The K League United Podcast

We've looked at agents, we've also looked at interpreters but this week will be looking at Data Science in football. Anyone who has seen a K League player take their shirt off when celebrating a goal may have seen them wear a little black vest with "Fitogether" written on it.  This is sports science and data tracking equipment that is commonplace in football these days. To find out more and what s...

Last week, in the first of our 2022 pre-season specials, we heard from  Jeong Hoe-won , a K League agent who like many intermediaries or agents will be looking to bring some foreign players into Korea. Some players, then, will need interpreters to help translate manager and coach instructions and to generally help them settle into life in a foreign country. So, to find out what it's like to be a K...

Before season five of the K League United Podcast officially kicks off, we will be bringing some shorter episodes to whet the appetite before the 2022 season gets underway. And, as it is January, that means the transfer window is now open in K League.  We've already seen some moves happen but there will be a lot more still to come. Pivotal in any transfer, or certainly in most, will be the agents...

Having perhaps been at the top of the tree for too long, editor Matthew Binns finds himself hosting this year's annual 22 Teams of K League-mas special as we draw a line under 2021 and bring season 4 of the podcast to a close.   Matthew won't be alone though, as writers from around the globe chime in with two minute reviews of all 22 teams, discussing what went well, what didn't and which players...

Ryan Walters, Matthew Binns and Michael Redmond host a star studded evening handing out the awards for the top performers of the 2021 season! The party starts where it always does in K League 2 where the three go over the individual award winners as decided by you, the fans! A strong showing for FC Anyang doesn't deter from Ryan and Michael fitting in more than a few Jeonnam and Seoul E-Land refer...

Ryan Walters is joined by "peak smugness" Matthew Binns and Peter Hampshire to wrap up a closely contested 2021 K League 1 season. They begin by looking back on Jeonbuk's year, assessing whether or not they're deserving champs, and what may be next for the club. Attention shifts to Ulsan Hyundai and the rest of the chasing pack in segment two as the three look at the starkly contrasting fortunes o...

It's a K League United Podcast Extra to look ahead to the upcoming Promotion/Relegation Playoff Final between Daejeon Hana Citizen and Gangwon FC! In this KLU Podcast Extra, Paul Neat looks ahead to the 2021 K League Promotion/Relegation Final between Daejeon Hana Citizen and Gangwon FC. Paul is joined on the phone by Daejeon Hana Citizen striker Bruno Baio who talks about his heroics against FC A...

Ryan Walters is joined for the first time in a long time by Matthew Binns and Peter Hampshire to look back on the ACL Final that saw Pohang fall 2-0 to Al Hilal. The three discuss what it means for both Pohang and K League moving forward and go over plenty of silver linings from the match. The second segment shifts focus to the FA Cup Final where Daegu FC claimed a narrow 1-0 victory of Jeonnam Dr...

Ryan Walters is joined Jung Muyeol to discuss everything you need to know ahead of the first leg of the FA Cup Final! The conversation begins with a quick look at the history between these teams and their 2018 FA Cup Semi-Final encounter that saw Daegu advance in a tournament they would eventually win. The two discuss the direction each team has taken since then and whether or not that history wil...

Ryan Walters flies solo in the Kim Do-hoon Bunker, but far from alone for the episode! First up, Paul Neat speaks with ACL 2020 champion Shin Jin-ho about playing in back-to-back finals and what lessons he learned last year. We further our look at Pohang with Semi-Final hero Alex Grant discussing that goal, difficulties the team is facing, and the self-belief in the locker-room. The second segment...

Ryan Walters and Matthew Binns are joined early on in the virtual bunker by Paul Neat, who stops to recap Daejeon Hana Citizen's victory over FC Anyang to see them move within touching distance of a return to K League 1 for the first time since 2015. Later, Ryan and Matthew recap all the action from K League 1's Final B with Gwangju FC grabbing a lifeline against Pohang while Seongnam slipped to S...

Recorded live directly following the midweek action, Ryan Walters is joined by Matthew Binns for an instant reaction to the K League 2 Playoff between Daejeon Hana Citizen and Jeonnam Dragons. The two begin with a breakdown of the higher seeded team automatically moving on with a draw, whether or not that's the best way to decide a "winner," and what went wrong for Jeonnam. The second segment shif...

Back in the Kim Do-hoon Bunker, Ryan Walters is joined by Paul Neat for a two-man daytime TV edition of the KLU Podcast! The conversation begins in Jeonju where Pohang Steelers dramatically came from behind to equalise in the 89th minute and stayed perfect from the spot to defeat East Coast Derby rivals Ulsan Hyundai in a penalty shootout. The two discuss how Pohang got it done and which players s...

The AFC Champions League 2021 rolls on with K League sides continuing to make waves across the continent as Sunday's quarterfinals saw teams secure an all-Korean club semifinal and, what's more, an East Coast Derby between Pohang Steelers and Ulsan Hyundai. We look back at the Round of 8, look ahead to Wednesday's semifinal, and then even find time for the upcoming K League split looming this week...

Ryan Walters and Matthew Binns take the helm in a jam packed preview of the AFC Champions League Quarter-Finals! The show begins with J.Talk Podcast's co-host Sam Robson braving enemy territory to give a breakdown on what to expect from Nagoya Grampus in their third ACL encounter with the Steelers this year. To get the Pohang perspective, Paul Neat spoke with defender Alex Grant about his time at...

Back in the host chair once more, Ryan Walters is joined by Matthew Binns and Steve Price to preview South Korea's upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Syria and Iran. They begin with the home match against a Syrian side Korea only managed to sneak a single goal past in two matches in the 2018 qualification cycle and how to approach that match. Focus then shifts to the first away leg of the campa...

Stepping in for an absent Ryan Walter, Matthew Binns hosts alongside Michael Redmond in this week's episode of the K League United Podcast. The pair kick things off with a quick look at the headlines in Korea football before moving on to take a look at the recent ongoings in K League 2.   After the interval, Matthew and Michael move onto the Korean top tier and are even paid a brief visit by Peter...

Four K League representatives in Daegu FC, Pohang Steelers, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and reigning continental champions Ulsan Hyundai took to the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League midweek with three securing passage to the quarterfinals.  Ryan Walters  and  Matthew Binns  look at all four matches and roundup all the action. Tuesday night saw K League leaders take on J.League leaders as Uls...

Ryan Walters speaks with Jeonnam Dragons' Samuel Nnamani about his journey from Nigeria through Serbia and Sweden to South Korea, where there are a surprising number of parallels between this season and his first in Sweden! In this extended edition, hear more details about his from from Nigeria to Serbia, finding form in Sweden, and a special "post pod" chat about his beliefs for Jeonnam's FA Cup...

Ryan Walters sits down with FC Anyang and Costa Rican national team forward Jonathan Moya to speak about his breakout season in K League, what his goal celebration means, and how his experience in Concacaf Champions League has helped this season.   (Special thanks to K League Brazil for helping with translations and voice over!)

Back in the host's chair, Ryan Walters is joined by Matthew Binns and Peter Hampshire once again to recap yet another busy week of Korean football. They begin with the Korean Men's National Team kicking off Group A of Asian Qualifiers at home and drawing 0-0 with Iraq and narrowly defeating a resilient Lebanon 1-0. The biggest question of the segment: were Korea better without Son Heung-min in the...

Host Peter Hampshire is joined by Matthew Binns and Steve Price to discuss the latest domestically and on the international front. The race for the title is hotting up in both divisions, while the Korea Republic are set to host Iraq and Lebanon this week. In a fascinating interview, Ryan Walters speaks candidly with FC Anyang and Costa Rican International Jonathan Moya about life with the Violets...

For the first time in a long time, Ryan Walters, is joined by Matthew Binns and Peter Hampshire to recap another busy week in Korean football. The conversation begins with the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup that saw Jeonnam upset POSCO rivals Pohang, Gangwon defeat Suwon at home, Ulsan see off plucky underdogs Yangju, and Daegu pull off a late miracle to defeat Gimcheon Sangmu. The party continues i...

This week's K League United Podcast kicks off with hosts Matthew Binns and Paul Neat looking at the biggest news stories in Korean football, focusing on the exodus of K League talent from the Chinese Super League to pastures new.   Matthew and Paul then turn their attention to the weekend's games in K League 2 before listening to Daejeon Hana Citizen's leading goalscorer Park In-hyeok on the seaso...

K League United Editors Paul Neat and Matthew Binns host this week's K League United Podcast and look to swiftly move on from Korea's disappointing exit at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, giving their brief verdicts on how it eventually transpired for Kim Hak-bum's men.   Attention then swiftly returns to K League with interviews from players at two of the K League 1's in-form sides; Incheon United and S...