German Werner Lorant was appointed as manager in September of that year, assisted by Chang Woe-ryong and Kim Si-seok.

[2] Sponsorship contracts worth a total of $4m were signed with GM Daewoo and Daeduk Construction Company, while Puma supplied the club's kits.

Lorant and his coaching staff recruited several high-profile players in a bid to make an impact on the league in the club's debut season in 2004.

Goalkeeper Shim Bum-chul was recruited along with talented youngsters Choi Tae-uk, Kim Chi-woo and popular Japanese playmaker Masakiyo Maezono.

The most high-profile of the imports was Turkish international defender Alpay Özalan, recruited from English Premier League side Aston Villa.

The club's first K-League match was a home encounter with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on 3 April 2004 which ended in a goalless draw.

Incheon faced first stage winners Busan I'Park in the semi-finals, defeating them by a 2–0 scoreline to set up a championship final against Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i.

Sung Kyung-mo replaced Kim in the Incheon goal for the second leg, and though United claimed a 2–1 victory they lost out on the title 6–3 on aggregate, but finished their second season in existence as K League runners-up.

Three months later, Incheon United appointed Huh Jung-moo, who had just led South Korea to the Round of 16 in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as their next manager.

[7] As a consequence, key players were forced out, such as Jung In-whan, Jeong Hyuk, Lee Kyu-ro, Han Kyo-won, Kim Nam-il and Ivo.

Incheon planned to appoint Lee Lim-saeng as their next manager, but he eventually refused to take the seat as he was concerned with the club's controversial sacking of Kim Bong-gil.

[citation needed] After the departure of Kim Do-hoon, former North Korean national team coach Jørn Andersen became Incheon's manager and debuted in the 15th round against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on 7 July 2018.

[11] However, their consecutive defeats to Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan left them unable to progress beyond the group stage.