The K League 1 club Gwangju FC announced Wednesday they have handed head coach Lee Jung-hyo a three-year extension, rewarding him with their show of faith after the upstart team finished the 2023 season in third place. The new deal will keep Lee, 48, with Gwangju through 2027. His previous deal was set to expire at the end of the 2024 season.

Lee took Gwangju’s reins in December 2021 and led them to the championship in the second-tier K League 2 in 2022. Gwangju set a record for most points in the K League 2 with 86 and earned direct promotion to the K League 1 for 2023. Despite some pessimistic 스포츠 predictions that they’d be lucky to avoid relegation, Gwangju FC finished the 2023 season in third place with 59 points, thanks to a club-record 16 wins, 11 draws and 11 losses.

They finished two points ahead of the K League giants Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, who had been either first or second in every season from 2014 to 2022. Gwangju also earned a spot in the playoffs for the 2024-25 Asian Football Confederation Champions League Elite.

Lee was the runner-up in the K League 1 Coach of the Year voting, finishing behind Hong Myung-bo, who coached Ulsan Hyundai FC to their second straight title. Lee was voted the K League 2’s top coach in 2022. Lee has drawn comparisons with the famed tactician Jose Mourinho for his leadership and no-holds-barred interviews