Who would have imagined that a 33-year-old Brazilian, who had never played in major European leagues and was never part of the Seleção, would dominate one of the best leagues of Asia?
Maybe only the player himself, Junior Negrão of Ulsan Hyundai.
Who would have thought that a 9-men team, which have lost their last eight league games, would finally manage to grab a draw? Maybe only Incheon’s players, and their fans, who encouraged them to ‘never give up’.
It all happened in this week's K League, while the J League, on the other hand, has joined the party of leagues that are allowing spectators in the stands.
K League
While Jeonbuk Hyundai unexpectedly lost to Sangju Sangmu 0-1 and then shared a point with Seongnam FC after a 2-2 draw, their direct rivals for the title, Ulsan, have moved up to the top of the table.
Ulsan travelled to Daegu on Sunday for Matchday 11. Before this matchup, Daegu was unbeaten since May 29th, and Ulsan just bounced back from 0-2 loss against Jeonbuk, by hammering Incheon 4-1.
As expected, Ulsan started in full force. Shin Jin-ho received Lee Chung-yong's flat cross from the right flank, and Horang-i's captain comfortably put it in the net. 1-0 to the visitors.
At this exact moment, Mr Junior Negrão has risen to the event. The Brazilian scored a brace in 55th and 81st minutes against his former team. It was his 13th and 14th goals of the season so far, as he strengthened his spot on the top of the league's leading scorers list. These goals helped Negrão to widen the gap from his fellow countryman on the second place, Cesinha, to seven goals.
Thanks to Junior's effort, Ulsan beat Daegu 3-1. Kim Dong-jin's only goal in the 55th minute was not enough for the Sky Blues. This result would see Ulsan goes on top of the table over Jeonbuk.
On the other side of the table, Incheon United showed a sign of hope for Blue-Black supporters. Their coach position is remaining vacant after Lim Wan-seop's resignation. Lim Joong-yong, the assistant coach, took charge of the team as an interim coach for the encounter.
Sangju, the surprising third-placed team, dominated most of the match and even grabbed a lead in the 47th minute. Oh Se-hun, the South Korean youth international striker, struck the header in from the corner kick.
The match then turned tougher for Incheon, as Lee Je-ho and Song Shi-woo both received a red in 49th and 61st minute. Incheon had to play the remaining 30+ minutes with nine players only.
But the last ranked team was never going to give up as if to keep the promise with their fans, who asked the players to 'never give up' in an open letter in social media earlier last week.
At the very last minute, Kim Do-hyuk's cross from the left side found Ji Eon-hak in the box who then connected it to a goal. The hard-working forward saved his team from humiliation! 1-1 was the final score. Although Incheon is still far away from their first victory of the season, players' determination until the end at least provided their supporters with a glimpse hope.
K League 2
In South Korea' second division, the 'Korean Wimbledon Derby', Jeju United and Bucheon FC 1995, was initially scheduled to play at Jeju World Cup Stadium. However, the game got cancelled due to heavy fog. Delayed matches usually get rescheduled the day after the original date. Yet, since the FA Cup Round of 32 is taking place on July 15th, it was impossible to play it right away.
The arranged fixture is not yet released. Bucheon will have to wait for a certain amount of time to get their revenge for the 0-1 loss to Jeju in May.
J League
Japan, on the other hand, has allowed fans to enter the stadium starting from this round. It was not a full house, like what is going on in Vietnam. Only up to 5,000 spectators are allowed, and all people entering the stadium must wear a mask.
Matchday 4 was a real nightmare for Kashima Antlers. The 2016 FIFA Club World Cup finalists have been struggling since the start of the season under the management of Antonio Carlos Zago. Last week, they were defeated by Urawa Reds Diamonds 0-1 by Ewerton's game-winning goal.
Kashima has lost all of their six official matches in 2020 so far, including four league games, the AFC Champions League play-off encounter against Melbourne Victory and J League YBC Levain Cup match against Nagoya Grampus. The team that reached the third-place last season is now hitting rock bottom.
Many Kashima leading figures in 2019 have been leaving the club before the start of 2020 season, including Serginho (to Changchun Yatai), Jung Seung-hyun (to Ulsan Hyundai), and Yuma Suzuki (to Sint-Truiden). That has weakened the squad drastically, while their replacements - Juan Alano, Everaldo, Tatsuki Nara and co., are still having a hard time fitting into the team.
V League
In Vietnam, business is as usual. The V League produced more thrilling games with full stands. In the matchup of Da Nang and Ha Noi, which took place at Hoa Xuan Stadium, Da Nang, and it ended in 1-1 draw, saw 15,000 spectators with more than a hundred away fans. Saigon FC claimed the top spot by hammering FLC Thanh Hoa 3-0.
