Pohang Steelers

Founded as a semi-professional football club, as the Pohang Iron and Steel Company Football Club (POSCO FC) on 1 April 1973, the club turned professional from the 1984 season and changed its name to POSCO Dolphins. A further name changed occurred for the 1985 season, during which they were called the POSCO Atoms.[2] 1986 saw them win their first Championship, and they enjoyed a great spell of domination in the league; between 1985 and 1998 they were continuously in the top four of the K-League.

The club achieved a Korean football 'first' at the end of 1990 with the opening of their purpose-built 20,000 seater Steelyard Stadium.

1995 saw yet another name change, when the club became the Pohang Atoms. This name change was an attempt to further strengthen local ties with the region, and in 1997 they adopted their current name, the Pohang Steelers. The side scaled Asian football heights, winning the Asian Champions Cup in 1997 and 1998 to establish themselves as one of Asia's top teams.

Unfortunately, the club suffered something of a fall from grace in the 2000s, struggling near the foot of the table, but bounced back to the forefront of Korean football by winning the first stage of the 2004 K-League Championship. The club qualified for the final Championship match of the 2004 season, but lost 4–3 on penalties to Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

In 2007, the club won the Championship play-off by beating Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who finished in 1st place in the regular season of the K-League. Pohang won the first leg play-off game at home 3–1, and then traveled to Seongnam for the second leg game, recording a 1–0 victory to seal a 4–1 aggregate triumph. The Steelers had ended the K-League season in 5th place, but then defeated Daejeon Citizen, Gyeongnam, Suwon Samsung Bluewings and finally Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the play-offs to win the championship.

Pohang again made the play-offs in the 2008 season by finishing the season 5th in the league, but were knocked out in their play-off game by Ulsan Hyundai in a penalty shoot-out. However, the club fared much better in the Korean FA Cup. After defeating Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the quarter-final with a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw after regular and extra time, Pohang knocked out Daegu FC in the semi-final, and then Gyeongnam FC in the final to ensure qualification for the 2009 AFC Champions League by virtue of winning the 2008 Korean FA Cup.

The Steelers then enjoyed a dream run in the Champions League, which saw the club defeat Umm-Salal of Qatar 2–1 (4–1 agg.) to advance to their first ever AFC Champions League final.[3] The Steelers defeated Saudi club Al-Ittihad 2–1 at the National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan to claim the title.[4]

For the 2009 K-League season, Pohang once again qualified for the play-off phase of the league by finishing the regular season in 2nd place, equal with FC Seoul on points, but ahead on goal difference. The Steelers had a bye to the semi-finals, but lost to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.[5] Nonetheless, their regular season placing saw them qualify for the 2010 AFC Champions League Group stage.

Following the conclusion of the 2009 K-League season, at the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup in December, the Steelers finished in third place after defeating Atlante 4–3 on penalties.[6]

In 1994, POSCO Atoms wore a green kit and a white kit with a multicolored sun in the center, in 1997 Pohang Steelers wore a white shirt with black shoulders stripes and black shorts, while in 2000 the first kit consisted of a sky blue shirt and white shorts, while the away kit was a black and red hooped shirt and black shorts (similar to the current kit). In 2002 the kit was red with a black V in the chest.

Kit suppliers

Kit supplier	Period
Adidas	1982–1987
Prospecs	1987–1989
Adidas	1990–1992
Prospecs	1993–1995
Adidas	1996–2001
Diadora	2002
Puma	2003–2005
Kappa	2006–2012
Atemi	2013–2014
Hummel	2015–2016
Astore	2017–

Key

• Tms. = Number of teams
• Pos. = Position in league

As of 6 February 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  KOR Hwang In-jae 4 DF  KOR Jeon Min-gwang 5 DF  KOR Ha Chang-rae 11 MF  KOR Lee Gwang-hyeok 12 FW  KOR Song Min-kyu 14 DF  KOR Gwon Wan-gyu 16 MF  KOR Lee Seung-mo 19 DF  KOR Kim Joo-hwan 21 GK  KOR Lee Jun 24 MF  KOR Yang Tae-ryul 25 DF  KOR Woo Min-geol 28 MF  KOR Choi Jae-young 29 FW  KOR Kim Dong-bum 31 GK  KOR Kang Hyeon-mu 41 GK  KOR Cho Sung-hoon 47 DF  KOR Oh Beom-seok 77 FW  COL Manuel Palacios 79 MF  KOR Go Young-joon 88 MF  KOR Kim Kyu-pyo 91 GK  KOR Noh Ji-hoon

No. Pos. Nation Player 99 FW  KOR Lee Ji-yong — DF  AUS Alex Grant — MF  KOR Kwon Ki-pyo — MF  KOR Lee Soo-bin — MF  KOR Kim Jin-hyeon — DF  KOR Lee Gwang-joon — DF  KOR Shin Kwang-hoon — MF  KOR Lim Sang-hyub — FW  KOR Lee Hyun-il — MF  KOR Kim Seong-ju — MF  KOR Yoon Seok-ju — MF  KOR Kim Jun-ho — DF  KOR Kim Ryun-Sung — MF  KOR Noh Gyeong-ho — FW  KOR Lee Ho-jae — FW  KOR Lee Seok-gyu — DF  KOR Choi Do-yoon — DF  KOR Ahn Hae-seong — DF  ANG Samuel Pungi

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  KOR Kim Ji-min (at Jinju Citizen) — FW  KOR Kim Chan (at Chungnam Asan) — FW  KOR Lee Sang-ki (at Sangju Sangmu for military duty) — DF  KOR Sim Sang-min (at Sangju Sangmu for military duty) — DF  KOR Kim Yong-hwan (at Sangju Sangmu for military duty) — FW  KOR Heo Yong-joon (at Sangju Sangmu for military duty) — FW  KOR Ha Seung-un (at FC Anyang)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  KOR Choi Min-seo (at FC Anyang) — MF  KOR Oh Jae-hyeok (at Bucheon FC) — FW  KOR Song Seung-min (at Gwangju FC) — DF  KOR Kim Min-kyu (at Gimhae FC) — MF  KOR Yang Tae-ryul (at Gyeongju KH&NP) — FW  KOR Hong Yoon-sang (at VfL Wolfsburg II)

Coaching staff

• Manager: Kim Gi-dong
• 1st Team Coach: Hwang Ji-Soo, Lee Sang-wook
• Physical Coach: Wanderley Brilhante Junior
• Goalkeeper Coach: Lee Dae-hee
• Trainer: Lee In-cheol, Park Joon-young
• Interpreter: Kong Wan-bae

Youth Club Staff

• U-18 Manager: Yoon Hee-joon
• U-18 Coach: Baek Ki-tae
• U-15 Manager: Kim Dong-young
• U-15 Coach:
• U-12 Manager: Kim Sung-jin
• U-12 Coach: Oh Jin-kwang
• Goalkeeper Coach: Gjorgji Jovanovski
• Youth Academy Coach (North): Lee Young-hwan
• Youth Academy Coach (South): Na Yeong-chae
• Youth Academy Officer: Shin Joo-hyun

As of end of season. Only K-League matches are counted.

Manager	P	W	D	L	%	Period	Honours
Han Hong-ki	44	16	11	17	036.36	May 2, 1973 – November 29, 1984
Choi Eun-taek	57	20	16	21	035.09	November 29, 1984 – December 16, 1986	1986 K-League
Lee Hoe-taik	206	75	70	61	036.41	December 16, 1986 – December 31, 1992	1988 K-League, 1992 K-League
Kim Soon-Ki Kim Chul-soo						1989
Cho Yoon-ok						1989
Huh Jung-moo	106	42	40	24	039.62	1993 – November 25, 1995
Kim Soon-Ki						1994
Park Sung-hwa	182	76	47	59	041.76	December 12, 1995 – July 31, 2000	1996 FA Cup, 1996–97 Asian Club Championship, 1997–98 Asian Club Championship
Choi Soon-ho	163	57	47	59	034.97	August 1, 2000 – December 5, 2004
Sérgio Farias	181	83	55	43	045.86	January 6, 2005 – December 20, 2009	2007 K-League, 2008 FA Cup, 2009 AFC Champions League
Waldemar Lemos	11	2	3	6	018.18	January 8, 2010 – May 10, 2010
Park Chang-hyun	21	7	8	6	033.33	May 11, 2010 – November 8, 2010
Hwang Sun-hong	37	21	8	8	056.76	December 13, 2010 – November 29, 2015	2013 K League, 2012 FA Cup, 2013 FA Cup
Choi Jin-cheul	32	10	8	14	031.25	November 29, 2015 – September 25, 2016
Choi Soon-ho	37	21	8	8	056.76	September 26, 2016 –

• Italics denotes manager was there for interim period

• List of football clubs in South Korea

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pohang Steelers.

• Pohang Steelers official website (in Korean and English)