Indian satta

Equally out of the blue was the $2.4 million that the club splashed on Kim Dong-hyun.

Still only 22, the striker has already played in four different countries, almost as many as the well-traveled Ahn Jung-hwan. His career started in Japan with Oita Trinita before he moved to the K-League and Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2004.

First team opportunities were Indian satta limited at the club and a year later, he was off to Braga in Portugal. The pattern continued in 2006 and the new year saw a new club in the shape of Russian outfit Rubin Kazan.

The big attacker made it back onto the national team for the experimental friendly against Ghana in October, in which he scored the Taeguk Warriors’ only goal in a 3-1 defeat.

With other players like Han Dong-won signing on the dotted line, Seongnam look well-equipped for the new season’s two-pronged campaign. Not only will the coach be looking for an eighth title, the club has some unfinished business in the Asian Champions League after being defeated in the finals in 2004.

Domestic matters come first, however, and there will be some fierce competition at the top.

Ulsan may have lost Choi to Seongnam but 2006 top scorer Woo Sung-young came the other way. The 33 year-old is one of a number of new arrivals at the south-eastern club.

Around $2 million was needed to bring Oh Jang-eun to Munsu Stadium.The midfielder starred in the second half of last season with Daegu FC and was rewarded with a place on the national team. He will be joined in the southeast by Hyun Young-min, who has returned to his homeland after a year in Russia with Zenit St. Petersburg.

In the southwest corner of the country, Chunnam Dragons have been shoring up its defense in preparation for a Champions League challenge. The Gwangyang club somehow persuaded Incheon United to part with defender Kim Chi-woo.

The 23-year-old made his international debut last year and will line up alongside national teammate Kim Jin-kyu, who brings his fierce shooting capabilities back to Jeolla Province from J-League club Jubilo Iwata.

It’s all shaping up nicely.