K League 2 side Daegu FC, mired in a five-match winless slump (2 draws, 3 losses), has parted ways with head coach Kim Byung-soo.
The Daegu club announced on the 20th, "We have dismissed head coach Kim Byung-soo to hold him accountable for the recent poor performances and to completely revamp the team atmosphere," adding, "We have internally promoted head coach Choi Sung-yong as the new manager to succeed him."
Daegu, which finished bottom of K League 1 last season and was relegated to K League 2, was determined to earn promotion this season. Even after relegation, the club retained Kim and gave him their backing.
The start of the season was promising. Daegu opened the campaign with three consecutive wins, getting off to a pleasing start.
However, the downturn began after their first defeat (1-3) against Busan IPark in the fourth round. They were also beaten 1-3 by Seoul E-Land in the fifth round, recording consecutive losses, then drew with Gimpo FC (3-3) and Suwon FC (2-2) in succession, before losing 1-2 to Cheonan City FC in the seventh round, plunging into a five-match winless run. During that period, Daegu plummeted from first place to seventh.
Although it is still early in the season and the situation could have been monitored longer, the Daegu club, aiming for promotion this season, made a swift decision. They chose to install head coach Choi in the managerial position in place of Kim to attempt a turnaround in atmosphere.
New manager Choi was a member of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinal legendary squad and played for clubs including Suwon Samsung and Ulsan HD during his playing career. After retiring in 2010, he began his coaching career in 2011 as a reserve team coach at Gangwon FC, then served as head coach at Suwon Samsung and as a coach for the Korean national team, before joining Daegu as head coach this season to assist manager Kim Byung-soo.
The Daegu club added, "Manager Choi is a well-prepared leader who has a deep understanding of the team's internal situation as head coach," and "He is the ideal person to quickly bring about the team's normalization and stabilize the squad."
