Five Takeaways from Incheon United's Title-Winning Season | OneFootball

This past weekend, a 3-0 home win over Gyeongnam saw Incheon United crowned K League 2 winners. While many expected Incheon to make an immediate return to Korea's top division, it hasn't been as simple as turning up and winning week-in, week-out. Here, let's look at five elements of Incheon's campaign that contributed to the team's success in 2025.

1. The Big-Hitters Stay

One of the most important aspects of Incheon’s success this year was the retention of several key players from last year’s squad. Despite relegation in 2024, many of Incheon’s main starting line-up remained at the club. The experience of the veteran players in the Incheon first team cannot be understated.

Taking midfield duo Lee Myoung-ju and Shin Jin-ho as examples: Lee has previously won the K League 1 title with Pohang Steelers (2013) and the K League 2 trophy with Asan Mugunghwa (2018), in addition to winning the Korean Cup twice (2012, 2013) and the league in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Ain (2015). Shin is also no stranger to glory, having won two K League 1 titles (2013, 2016), two Korean Cups alongside Lee at Pohang, and an AFC Champions League title with Ulsan in 2020.

Lee Myoung-ju: vast experience and a winner's mentality.

Further to that point, three of Incheon’s foreign quota players remained with the club. Talisman Stefan Mugoša, winner of the 2024 K League Golden Boot, stated soon after Incheon’s relegation that he would not be leaving. Gerso Fernandes, a 2023 signing from Jeju, also stayed. Both of these attacking players have had a huge influence on the outcome of numerous games this season. It’s no exaggeration to say that Incheon would likely not have been promoted without them. Furthermore, Australian defender Harrison Delbridge also remained at the club and featured in the back line on several occasions. His experience, both on and off the field, likely proved valuable in a defensive group that included a number of younger players.

2. An Excellent Managerial Acquisition

In 2024, Gangwon came to be recognised for their fast-paced, attacking football. The emergence of now–Tottenham Hotspur player Yang Min-hyeok and his subsequent performances led to Gangwon finishing second in K League 1 and qualifying for continental competition. This achievement, from a team that had been threatened with relegation in 2023, came as a surprise to everyone. The man behind this success was Yoon Jong-hwan, a coach with a wealth of experience managing in both the K League and Japan’s J.League. Gangwon’s exploits earned Yoon the 2024 K League 1 Manager of the Year award.

Yoon Jong-hwan stepped into the second division to take over Incheon.

Conversely, Incheon ended the 2024 season with the departure of their second manager in seven months, as Jo Sung-hwan’s replacement, Choi Young-geun, left after failing to save the club. Both managers averaged fewer than 1.2 points per game during their respective tenures, and their refusal to adapt their tactics when Incheon were losing contributed to the team’s relegation. The turgid tactics, baffling formations, and incomprehensible selections came under increasing scrutiny as Incheon fell from 2023 AFC Champions League competitors to relegation favourites.

In December 2024, news broke that Yoon had left Gangwon, and the rumour mill went into overdrive. If Incheon could secure a manager of his renown, then an immediate return would seem much more possible. The season began with a number of unexpected squad selections, focusing on hungry young players and an attacking approach - and that paid off. After 36 games this season, Yoon Jong-hwan has averaged 2.1 points per game and overseen a style of play that has kept Incheon atop the table for most of the year.

3. Youth Shines Through

Park Seung-ho has found himself among the goals.

With the main squad still in place and the managerial post given to someone willing to afford youth an opportunity, the first game of the season saw first-team debuts for twenty-year-old Park Gyoung-seop and nineteen-year-old Choi Seung-gu. In addition, twenty-one-year-old Park Seung-ho was also given a prominent role, having broken into the first team regularly during the early part of 2024. Park is having a breakout season, making the number 10 role his own and offering both goals and assists to boot. He has been selected in Incheon’s starting line-up for 92% of games this year and has had a direct role in 15% of the team’s goals. He’s good - and he’s only going to get better.

This approach continued throughout the season, with several under-25s finding themselves in the matchday squad. Wingers Kim Min-seok and Kim Seong-min have both appeared regularly off the bench; winter signing Lee Dong-ryul was finding form before an injury brought his season to an end; and striker Kim Ho-min has also chipped in with four goals from 23 games (15 starts).

The most notable is twenty-three-year-old defender Kim Geon-hee, who is a shoo-in for the 2025 K League 2 Best XI. After 36 rounds of matches, he has played every minute of every game and, based on his comments after the victory against Gyeongnam, he doesn’t intend to stop. “We have three more games,” he told Incheon’s media team when asked how winning the league felt. In Geon-hee, Incheon have a player capable beyond his years. Thrust into the back line in 2024, in a team and situation that could have damaged other youngsters, his response this season has been second to none - playing as if he wants to personally atone for the team’s relegation. He is tall, composed on the ball, and calm under pressure. Incheon should look to build the team around him and Park Seung-ho in 2026.

4. Leading from the Back

The old adage goes, “You can’t win if you don’t score.” But conversely, you can’t lose if you don’t concede. Incheon’s defence this season has been strong, resilient, and fierce. One reason Suwon Bluewings have failed to mount a serious title challenge is their tendency to concede goals — often in ways that cost them valuable points. Take last weekend, for example: leading 2–1 at home to Jeonnam Dragons, Suwon conceded in the 95th minute in a frustrating and avoidable fashion. That dropping of two points handed Incheon the opportunity to wrap up the title earlier than expected. It was all the invitation they needed.

Looking at the league as a whole, Incheon have only the second-best goal tally (65 goals to Suwon’s 72), but they’ve conceded just 27 goals in their 36 games and kept a remarkable 19 clean sheets. Their closest rivals in this regard are sixth-placed Seongnam - who have beaten Incheon twice this season - with 30 goals conceded and 17 clean sheets.

Incheon's only ever-present player in 2025, Kim Geon-hee. 

The back line has been fairly stable throughout the season. Kim Geon-hee has been ever-present. Lee Ju-yong has featured in 34 games. Park Gyeong-seop played 18 before injury struck, with Kim Geong-woong stepping in for 14 of the last 18 matches to replace him. The only position that seems not to have been permanently settled is right-back, which has been shared between Choi Seung-gu, Kim Myung-sun, and Lee Sang-ki as a result of injuries and international call-ups.

Winning a game is much easier when you know you might only need to score once to do so.

5. Hitting the Ground Running

Incheon were favourites to go up before the season even started, and once they found their rhythm in K League 2, few would have been brave enough to bet against them. Along the way, there were the inevitable slip-ups: throwing away leads at Cheonan and Seongnam (twice), losing at home to Gimpo, and failing to beat the capital’s second team, Seoul E-Land, in two insipid Mokdong draws.

These games - and a few others aside - Incheon have been very good at grinding out win after win after win. In the first thirteen games of the season, the opening round robin, Incheon picked up eleven victories. They were sitting atop the table from mid-spring and comfortably built their lead game by game. Over the course of the year, the gap between first and second was in double figures for weeks, if not months, and often the number of points separating Incheon and Suwon Bluewings in second place was greater than the gap between second and the final play-off spot in fifth.

Stefan Mugoša has hit 20 goals so far this year.

While Incheon seemed to take their foot off the gas over the summer, the team still managed to maintain their lead over Suwon. In fact, the two teams’ results mirrored each other for about a month in early autumn: Suwon would drop points in the early kick-off, and then so would Incheon, and vice versa. Neither side was able to take advantage of the other’s slip-ups. While this prevented Incheon from running away with the title, it also stopped any real title race from developing. Incheon have been professional, clinical, and consistent to a level that neither Suwon nor anyone else in the league could match.

[Read: Why Suwon Bluewings' Title Challenge Ended] 

This year was always Incheon’s title to lose. Winning the league and earning immediate promotion back to the top flight was the minimum expectation for the club. But take nothing away from the players and staff: while it may have seemed a foregone conclusion to those watching from the stands, inside the club it has been a war of attrition. Incheon have battled apathy in near-empty stadiums, faced the division’s physicality, and persisted through the relentlessness of the schedule.

Incheon players celebrate the second goal of three against Gyeongnam.

It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t always pretty, but Incheon, eventually, got the job done.

Incheon finish the season at home to Busan I'Park this Sunday (2nd November, 2pm), before travelling to Jeonnam Dragons next Saturday (8th November, 2pm). Incheon will lift the K League 2 trophy at home to Chungbuk Cheongju in their final game of 2025, on Sunday 23rd November. Kick off is at 2pm.