Gimpo FC eventually failed to advance to the playoffs (PO).
Gimpo lost 0-1 in the 38th round of the 'Hana Bank K League 2 2025' against Bucheon FC at Gimpo Salter Football Stadium on the 9th. He finished eighth with 54 points. Gimpo, which failed to enter the PO early with the victory of Jeonnam Dragons (62 points) and Seongnam FC (61 points) the previous day, tried to break the nine-game winless loop against Bucheon in the final home game of the season, but fell to its knees unfortunately due to the lack of decisiveness.
Although I didn't make it to the PO, Kimpo's season this season is by no means a failure. Last winter, Gimpo added as many as 14 new players. It was an inevitable choice to fill the gap caused by the retirement of four people and the transfer of Jang Yun-ho and Seo Jae-min. Gimpo, which had to leave a large number of its main players in 2023, ranked third unexpectedly by no one, carried out another rebuild following 2024.
Still, the supply and demand of players was not bad compared to before. Gimpo has steadily improved its infrastructure over the past few years, and above all, coach Ko Jung-woon's leadership, who showed off his excellent fostering ability to bring a large number of key players into the K League 1, has been highly evaluated, bringing in decent players. Coach Ko, who remained in seventh place last season and unfortunately missed the PO due to two points difference, has been desperate since this winter.
Earlier this year, I made a decision to leave my car at my main house. He found the cause of his poor performance last season. He blamed himself for increasing the amount of time he spent moving externally, such as serving as a coach selection committee of the Korea Football Association, saying, `I did not spend 100%.' I cleaned up the car first, saying I would find the 'first place'. As when I first came to Gimpo, I continued my daily routine of repeating the training ground and the company house. I also reduced the number of times I met people. I only focused on Gimpo.
I had a satisfying winter, but it was twisted from the beginning. Lee In-je, who became the core of the three-back, collapsed due to injury in the first 19 minutes of the opening game. It was out of season. Injuries poured out as if on something. Lewis and other players who should have burst out also continued to remain silent. Kimpo won only three important first-robin games. The ranking also went down to the relegation zone. Coach Koh chose to change. He found the answer by destroying the position, and recruited Dongjin Park Kim Dong-min and Kim Min-woo from the summer transfer market to thicken the squad depth.
Gimpo ended the heat wave with just one loss (6 wins and 6 draws), and developed its dream of entering the PO. In the third Robin, he also scored four wins, two draws and one loss in his first seven games, once reaching fourth place, but collapsed after losing three consecutive rounds in the 34th-36th round, which was the most important. In particular, in the 34th round against Chungnam Asan, Dongjin Park missed a penalty and was sent off, losing 0-1. With so many injured that they managed to set up an entry, they held out until the end, but they couldn't get past the end.
Coach Ko responded bitterly and calmly after failing to advance to the PO. This is because he knew best that it was too much to ask for more from the players. Nevertheless, Gimpo is still on the edge of the PO this season, and it has certainly given the impression that it is no longer a team to be seen as a pushover in K League 2. Rather, it has become the team that the strong teams are most wary of. Gimpo has evenly caught top-ranked teams such as Incheon United, Suwon Samsung, and Jeonnam this season. Gimpo has definitely established itself, and the number of home spectators has increased. Gimpo has now become a team that looks at 3,000 people on average. Now it's a pretty good team. This is the result of coach Ko and general manager Kwon Il not sparing themselves.
Coach Ko is determined to use this failure as a foundation. He's planning a team that he can hit from the beginning. Fortunately, the team's change is not expected to be significant next winter. Except for the military enlistment resources such as Choi Jae-hoon and Cheon Ji-hyun, most of them remain. Gimpo plans to open its wallet and catch renters as much as possible. For head coach Ko, the foundation for continuity has been laid. Coach Ko believes that he can reenact the miracle of 2023 if he transfuses new blood into the position he was disappointed in this season and strengthens his organizational power. Gimpo has learned and grown again. This is why Gimpo's season is not a failure.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
