2025 Season Preview: Ansan Greeners | OneFootball

A new season beckons, and, as teams reveal new players and declare their ambitions for play-off pushes and title challenges, at the Wa it is time to repeat annual cliches and insincere hopes. It cannot be helped of course, as recent budget leaks once again have the Green Wolves rock bottom of the spending table. The target therefore remains the same as always... avoid finishing bottom and try and advance in the cup. It is not all bad of course, as the Greeners have quickly filled up their foreign player quota, including a former USL player, meaning they are no longer the only pure-Korean team in the top 3 divisions. Do the Green Wolves have enough of a bite to give their fans something more to cheer for this season?.

Last Season

9 wins, 11 Draws, 17 losses; 11th place in K League 2.

What Happened?

Despite a promising start to the season, Ansan succumbed to a run of poor form that saw a mid-season change of manager. Lee Kwan-woo came in, but failed to see an upturn in form as the club eventually finished 11th. This was however achieved with the lowest budget in the K2, and without a single foreign player in the squad providing a foundation at least for the new season. This was until end of season turmoil that saw all but 5 players leave the side!

Ansan proved frugal in other areas, with the 3rd lowest goal-scoring rate (35 compared to Seoul E-lands's 62), however, they were defensively a little better with 48 goals conceded (compared to a league-best of 35 and league-worst of 66). With so many changes for the new season, however, there is little to glean from last season in terms of determining how the club will perform in the new season.

[READ:2024 Season Review]

New signing Bruno Lapa tussles with out of contract Lee Kyu-bin during pre-season training

Notable Moves

Ansan have at least become a stepping stone for some players to move on to 'greener' pastures, and this has been the case with several of 2024's standout players making moves to the K1. Player of the season Choi Han-sol has moved to Gangwon, while popular playmaker Kim Beom-soo has earned a moved to Pohang Steelers. Fullbacks Kim Jae-sung and Lee Taek-gun have also moved up to Suwon FC. Club captain Kim Yeong-nam has also moved to Asan. However, these moves are just the tip of a release iceberg with 25 players leaving the club since July, and just 5 players in last season's squad being retained at the time of writing (although several players from 2024 participated in pre-season training).

30 players however have been added to the squad, and of these some of the 3 Brazilian signings may catch the eye.Felipe Saravia has joined from Gyeongnam, where he managed 2 goals and 2 assists in his 12 games during the second half of last season. The right-winger has spent a majority of his career in the Brazilian third tier, but did make 20 appearances for Botafogo in the Brazilian Serie A and spent time in the Sao Paolo U20s. The Green Wolves will hope that that potential can be realised at the Wa.

He is joined by Brazilian compatriotBruno Lapa who joins from US second-tier side Memphis 901. Ansan fans will cast their minds back to the underused Soony Sadd, who had previously played for Kansas City, and will hope Lapa gets more of a chance to make his mark next season. The attacking midfielder netted 11 times in 31 appearances last season. Veteran Cho Ji-hun joins from Jeonnam Dragons, and it is expected that Ansan may use his vast experience in the midfield to organise the plethora of youthful acquisitions.

Key Player

Kang Soo-il

A 37-year-old striker who rarely starts and has just 6 goals in previous 6 years to their name might seem an odd choice for a key player but Kang provides something just as important as performances on the pitch: an identity. Kang has been a prominent ambassador for Ansan off-field, featuring on TV and having over 10,000 Instagram followers, and his contract renewal was a demand by fans during the protests in December. The off-pitch upheaval has highlighted just how directionless the club is, and the need for a defined identity is key for the future of the club if it is to stay competitive at this level. When teams and fans come to the Wa Stadium, how do they answer the question as to what to expect from the home fanbase and the team's playstyle? It is likely that the answer would rest between an easy 3 points or a firm shrug of the shoulders. Kang's presence at least serves as a unifying point that will hopefully lead toward creating an identity the club so sorely lacks.

Kang Soo-il instructing the team during pre-season training

Young Player to Watch

Yang Se-young

One of the few players to survive the great cull in December, the 22 year-old already broke through last season, scoring 3 goals in 25 appearances as a winger. He came to light as a standout player for Busan I'Park's reserves in the K4 in 2023. He endeared himself to fans by scoring the opener in Ansan's triumphant 3-2 win over eventual champions Anyang in the Line 4 derby back in July. Expect him to play a key part in this new-look Ansan side and possibly be next in the conveyor line of players to move on to higher things by the end of the season.

Biggest Question

Can the team solve its off-field issues?

Instability has plagued Ansan for years now, with a routine change of management midseason and a constantly rotating first team that keeps even home fans guessing on what team they will see from one week to the next. The background to this has been well documented, and points to some serious problems behind the scenes at the club, and this needs to be remedied before the club can see an upturn in fortunes.

With citizen clubs all around seeing success last year, with Anyang winning the K2, Siheung winning the K3 and Suwon FC getting a top 6 finish in the K1, off-field organisation is clearly as important as on-field results. However, a reportedly low budget relative to other K2 teams, and the announcement and subsequent reversal on a decison to install a pitch-side stand indicates that things are not necessarily going in the right direction. The small but growing fan base deserve better, and the club owes them to at least turn this team into a more competitive one.

Can Lee Kwan-woo lead a new-look Ansan team to a higher position this season?

Reason to Watch

Ansan are the quintessential plucky underdogs of the K2, and can come up with a suprise result on occasion (just ask Anyang). The fanbase has been slowly growing as well, though it still feels empty in the Wa given the stadium's 35,000 seat capacity. The Green Wolves do slightly better on home turf, placing 8th on the home form table in 2024. If you do not manage to see a home win, you may be in for goals nonetheless, with Ansan shipping 1.38 goals per game at the Wa, including Busan putting in 5!