Fresh off their league-record 10th title, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors placed six players on the season-end K League 1 Best XI squad unveiled Monday. The team was selected through votes from media, club head coaches and captains. Jeonbuk goalkeeper Song Bum-keun earned his first Best XI nod after leading the league with 15 clean sheets.
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, fresh off their league-record 10th title, placed six players on the K League 1 Best XI squad announced Monday, showcasing their dominance. The selection was based on votes from 134 media members, 12 club head coaches, and 12 club captains, with coaches and captains barred from voting for their own club's players.
In goal, Jeonbuk's Song Bum-keun earned his first career Best XI spot with 80.41 points from 127 media votes, nine from coaches, and eight from captains. He led the league with 15 clean sheets, helping Jeonbuk concede just 32 goals in 38 matches, the fewest in the league. Ulsan HD FC's Jo Hyeon-woo, a Best XI regular for eight straight seasons, was not even nominated this year.
Central defense went to Jeonbuk's Hong Jeong-ho (28.79 points, his fifth selection) and FC Seoul's Yazan Al-Arab (22.15 points). The fullbacks were Daejeon Hana Citizen teammates: Lee Myung-jae on the left (41.53 points) and Kim Moon-hwan on the right (52.87 points).
All four midfield spots were filled by Jeonbuk players: Song Min-kyu on the left (46.31 points), Kim Jin-gyu (26.31 points) and captain Park Jin-seob (29.07 points) in the center, and Kang Sang-yoon on the right (56.94 points). Park is also an MVP nominee, with the winner to be revealed Monday afternoon.
The forwards were Suwon FC's Pablo Sabbag (23.34 points), who led the league with 17 goals in his debut season in South Korea, and Ulsan HD FC's Lee Dong-gyeong (40.32 points), who tallied 13 goals and 11 assists during his mandatory military service with Gimcheon Sangmu FC before adding an assist in two games for Ulsan after his October discharge.