Jeonju: After two-and-a-half years away, Kim Bo-kyung has returned to two-time AFC Champions League winners Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors setting himself and his teammates the loftiest of targets.
“I’d like us to target winning this year’s triple crown,” the former Cerezo Osaka and Wigan Athletic defender told the-AFC.com.
“But to achieve this goal I think we have to have faith in ourselves and that belief will turn into certainty the moment we all start to focus on the same goal and think the same thing.”
Jeonbuk, of course, are no strangers to success. Along with the club’s AFC Champions League wins in 2006 and 2016, they have won the K-League on seven occasions since 2009 as well as lifting the Korea Republic FA Cup in 2000, 2003 and 2005.
But for such a garlanded club, completing a clean sweep of trophies available to them would cement their position among the country’s greatest ever teams and Kim’s return after a one-season stint at rivals Ulsan Hyundai will no doubt bolster their challenge on all three fronts.
“I have to keep trying as a player,” he said of his return to Jeonbuk after narrowly missing out on a K-League winners' medal with Ulsan last season.
“I’m grateful and happy to be able to return to Jeonbuk Hyundai. I’ve a lot of good memories, especially of 2016, and I want to make more great memories with my fans.
“There are many good players at Jeonbuk this season, as many as there were in 2016, and we can achieve the same results. The difference is that the team has changed since 2016 and we’re becoming stronger.”
After spending much of his career overseas, that 2016 campaign was Kim’s first in the K-League.
Having kicked off his life in the professional ranks in Japan with Osaka, he spent time in the United Kingdom with Cardiff City and Wigan before moving back to east Asia to sign for Matsumoto Yamaga in 2015.
But the shift to Jeonbuk was to prove a fruitful one, with Kim making regular appearances in the AFC Champions League as the club went on to defeat Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates and lift the trophy for the second time, a decade on from their first success.
A return to Japan with Kashiwa Reysol for two seasons was followed by a one-year stint with Ulsan, where he was named the K-League’s Most Valuable Player as Kim Do-hoon’s side were pipped to the title on the final day of the season by Jeonbuk.
Now, he’s back at the Jeonju World Cup Stadium and pulling on the team’s famous green shirt, with his eyes set on adding to the club’s trophy haul under Portuguese head coach Jose Morais, who replaced the legendary Choi Kang-hee at the start of the 2019 campaign.
“The style of how the team operates is different, but the goal – which is to win – and the areas that make the team strong are no different,” said Kim of the changes at Jeonbuk since his previous stint with the club.
“Experience is not readily obtainable and it’s a great help in overcoming situations and to find a positive solution, especially when you’re faced with difficulties. So, I think the more experience you have the more powerful you can be.”
Jeonbuk have already played twice in the 2020 AFC Champions League, picking up a point from a draw with Sydney FC in Australia after losing their opening game in Group H to Japanese champions Yokohama F Marinos.
Shanghai SIPG are also in the group and Kim remains confident Jeonbuk can make a mark on the competition despite the challenges that lie ahead.
"Just as the clock hits 90 minutes… Kim Bo-Kyung scores his first #PL goal!"@CardiffCityFC grab a share of the spoils in a thriller v Man Utd#PLMoment
@SydneyFC 2-2 @Jeonbuk_hyundai
A share of the points for the teams after 10-men Jeonbuk found an equaliser at the very end. Honours even at Jubilee Stadium.#ACL2020
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