Ulsan HD: Shooting stars from South Korea
Borussia Dortmund faced Ulsan HD Football Club at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati in their final group stage match. The club from south-east Korea won the AFC Champions League, the top competition for Asian football clubs, in 2012 and 2020.
General information
- Name: Ulsan HD Football Club
- Location: Ulsan, South Korea
- Stadium: Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
- League: K League 1
- Founded: 1983
- Nicknames: Tigers
- Manager: Pan-gon Kim
- Qualification for the Club World Cup: AFC ranking
Ulsan HD honours (selection)
- 2 AFC Champions League
- 5 South Korean league titles
- 1 South Korean cup
Player in focus
In goal for the South Koreans is international keeper Hyeon-woo Jo, who made seven saves when South Korea defeated Germany 2-0 in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
About the club
The five-time South Korean champions and two-time winners of the AFC Champions League won their third consecutive K-League 1 title in 2024. The South Koreans are interrupting their domestic league competition for the Club World Cup, with scheduled matches already postponed.
The club from Ulsan in the south-east of the country was founded in Incheon, in the north-west of the Republic of Korea. The defence and shipbuilding group HD Hyundai Heavy Industries founded the Hyundai Horang-i club in 1983.
However, the company decided to relocate the club to the north-eastern province of Gangwon-do in 1987. In 1990, the club moved again and has been based in Ulsan ever since. Ulsan are one of the most successful teams in Korea, with much of their success coming in recent years.
The club have won three of their five South Korean league titles since 2022, not to mention recent victories in the AFC Champions League in 2012 and 2020. The club took part in the Club World Cup in 2012 and 2020, but were knocked out in the quarter-finals on both occasions.