Daejeon Citizen
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| Full name | Daejeon Citizen Football Club 대전 시티즌 프로축구단 |
|---|---|
| Short name | DCFC |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Ground | Daejeon World Cup Stadium |
| Capacity | 40,535 |
| Owner | Daejeon Government |
| Chairman | Mayor of Daejeon |
| Manager | Lee Young-ik |
| League | K League Challenge |
| 2016 Season | 7th |
| Website | Club home page |
Daejeon Citizen Football Club (Korean 대전 시티즌 프로축구단) is a South Korean professional football team, based in the city of Daejeon. Daejeon Citizen Football Club are famous for being the first community-club in Korea. Daejeon first entered the K League for the 1997 season, finishing 7th out of the 10 teams participating in the league that season. In spite of a limited budget, Daejeon won the 2001 Korean FA Cup. It has not achieved sustained success in the K League, historically occupying the middle and lower reaches of the standings each season. At the end of the 2013 season, Daejeon was relegated to the K League Challenge.
Following the foundation of the professional football league (the Korean Super League, reorganised as the K League in 1998) in Korea, there were few league matches held in Daejeon, and such matches that were held were played by visiting clubs. The absence of a local team in the league made it difficult for the citizens of Daejeon to identify with any particular team. However, in 1996 a plan to establish 'Daejeon Citizen' – their own local community club – was unveiled, which meant Daejeon citizens would have their own team to support in the league. Generally in Korea, 'community-club' means that the club issues shares. In the case of Daejeon, although shares weren't issued until 2005 (and the issuing of shares continued into 2006), they were already known as a 'community-club'. Daejeon was the first club that did not belong to a specific company such as one of the 'chaebols' (Samsung, LG or the like) or another major company. This has a very symbolic meaning as essentially the club is founded upon the support of the local community rather than a specific company.
Kim Ki-Bok, now vice-president of Korea National League ("National League", the second division), was appointed the first manager of Daejeon Citizen. With high expectations, Daejeon took their first step to the K League in 1997 (at the time, the K League was known as the Rapido Super League), opening their season with a match against Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i. However, the results achieved in their first season did not live up to their high expectations for their first season. Although the club placed 7th in the league, ahead of Cheonan, Angyang and Bucheon, only three matches (out of 18) were won.
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