vs Anyang Purples
K League Cup Round 3, Anyang Purples versus Seongjin Hanul FC.
The winner of this match would advance to Round 4; the loser would be eliminated from the K League Cup entirely.
A match with advancement and elimination on the line. Judged purely as a contest, it seemed quietly important—but the truth was, the K League Cup never drew that much attention to begin with.
There wasn’t even a dedicated broadcast channel. The Korea Football Association simply streamed the matches on its NewTube channel.
If there was a silver lining, it was that at least they assigned commentary teams to every game.
When kickoff time arrived, the Association’s NewTube channel went live. The commentators offered brief greetings and began discussing the two sides.
“Anyang Purples are currently sitting fifth in K League 1.”
“Right on the heels of the real powerhouses, aren’t they?”
“Even back when they were still in the second division, a lot of people said their squad was excellent. Once they found a tactical identity that actually fit those players, the synergy exploded and the whole team took off.”
Anyang Purples had come up from the second tier, yet they were blitzing K League 1 with firepower and tactics that made the promotion almost unbelievable. They were fighting for a top-half finish and an Asian Champions League berth; “blitzing” wasn’t an exaggeration.
“Meanwhile, Seongjin Hanul FC sit third in K League 2.”
“Looking only at results since the league resumed: four wins, zero losses. Absolutely ridiculous!”
“There’s a clear difference. New owner, new sponsors, the German tactician they brought in—and the rebuilding and generational shift that German has pulled off. That’s the source of Seongjin Hanul FC’s current strength.”
“Especially impressive that a squad built around prospects can produce this much power.”
Seongjin Hanul FC had completely rewritten the landscape of K League 2. With far more prospects than veterans, overwhelming tactical sophistication, and players whose ability climbed higher by the day, they were now treated as one of the league’s Big Three alongside Suwon Galaxy Wings and Seoul Stars.
Of course Suwon Galaxy Wings, posting the most dominant record of all, felt like the undisputed emperor, with Seoul Stars and Seongjin Hanul FC sharing the role of the two challengers just beneath them.
“Right now Anyang Purples, under Manager Yu Byeong-jun, are dismantling K League 1 powerhouses left and right with high pressing and lightning-fast transitions.”
“You can think of it as classic pragmatic football.”
That was a clean one-line summary of Anyang Purples. At their core they played pragmatic soccer, yet they never completely abandoned possession either—a flexible side. That was Anyang Purples.
And Seongjin Hanul FC?
“Seongjin Hanul FC almost feel like the complete opposite, don’t they?”
“Yes. They patiently build from the back and specialize in attacking down the flanks. Their biggest trademark is the gegenpressing—the moment they lose the ball, every nearby player swarms and wins it right back.”
“That’s an extremely difficult system for a second-division side to execute, yet Seongjin Hanul FC are digesting it beautifully.”
Where Anyang Purples were pragmatic, Seongjin Hanul FC built their identity on possession and gegenpressing—yet they used crosses and cutbacks far more often than a typical possession side. Ordinary possession football creates space through short passes; Feltner’s Seongjin Hanul FC were perfectly happy to whip in a cross or cut the ball back whenever the chance appeared.
“These two systems are actually the ones Anyang Purples usually deploy against weaker sides, while Seongjin Hanul FC’s approach is what stronger teams tend to use. But between these two clubs, Anyang Purples are the stronger side. I’m very curious what each of them has prepared for today.”
“And we can’t forget the goal-getters on both teams—huge expectations there!”
The goal-getters in question were Carlos Pereira of Anyang Purples and Kang Si-woo of Seongjin Hanul FC.
“The performances of those two finishers could swing the entire result.”
“Really looking forward to what both of them produce tonight!”
They said that, but comparing the two strikers was in many ways unfair and difficult.
Carlos Pereira currently operated as a winger or wide midfielder for Anyang Purples—a multi-tool player who scraped together goals for a side short on finishing and added assists as well. But he had never been a pure goalscorer, and his finishing numbers reflected it: six goals and six assists in eighteen matches. Solid, yet a question mark hung over him as a true poacher.
Kang Si-woo, by contrast, had only just stepped onto the professional stage and had played exactly four senior matches. His attacking return already stood at nine goals and four assists. Fourteen fewer games played, three more goals, and a higher overall contribution.
For the record, Kang Si-woo’s nine goals put him joint top of the entire K League 2 scoring chart—a natural-born poacher in pure form. Putting him next to Carlos Pereira almost felt unfair.
Still, the comparison was made because both men were their teams’ primary sources of goals and the players closest to being each side’s current ace.
Inside the two dressing rooms, however, the assessments were very different.
“(What we need to target is Carlos Pereira. He’s Anyang Purples’ weak point.)”
Feltner calling Carlos Pereira a liability.
“No need to worry about Kang Si-woo. The player we need to watch isn’t Kang Si-woo—it’s Cha Jeong-woo.”
Yu Byeong-jun declaring that the real danger after the squad overhaul was Cha Jeong-woo, now operating as a wingback, not the striker.
Neither manager was even bothering to mark the opposing goalscorer. One treated him as a weakness; the other ignored him completely. What those choices would produce would be decided on the pitch.
The match kicked off.
Because Seongjin Hanul FC were the lower-division home side, they also took the first kick of the first half.
Thud. Thud.
As always they circulated the ball, creating space for one another and beginning to push forward. And within that pattern, Seongjin Hanul FC—
Thud.
Tat-tat-tat!!
—once again looked to attack through Cha Jeong-woo.
The moment the ball was released ahead of him, Cha Jeong-woo, operating as left wingback, exploded forward. His instantaneous acceleration left Carlos Pereira, who had been level with him, trailing with almost embarrassing ease—even though Pereira had clearly been assigned to mark him.
“Cha Jeong-woo has left Carlos behind!”
“He’s fast—really fast! Cha Jeong-woo!”
Cha Jeong-woo surged up the flank, yet the path ahead quickly closed. Two defenders snapped into place as if they had known exactly how he would break free of Pereira and had begun pressing the instant he did.
Whack!
Forced into a hurried delivery, Cha Jeong-woo sent the cross in early.
Whoosh! Thud!
Anyang Purples’ goalkeeper claimed it with almost insulting ease.
“Cha Jeong-woo’s cross—but the keeper gathers it cleanly.”
“Still, that kind of attacking sequence inside the first minute! Anyang Purples are going to have to stay sharp today!”
They said Anyang Purples needed to stay sharp. The words had barely left their mouths when Anyang Purples launched their own attack.
Whoosh! Whack!
The ball was launched high and fast into the air, and the moment it left the boot every Anyang Purples player sprinted forward as one. Defend first, then counter at lightning speed—that was their greatest strength.
“Get back! Hold the line!”
Gu Bon-cheol barked orders at the defenders who had been caught high up the pitch. Seongjin Hanul FC’s players recovered into their defensive shape in an instant—every one of them except Baek Hyeon.
With near-perfect positioning, Baek Hyeon had already arrived at the ball’s landing spot. He watched it drop, certain he would win the header without fail.
That certainty, unfortunately, was arrogance.
Baek Hyeon was a prospect who had broken into the side through Seongjin Hanul FC’s youth project. In previous matches he had faced players of similar or lesser quality and had handled them comfortably. Anyang Purples, however, were a top-half K League 1 side. Their players possessed the physiques and physicality to survive in the top flight.
Whack!!
Crash!!
An Anyang Purples player drove a shoulder into him and shoved Baek Hyeon clean off the dropping zone. Possession looked certain to fall to Anyang Purples—until
Thud.
Boom!!
The ball glanced off the head of Anyang Purples’ center-forward Bruno Elias, rolled free, and Gu Bon-cheol smashed it clear.
Peeeep!!
The whistle blew for a foul, yet Baek Hyeon—no, every player in Seongjin Hanul FC—understood with absolute clarity.
Today’s match would be a level above anything they had faced before.
The opponent standing in front of them was no ordinary side.