Other names Yeongnam Derby Broadcasters KBS, SBS | First meeting 1 April 1984 | |
 | ||
Donghaean Derby (Korean: 동해안 더비, Donghaean means East Coast) is a fierce football rivalry between Pohang Steelers and Ulsan Hyundai, two professional football clubs based in North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea.Pohang and Ulsan are geographically close east coast ports of Korea.
Contents
History
After both teams settled down in their current cities in the mid-1990s, the rivalry between the two slowly formed.
The rivalry truly started after the 1998 K League Championship, in which the two clubs met in the semifinal. In the first leg, Pohang beat Ulsan 3-2 in a thrilling match in which three goals were scored in the added minutes of the second half. In the second leg, held in the Ulsan Stadium, they were drawing 1-1, which meant Pohang were about to progress to the final, until Ulsan's goalkeeper Kim Byung-Ji scored a last-minute header after a free-kick. The goal made the aggregate score 4-4, and Ulsan eventually became the winner after Kim Byung-Ji saved Pohang's two penalties in the following penalty shoot-out. In 2001, Kim Byung-Ji, who had been having a series of conflicts with Ulsan because the club did not let him move to Europe, moved directly to Pohan, recording the highest transfer fee in the K League at that time. His move intensified the tension between two clubs. From then, two clubs met coincidentally in several important matches. Two clubs met in the 2004 K League Championship semi-final and Pohang progressed to the final with André Luiz Tavares's goal. Four years later, they met again in the 2008 K League Championship First Round. After a goalless draw, the game continued to penalties, in which Ulsan won by 4-2.
The name Donghaean means East Sea Coast, where Pohang and Ulsan are located.