2025 Season Preview: Suwon Samsung Bluewings | OneFootball

Suwon Samsung Bluewings in K League 2: the Sequel hits your screens in late February. After a fairly shambolic campaign that saw Suwon lose all three games to Seoul E-Land and miss out on a play-off spot, hopes are high after a winter of top recruitment and a first pre-season under manager Byun Seung-hwan. Is this where the story ends, or will Suwon sign up for the trilogy in 2026?

Last Season

15 wins, 11 draws, 10 losses; 6th place in K League 2.

What Happened?

To sum up; the season started well, fell apart in May, improved slightly, but they missed out on the play-offs. The decision to appoint an inexperienced manager (Yeom Ki-hun) because of his legendary status at the club proved to be an unmitigated disaster. You just have to look at how Incheon United responded to their relegation last winter. Not content with hiring a recently retired hero or a journeyman manager, they brought in former Gangwon FC head honcho Yoon Jeong-hwan. K League 2 is, and we've been saying this for years, a brutal slog. With only one automatic promotion place available, the focus should have been on escaping by any means possible. Style, youth development, a culture; they are irrelevant now. Unless you can propel yourself back into the top flight at the first time of asking, the danger of staying down for an extended spell (see Seongnam, Jeonnam Dragons, and Gyeongnam FC) is real. But not only did the Bluewings take an unnecessary gamble with their head coach, they recruited poorly last winter. On loan FC Seoul right back Lee Si-yong was the only new player to feature prominently throughout the season.

Suwon opened with a nervous 2-1 win over Chungnam Asan. Fejsal Mulić grabbed a brace, seemingly confirming what we expected at the outset; he would be MVP material. But the warning sirens began to sound the following week. Mulić was bullied by Osmar, Suwon conceded first (a common trend), and Seoul E-Land recorded a 2-1 win. The team rebounded briefly to take top spot in April with a huge win in Anyang. But that was as good as it got. Following the emphatic victory over their promotion rivals, the Bluewings drew with Gyeongnam and then lost five straight in May. The low point of that horrendous run was crashing at home to Cheonan City FC, operating in only their second season as a professional club. The pressure was too much for Yeom Ki-hun. Following a public revolt after the 3-1 loss to Seoul E-Land, Yeom walked out the gates of Big Bird to tell the disgruntled fans that he was quitting. It was a desperate way for one of the Bluewings' greatest ever players to depart.

Byun Seung-hwan was appointed and immediately oversaw an uptick in results. The Bluewings went eleven unbeaten as a raft of under 22 players began to take centre stage. But hidden amongst that run were three worrying trends that would ultimately shape their season; firstly, Suwon weren't winning a lot of games (five in that eleven before Seoul E-Land made it a hat-trick of wins over the Bluewings); secondly, they weren't scoring enough goals against the table's weaker sides; and finally, most problematic of all, Suwon kept falling behind. Between rounds 28 and 33, Suwon conceded first in all six games, collecting five points. In fact, from Byun's first match in charge (round 16) up until their final match (round 38), on only seven occasions did Suwon score first.

It all meant they couldn't go on a run of form or climb the table. Between weeks 14 and 39, Suwon spent 15 outside the play-off spots and in that spell, on just four occasions, were they higher than 5th (the last post-season slot). They were desperately unlucky to miss out on the play-offs, however. 4th going into the final weekend but enjoying a bye week, two surprise results went against them allowing Busan IPark and Jeonnam Dragons to advance. And with that, it was all over.

Notable Moves

Stanislav Ilyuchenko (from, FC Seoul).

The catch! This is the signing Suwon fans have been craving for years. How on earth they managed to persuade K League 1's second-highest goal scorer in 2024 (ironically, behind only Stefan Mugosa, who also plies his trade in the second division) to K League 2 is still a mystery. The former FC Seoul striker should lay waste to the league, bullying defenders and being that target man they badly wanted (but didn't get) from Fejsal Mulić. Big Stan is simply a statement signing; this is Suwon's way of saying 'we're done with K2.'

Bruno Silva (from, Seoul E-Land).

The Bluewings raised eyebrows when they captured Seoul E-Land's game changing winger Bruno Silva. The acquisition of the Brazilian not only greatly benefits Suwon but it severely weakens Seoul, who completed a league hat-trick of wins over Byun Seung-hwan's team last term en-route to making the play-offs for the first time. Bruno Silva bookended 2024 with outstanding performances but was curiously absent from the headlines in the middle third of the season. Still, he finished the year with 11 goals and 6 assists in the league and will prove a valuable asset to Suwon's title charge.

Jung Dong-Yoon (from, Incheon United).

30-year-old Jung Dong-yoon arrives from relegated Incheon United, where he made 140 appearances in total and 33 last season. Suwon will surely benefit from his versality - he has played in virtually every position since his career began except for goalkeeper. But it is in his natural and favored position of right back where the Bluewings aim to utilize him. Lee Si-yong arrived on loan last year from rivals FC Seoul and quickly established himself as an integral part of the team. Suwon would probably have liked to keep Lee but he has returned to his parent club leaving Suwon without a recognized right back. Jung solidifies an already tight defense.

Kim Ju-chan (to, Gimcheon Sangmu).

It doesn't feel right to dump a lot of pressure on the shoulders of a 20-year-old winger, but Kim Ju-chan endured a miserable season in K League 2. He was the teenager most Suwon fans looked to when they stared down the barrel of relegation in 2023. His pace, trickery, determination, and eye for a goal nearly kept Suwon up, but it wasn't to be. Pohang were interested but Suwon kept hold of their man. We expected he'd enjoy the vast, open spaces of K League 2, but it didn't materialize and it wasn't long before Suwon's wunderkind was dumped from the starting line up. He looks refreshed in pre-season and now he'll have the opportunity to rekindle his love of football on loan at Gimcheon Sangmu.

Key Player

Stanislav Ilyuchenko

Stanislav Ilyuchenko is entering the twilight of his career. The duel Russian and German citizen will be 35 in August. It is the only plausible reason why FC Seoul decided to move on from him (despite having no replacement signed at the time of publication) and why other K League 1 teams showed no interest. But no-one in Suwon will care. Ilyuchenko is a coup for the Bluewings and you just have to look at the raw data for reasons why. In 171 K League 1 appearances for Pohang Steelers, Jeonbuk Motors, and FC Seoul, the big striker has scored 71 goals and provided 19 assists. He has also registered a goal every two games in the AFC Champions League. In 2024, he scored 14 times in 36 appearances as Seoul started slowly before settling comfortably into the pack of also-rans. Ilyuchenko chipped in with five assists, his best number since he played for Pohang in 2020. Ilyuchenko - as they say - puts in a shift. Standing just shy of 1.90 meters, he's muscular, good in the air, and a real competitor. However, he's been signed for one reason. Get Suwon out of K League 2.

For Suwon, the appeal of Ilyuchenko is obvious. The Bluewings were massively let down by their primary striker last season. At a game versus Cheonan City away, the Suwon faithful laughed every time Fejsal Mulić miscued, skied, or fresh-aired an attempt on goal during the warm up. I can't remember how many times he hit the target, let alone scored, but it was an insignificant number. Most of his efforts were blazed over the bar. Of course, they weren't laughing when the Serbian missed those same opportunities during the match. Mulić became so unreliable that Yeom Ki-hun was forced to turn to journeyman striker Kim Hyun to replace him early in the season. Kim, unfortunately, was injured for most of Byun Seung-hwan's tenure. Like Mulić, he isn't a reliable source of goals. Ilyuchenko is. As a sign of his worth, Suwon announced their new striker would be one of three co-captains this season. It is unlikely he'll ever lead the Bluewings onto the field, but the nomination was down to his experience. With 442 games under his belt, Ilyuchenko will be a valuable resource on and off the field.

A difficult pick given the amount of young players Suwon used last term, but I just had to choose the right winger who turned 22 last month. Kim Ji-ho only joined the Suwon senior team in July 2024 after completing his studies at Korea University, but he was a member of the Bluewings' Academy. In 2015, he moved to Seongnam and spent four years in their Academy before enrolling in university. Following his summer arrival, Kim played eleven games for Suwon, scoring four and providing two assists. He made his debut in round 22 against Cheonan City, making an immediate impression because of the quality of his passing. Two matches later, against Bucheon FC 1995, Kim scored twice and assisted once on his way to winning the man-of-the-match award. He picked up another goal, assist, and MOM award against FC Anyang and followed that up with his fourth goal and third MOM award the following week against Jeonnam Dragons. The talented winger, who can play across the front line, might be better served going on loan to guarantee game time but for now, he's still with Suwon. Kim Ju-chan's move to Gimcheon Sangmu will open up some opportunities, but Kim is behind a flurry of good attackers. He needs to take every opportunity he gets.

Biggest Question

Can Byun Seung-hwan discover the perfect recipe to get all his attacking stars to click?

Picking the best Suwon Bluewings XI is an easy task right now. Yang Hyeong-mo (club captain) is the obvious choice in goals. The back four will likely consist of Lee Ki-jae, new signing Léo Andrade or Han Ho-gang, Kwon Wan-kyu, and Jeong Dong-yoon. Suwon have options, especially in the middle of a back four. In a three-man midfield, Paulinho and Hong Won-jin are certainties. Kang Hyeon-mok could start on the right. Up front, Bruno Silva and Matheus Serafim will line up either side of Big Stan. With the possible exceptions of left back, and two midfield slots, it is a line up that wouldn't look out of place in K League 1. So how does Byun Seung-hwan create a team that's capable of beating a low block, score first, and see off weaker opponents? He simply has to, because his job depends on it.

Suwon have been a difficult watch for years, sticking rigidly to their 4-3-3 formation. None of their midfield three last season were particularly creative; more dogs of war than artists. They dominated possession but very few passes were defense splitting. It meant 90 minutes of sliding sideways passes for the sake of it. The wide forwards never found width and with most teams happy to drop men into the defensive line, there was no space. But the situation is different now. The broom taken to the squad was necessary The recruitment is perfect and a lot of deadwood has moved on. It is simply now or never. Despite Incheon's presence, Suwon are unlikely to have a better shot at promotion. Byun holds the cards, what can he conjure up?

Reason to Watch

Despite starting their second season in K League 2, Suwon remain a huge club in Korea. They broke several attendance records last season, including the highest home gate and most number of away supporters at a game. In fact, the traveling support in Cheonan for round 22 was one of biggest of any club in either division. When their fans arrive in Asan, Gimpo, or Bucheon, it feels like a big occasion. The sold out signs go up and local fans get to enjoy a shot at the big time. If the Bluewings start well and maintain that form throughout the season, expect more records to break. Incheon's presence adds extra spice. The clubs meet on matchday two in Sungui Arena with Incheon visiting Big Bird in round 16. Ilyuchenko vs. Mugosa. Bruno Silva vs. Gerso. Paulinho vs. Barrow. Strap yourself in!