Hong Myung-bo (Manager) – 102 wins in 175 matches, 2022 & 2023 K League titles

CURRENT SEASON & SQUAD

While Ulsan HD has been a behemoth over the past three seasons, the 2025 season has presented growing pains under a new name and management. Manager Hong Myung-bo left Ulsan to take over the South Korean national team in 2024. Ultimately, Kim Pan-gon was hired in his first South Korean managerial role and turned the team around for a third-straight league title.

Image courtesy of Ulsan HD FC

However, the start of 2025 was relatively bleak. Ulsan HD managed just one win in six AFC Champions League Elite matches and were eliminated unceremoniously in the group stage. Schedule congestion led to a weak start, and Ulsan are currently third in league play. 

The biggest issue with Ulsan was the need to provide youth while not depleting the talent pool. Their season preview at Yahoo! Sports noted that the average age of the departures was 30, while the average for the incoming talent was 25.

During their three seasons of dominance, Ulsan have been captained by center back Kim Young-Gwon (128 appearances). The offense is led by a Swedish duo—left wingback Gustav Ludwigson (17g, 11a in 74 appearances) and midfielder Darijan Bojanic (5g, 8a in 52 appearances).

However, their main offensive threat since 2023, striker Joo Min-Kyu, left Ulsan for Daejeon, the current K League leaders. To fortify the offense, Ulsan brought in Brazilian forward Erick Farias, who has scored four goals in his last six matches, and Heo Yool, a young flexible striker who has also played some center back. The offense seems to be rounding into form in May after a difficult three-loss April.

The goalkeeping duties have been handled by Jo Hyeon-Woo, who has been with the squad since 2020. Jo was only the second goalkeeper ever to win the K League MVP award in 2024, compiling 14 clean sheets and leading the league in save percentage while playing every minute of the season. Jo also has 41 caps with the national team, including a seven-save man-of-the-match performance against Germany in the 2018 World Cup that eliminated Die Mannschaft from the tournament.

OUTLOOK

Ulsan will typically play a back-four defending line, switching to a back-three when Ludwigson plays the left-wing role. Bojanic and Jung Woo-Young have often played a double-6 midfield with Ko Seung-Boom piloting as the #10. When Farias starts matches, he will mostly be the lone point of attack, while Heo is joined by Yoon Jae-Seok when Farias is on the bench.

Overall, Ulsan could still have a chance to spark some upsets, despite the poor performance in the AFC Champions League. With the team already in midseason form and relatively healthy, the Honrang-i could take down Borussia Dortmund and Mamelodi Sundowns, who may be depleted from full seasons.

However, Ulsan also faces an uphill battle by having to play all three group-stage matches in different locations. (Dortmund and Brazilian squad Fluminense will play at only two.) If Ulsan can pull off a few upsets, they would likely be playing the winners of Group E, possibly River Plate from Argentina or Inter Milan from Italy.

Considering this unique competition is in its infancy, who knows what could happen? Why not roll with the “Cheoyong Warriors” and support the South Korean underdogs?

Ulsan’s final test in Group F will be against the aforementioned Borussia Dortmund from the German Bundesliga at TQL Stadium on Wednesday, June 25th at 3PM.

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