Pohang Steelers포항 스틸러스

Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) is a South Korean professional football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. They were originally called POSCO FC, after the Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd that owned it. The club was founded on 1 April 1973 and is one of Korean football's most successful sides.

They are the joint-most successful club in Asia with three AFC Champions League titles.

History

Founded as a semi-professional football club, as the Pohang Iron and Steel Company Football Club (POSCO FC) on 1 April 1973, the club turned professional from the 1984 season and changed its name to POSCO Dolphins. A further name changed occurred for the 1985 season, during which they were called the POSCO Atoms.1986 saw them win their first Championship, and they enjoyed a great spell of domination in the league; between 1985 and 1998 they were continuously in the top four of the K-League.

The club achieved a Korean football 'first' at the end of 1990 with the opening of their purpose-built 20,000 seater Steelyard Stadium.

1995 saw yet another name change, when the club became the Pohang Atoms. This name change was an attempt to further strengthen local ties with the region, and in 1997 they adopted their current name, the Pohang Steelers. The side scaled Asian football heights, winning the Asian Champions Cup in 1997 and 1998 to establish themselves as one of Asia's top teams.

Unfortunately, the club suffered something of a fall from grace in the 2000s, struggling near the foot of the table, but bounced back to the forefront of Korean football by winning the first stage of the 2004 K-League Championship. The club qualified for the final Championship match of the 2004 season, but lost 4–3 on penalties to Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

In 2007, the club won the Championship play-off by beating Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who finished in 1st place in the regular season of the K-

This page also has a version in other languages :  Пхохан Стилерс (russian)