With, according to the 2016 census, 123,000 residents in Australia who identify themselves as being of Korean ancestry and many of those living in Sydney, it makes sense.
If new fans come and enjoy the occasion then perhaps they will come back - though obviously, it would be better if Sydney had a Korean star of their own to market!
Jeonbuk are a team that all in Asia should follow in that the green machine set great store in the Champions League and take it very seriously.
The record is impressive with two wins (2006 & 2016) and one final appearance (penalty shootout loss in 2011) even if there is a feeling that the Motors should have collected another title or two.
Jeonbuk are a genuine Asian powerhouse and have played more games in the tournament than any other.
At home, they have been dominant. There have been five K-League titles in the past six seasons.
While Jeonbuk have a squad containing the likes of Kim Bo-kyung, still one of Asia’s best attacking midfielders, international full-back pairing Lee Yong and Kim Jim-su and a number of solid Korean players such as Lee Seung-gi and Jung Hyuk, any marketing campaign should, however, be all about Lee Dong-gook.
Lee is the one player in the Jeonbuk squad who is a household name in South Korea and a legend of Asian football. At the age of 40, Wednesday is surely the last chance of anyone in Sydney to see the ‘Lion King’.
Anyone with the vaguest interest in football in Korea knows what Lee has done in a varied and fascinating career and should want to pay tribute.
As well as his exploits on the pitch, and there are plenty of those as we will see, Lee is also a reality television star.
The show ‘Return of Superman’ features Lee and his five children (and in a country with one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, this number is quite something and gets you discounts on all kind of utility bills and tax benefits), and
It all comes from his goal-scoring attributes. His 37 goals in the Champions League, a tournament he didn’t start appearing in until he was 30, is not only a record haul but just the start.
Here was a young striker who burst onto the K-league scene in 1998 and earned a surprise call up to the World Cup in France.
After Korea lost their first two games in France against Mexico and the Netherlands, the teenage Lee appeared in the third, a 1-1 draw against Belgium.
He then went on to establish himself as one of Korea’s top goal-getters but surprisingly was omitted from the 2002 World Cup squad by Guus Hiddink.
By the player’s own admission, it took some time to get over that especially as the Taeguk Warriors did pretty well without him, reaching the semifinal.
By the time 2006 rolled around, there was no doubt that he was the country’s number one number nine and was in the form of his life, scoring spectacular goal after spectacular goal for club Pohang Steelers and country. Just two months out, out he tore his cruciate ligament and that was that.
I will never forget the sight of the silver-haired striker being carried off and his refusal, for the next few days, to accept the dream was over.
Returning to action in the Premier League the following year, his first game for Middlesbrough saw an easy chance come back off the woodwork and that was that.
He never settled in England and is one of the first on lists of the worst ever Premier League strikers.
It is unfortunate but the way football goes. Jeonbuk fans won’t mind. He arrived in the southwest in 2009 and 11 years and more than 150 goals later is still there.
He is still the biggest name in the K-League and with birthday number 41 approaching, this week is surely going to be the last time he appears in Sydney and fans, Korean or not, should come out to pay homage to the Lion King.
