Ulsan Hyundai FC ( ko, 울산 현대 축구단) is a South Korean professional football club based in

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

that competes in the

K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in 1984. Their home ground is

Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium The Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, nicknamed Big Crown Stadium, is a football stadium in Ulsan in South Korea. It is home to the Ulsan Hyundai FC. The stadium was built from 18 December 1998 to 28 April 2001 and its total cost was 151.4 billion ...

. The club is owned by Hyundai Heavy Industries. Ulsan Hyundai have won the national league three times, most recently in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, and the

Korean FA Cup The Korean FA Cup is a national football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the FA Cup was established in 1996, two predecessor competitions named All Joseon Football Tournament ...

once, in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

. At International level, they have won the AFC Champions League twice, in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

History

Early years: before Ulsan (1983–1989)

Ulsan Hyundai was established on 6 December 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, with tiger as its mascot (horangi means tiger in Korean). Their original franchise area was Incheon and

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

. They joined the professional K League from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

season. While they finished their debut season as 3rd place, the team's striker Baek Jong-chul became the K League Top Scorer, scoring 16 goals in 28 matches. They won their first professional trophy in 1986, winning the Professional Football Championship, which is the origin of

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Champions List of finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statis ...

. From the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

season, the club moved their franchise from Incheon and

to Gangwon Province. In the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

season, they finished the season as the runners-up in the league.

Move to Ulsan and rise to power (1990–1999)

Beginning in the

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

season, the club moved their franchise to

, where the headquarters of several branches of owner company Hyundai are located at, from Gangwon Province. Former

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

's striker Cha Bum-kun took the managerial position from the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

season, leading the club to the runners-up position in the league in his debut season. However, he failed to win any trophy and was replaced by

Ko Jae-wook Ko Jae-wook is a former Korean footballer and football manager. He was a member of Korean national football team for five years in the 1970s. He played in the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Australia, scoring the equalizing go ...

after the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

season. Under Ko Jae-wook, Ulsan won their second Korean League Cup trophy in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, which was his debut season as Ulsan manager. Ulsan won their first ever league title in 1996, beating Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–2 on aggregate in the

championship playoffs In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. The club then entered a long dry-spell in terms of league trophies, although they won their third Korean League Cup trophy in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, beating Bucheon SK 2–1 on aggregate in the finals.

Two Kims era (2000–2013)

Failure to add a major title for years did affect the team negatively. After the exodus of key players like Kim Hyun-seok and a terrible start in the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, manager Ko Jae-wook resigned in the middle of the season.

Kim Jung-nam era: Gangsters of Asia (2000–2008)

Ulsan appointed Kim Jung-nam, who had formerly managed South Korean national football team, as their next manager. They finished as runners-up in 2002 and 2003, and started to emerge as a strong force. In 2005, with the return of two key players,

Yoo Sang-chul Yoo Sang-chul ( ko, 유상철; 18 October 1971 – 7 June 2021) was a South Korean football player and manager. Yoo was regarded as one of the greatest South Korean midfielders of all time. He was selected as a midfielder of the 2002 FIFA Wor ...

and Lee Chun-soo, they qualified for the

. In the play-off semi-final, they beat Seongnam Ilhwa 2–1, and in the final, they beat

Incheon United Incheon United FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the city ...

6–3 on aggregate, with a hat-trick from Lee Chun-Soo in the first leg. They became the league champions for the second time in their history. The club also went on to win the

A3 Champions Cup A3 Champions Cup (also known as East Asian Champions Cup) was an annual football (soccer) tournament jointly organized by the China PR, Japan and Korea Republic football Association. It began in 2003, involving the league champions of China, Japan ...

in 2006, in which they participated as K League champions. Although they lost their first match in the competition against

JEF United Ichihara Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba a ...

3–2, they beat

Dalian Shide Dalian Shide was a professional Chinese football club based in Dalian, Liaoning province, China who played in China's football league system between 1955 and 2012. Their home stadiums were the 55,843 capacity Dalian People's Stadium and then late ...

4–0 and

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to s ...

6–0 to clinch the trophy. Lee Chun-soo became the competition's top scorer, scoring six goals in three matches. They repeated the merciless attacks in the AFC Champions League that season, beating Al-Shabab 6–0 in the first leg of the quarter-finals. These overwhelming attacks they showed in the season gave Ulsan the nickname "Gangsters of Asia". Ulsan won the

2007 Korean League Cup The 2007 Korean League Cup, also known as the 2007 Samsung Hauzen Cup, was the 20th competition of the Korean League Cup. Group stage Group A Group B Knockout stage Top scorers Awards Source: See also * 2007 in South Korean football * ...

, beating FC Seoul 2–1 in the final on 27 June 2007. In 2008, the team changed their official name from Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i to Ulsan Hyundai FC.

Kim Ho-kon era: Iron Mace Football (2009–2013)

Manager Kim Jung-nam stepped down after the 2008 season.

Kim Ho-kon Kim Ho-kon (; born 26 March 1951) is a South Korean football manager and former football player who played as a sweeper or right back. He was the captain of the South Korea national football team in the 1978 Asian Games where they won the go ...

, who had managed the

South Korea national under-23 football team The South Korea national under-23 football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA, and Republic of Korea by IOC) represents South Korea at football in the Olympic Games and Asian Games. It was founded when the Olympic football was chan ...

that reached the quarter-finals in the 2004 Summer Olympics was appointed as Ulsan's next manager. Kim Ho-kon did not enjoy Ulsan fans' full support for his first few seasons at the club, mainly because of his defensive tactical style and unsatisfying outcomes. The 2011 season was a dramatic changeover; Ulsan won their fifth Korean League Cup, beating Busan IPark 3–2 in the final. Ulsan also finished the season as runners-up in the K League that season. Their unique style of having many players pushing forward in counterattacks earned them the nickname "Iron mace football". In 2012, the club won the AFC Champions League, defeating Al-Ahli 3–0 in the final on 10 November. In the run up to the final, Ulsan went on an unbeaten run throughout the twelve games of the competition, winning nine consecutive games and scoring 27 goals in the process.

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Managers

Kits

Kit suppliers

* 1988–1993: Adidas * 1994–1996: Prospecs * 1997:

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

* 1998: Adidas * 1999–2000: ASICS * 2001–2003: Hummel * 2004–2005:

Kika KiKA (contraction of ''Der KinderKAnal von ARD und ZDF'' ARD and ZDF">ARD_(broadcaster).html" ;"title="he Children's Channel of ARD (broadcaster)">ARD and ZDF]) is a German free-to-air television channel based in Erfurt, Germany. It is man ...

* 2006–2009: Adidas * 2010–2011:

Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif (, "the athletic rooster") is a French manufacturing company of sports equipment. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset and located in Entzheim, the company first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The c ...

* 2012–2013:

Diadora Diadora is an Italian sportswear and footwear manufacturing company based in Caerano di San Marco (Veneto), subsidiary of Geox, founded in 1948. Diadora produces football boots and athletic shoes, as well as a range of apparel that includes ...

* 2014–2018: Adidas * 2018–2021: Hummel * 2022–present: Adidas

Honours

Domestic

League

::Champions (3): 1996, 2005,

::Runners-up (10):

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, 2002, 2003, 2011,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Cups

::Winners (1):

::Runners-up (3):

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

::Winners (5):

, 2007, 2011 ::Runners-up (3):

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, 2002, 2005 *

Korean Super Cup The Korean Super Cup was the annual curtain-raiser to the South Korean football season from 1999 to 2006, and was contested between the champions of K League and Korean FA Cup. It was dropped from the South Korean football calendar in 2007. Afte ...

::Winners (1): 2006 * National Football Championship ::Runners-up (2): 1989, 1999 *

Korean President's Cup The President's Cup National Football Tournament is a football competition, held by Korea Football Association, for South Korean semi-professional and amateur football clubs. This competition was originally one of major club competitions of So ...

::Runners-up (1): 1990

International

Asian

* AFC Champions League ::Winners (2):

::Winners (1): 2006

Season-by-season records

;Key *Tms. = Number of teams *Pos. = Position in league

AFC Champions League record

All results list Ulsan Hyundai's goal tally first.

References

External links

Official website
{{Hyundai Heavy Industries Group Association football clubs established in 1983 Sport in Ulsan K League 1 clubs Hyundai Heavy Industries Group 1983 establishments in South Korea Works association football clubs in South Korea AFC Champions League winning clubs