History
Gangwon-do's governor Kim Jin-sun announced a schedule for the foundation of the 15th professional football club to participate in the K League on 28 April 2008.[1] A committee, the "Foundation of Football Club in Gangwon Preparation Committee", was organized on 18 June 2008 to facilitate the foundation.[2] Preparations had advanced sufficiently that by 17 November 2008, 14 players had joined Gangwon FC in a first nomination. On 20 November 2008, Gangwon FC organized its first full squad, a total of 23 players, including nine players from the 2009 K League draft.[3] Gangwon FC was formally founded on 18 December 2008 in time to enter the 2009 edition of the K League.
Gangwon FC played its first ever K League match against Jeju United on 8 March 2009, at Gangneung Stadium, winning 1–0 with a decisive goal from Yoon Jun-ha. The team continued their winning start with a further four victories on the trot and causing a sensation in the first half of the 2009 K League season.[4] Gangwon was unable to maintain their initial success, and by round 19 had fallen into the lower half of the league table. By the conclusion of their first season in the K League, they placed 13th among 15 clubs.
In the 2009 Korean FA Cup, Gangwon entered the competition in the round of 32 and defeated their first opponent Incheon Korail FC in a penalty shoot-out after a 2–2 draw. They then faced the Chunnam Dragons, losing 1–0. In the 2009 Korean League Cup, Gangwon finished bottom of their group with only a single win (against Daejeon Citizen).
Gangwon FC had a difficult season in 2010, even though first striker Kim Young-hoo scored 13 goals in the league. The club finished 12th out of 15 clubs. The 2011 season was the worst season since its establishment. Gangwon finished last in the league and the entire team only scored 14 goals in thirty matches.
In the 2012 season, K League imposed a new promotion-relegation structure: bottom two teams in the top-tier league were to be relegated to second division. In the 43rd round, Gangwon managed to remain in the top-tier with Baek Jong-hwan's decisive goal that won the away game against Seongnam Ilhwa, avoiding relegation by one point.[5]
In the 2013 season of K League Classic, the first season in which K League implemented automatic relegation of the bottom two teams and the third from the bottom team having to play in the promotion-relegation playoffs against the champion of the K League Challenge, Gangwon finished the season third from last and subsequently relegated to the K League Challenge after losing to Sangju Sangmu Phoenix over two legs in the playoffs.[6]
Halfway through the 2018 season, on 12 August 2018, Kim Byung-soo was appointed as new head coach, leading the club to eighth place in the K League 1.[7]
The following season, Kim Ji-hyeon was awarded K League Young Player of the Year, as Gangwon finished sixth in the league table. In his first full campaign in 2019, manager Kim Byung-soo earned praise for pushing an entertaining brand of football dubbed "Byung-soo ball." That year, Gangwon led the K League in ball possession, pass attempts, pass completion percentage and forward pass completion percentage, while finishing third in goals.[8]
Focusing on defensive reinforcements prior to the 2020 season, which was the team's main weaknesses the previous season, Kim Byung-soo recruited Lim Chai-min, Shin Se-gye and Kim Young-bin, among others. With a 2–1 victory at home against Seongnam on 4 October 2020, Gangwon secured the top spot in the Final B and secured survival in the K League 1.[9]
In the lead-up to the 2021 season, players such as Masatoshi Ishida, who had been a mainstay of Suwon the season before, Sin Chang-moo, who was at the heart of Daegu's attack, and national team players Yun Suk-young, Rim Chang-woo and Uzbekistani player Rustam Ashurmatov were recruited.[10] On 21 March 2021, they won their home game against Incheon United with a 2–0 victory to make it their first win in the first six games of the season. On 3 November 2021, in serious danger of suffering relegation to the K League 2 after a humiliating 4–0 loss against Pohang Steelers, Kim Byung-soo was removed from his position.[8] Under his successor, Choi Yong-soo, Gangwon managed to stay up in the top division after beating Daejeon Hana Citizen over two legs in the relegation play-offs.[11]
Youth team
On 13 September 2010, Gangwon FC U-12 team was established in Gangneung. On 2 November 2011, Gangwon FC made an agreement with Gangneung Jeil High School (under-18 team) and Jumunjin Middle School (under-15 team).
On 1 February 2021, it was officially announced that Gangwon would be the first fully professional team to found a reserve team set to play in the semi-professional K4 League, in order to give their youth players and/or other registered members of the senior team more playing time. The main condition for them would be to have at least seven out of eleven players in the starting formation aged 23 or younger.[12] Lee Seul-gi, who had previously served as first-team coach for Gangwon, was appointed as the manager of the newly-established U23 squad.
