2015 K League Challenge

The 2015 K League Challenge was the third season of the K League 2, the second-highest division in the South Korean football league system. Champions and winners of promotion playoffs could be promoted to the K League Classic.[1]

Hyundai Oilbank
K League Challenge
Season2015
ChampionsSangju Sangmu
(2nd title)
PromotedSangju Sangmu
Suwon FC
Matches played220
Goals scored593 (2.7 per match)
Best PlayerJohnathan
Top goalscorerJohnathan
(26 goals)
Biggest home winGangwon 4–0 Bucheon
(4 April 2015)
Seoul E 4-0 Chungju
(16 May 2015)
Sangju 4–0 Chungju
(13 June 2015)
Daegu 5–1 Sangju
(23 September 2015)
Biggest away winGoyang 0–5 Sangju
(13 May 2015)
Highest scoringGangwon 4–4 Seoul E
(22 November 2015)
Highest attendance20,157
Daegu 2–1 Gangwon
(29 March 2015)
Lowest attendance249
Goyang 1–0 Gangwon
(10 June 2015)
Average attendance1,606
2014
2016

Teams

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Team changes

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Relegated from K League Classic

Promoted to K League Classic

Newly joined

Stadiums

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Ansan Police FC Anyang Bucheon FC 1995
Ansan Wa~ Stadium Anyang Stadium Bucheon Stadium
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 17,143 Capacity: 34,545
     
Chungju Hummel Daegu FC Gangwon FC
Chungju Stadium Daegu Stadium Gangneung Stadium
Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 68,014 Capacity: 22,333
   
Goyang Hi FC Gyeongnam FC Sangju Sangmu
Goyang Stadium Changwon Football Center Sangju Stadium
Capacity: 41,311 Capacity: 15,500 Capacity: 15,042
     
Seoul E-Land Suwon FC
Seoul Olympic Stadium Suwon Stadium
Capacity: 69,950 Capacity: 24,670
 

Personnel and sponsoring

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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team Managers Kit manufacturer Main sponsor
Ansan Police   Lee Heung-sil Zaicro
FC Anyang   Lee Woo-hyung Zaicro KB Kookmin Bank
Bucheon FC 1995   Choi Jin-han Astore Bucheon Government
Chungju Hummel   Kim Jong-pil Hummel Chungju Government
Daegu FC   Lee Young-jin Kelme Daegu Government
Gyeongnam FC   Park Sung-hwa Hummel
Gangwon FC   Choi Yun-kyum Hummel
Goyang Hi FC   Lee Young-moo New Balance
Sangju Sangmu   Park Hang-seo Atemi
Seoul E-Land   Martin Rennie New Balance E-Land
Suwon FC   Cho Duck-je Hummel Suwon Government

Foreign players

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Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to four per team, including a slot for a player from AFC countries. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player
FC Anyang   Austin Berry
Bucheon FC 1995   Rodrigo Paraná   Almir   Lukian
Chungju Hummel   Marcinho
Daegu FC   Léo Jaime   Johnathan   Serginho   Éder Lima
Gyeongnam FC   Fauver   Miloš Stojanović   Imed Louati
Gangwon FC   Jonatas Belusso   Henan   Gil
Goyang Hi FC
Seoul E-Land   Carlyle Mitchell   Ryan Johnson   Tarabai   Robert Cullen
Suwon FC   Japa   Vladan Adžić   Sisi

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sangju Sangmu (C, P) 40 20 7 13 77 57 +20 67 Promotion to the K League Classic
2 Daegu FC 40 18 13 9 67 47 +20 67 Qualification for the promotion playoffs semi-final
3 Suwon FC (O, P) 40 18 11 11 64 54 +10 65 Qualification for the promotion playoffs first round
4 Seoul E-Land 40 16 13 11 69 58 +11 61
5 Bucheon FC 1995 40 15 10 15 43 45 −2 55
6 FC Anyang 40 13 15 12 53 52 +1 54
7 Gangwon FC 40 13 12 15 64 56 +8 51
8 Goyang Hi FC 40 13 10 17 46 68 −22 49
9 Gyeongnam FC 40 10 13 17 30 43 −13 43
10 Ansan Police 40 9 15 16 31 48 −17 42
11 Chungju Hummel 40 10 11 19 49 65 −16 41
Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Positions by matchday

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  Leaders
  Qualification for the promotion playoffs

Round 1–22

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Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Sangju Sangmu2411232321111111111111
Daegu FC9666411112344443332222
Seoul E-Land79101010107564432322223333
Suwon FC11833124233223234444444
Goyang Hi FC4722343445655555555555
Bucheon FC 19953598556888978998866876
Ansan Police5255778656566667678767
Chungju Hummel8101111111111101011101077899891088
Gyeongnam FC527788101111107810876797699
Gangwon FC1011899999991111911101010101091010
FC Anyang11446657778911101111111111111111
Source: K League

Round 23–44

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Team ╲ Round23242526272829303132333435363738394041424344
Sangju Sangmu1111111111112223222211
Daegu FC2333322222221111111122
Suwon FC4444444443343334344333
Seoul E-Land3222233334434442433444
Bucheon FC 19955555555555555555555555
FC Anyang111199788798888889776666
Gangwon FC9988997977777778988877
Goyang Hi FC6667666666666666667788
Gyeongnam FC101011111111111010101011101010101010101099
Ansan Police887687988999999789991010
Chungju Hummel771010101010111111111011111111111111111111
Source: K League

Results

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Matches 1–20

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Home \ Away ASM ANY BUC CJH DGU GWN GHI GNM SJS SEL SUW
Ansan Police 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–1 0–3 2–2 1–0
FC Anyang 0–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–2 0–0 1–5 0–1 3–0
Bucheon FC 1995 0–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 3–2 1–2 1–2 3–1 0–3 2–2
Chungju Hummel 3–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 3–1 0–1 0–0 3–3 1–2 0–2
Daegu FC 3–0 2–2 2–0 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–4
Gangwon FC 1–1 0–0 4–0 0–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 1–2 3–1 3–1
Goyang Hi FC 1–2 2–1 1–0 2–0 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–5 2–4 2–3
Gyeongnam FC 0–0 1–1 1–2 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–3 2–3 1–2
Sangju Sangmu 2–0 3–2 1–0 4–0 0–2 3–1 0–0 4–2 3–2 0–0
Seoul E-Land 2–2 1–1 0–0 4–0 1–1 2–4 2–0 1–1 2–3 2–0
Suwon FC 2–2 0–0 3–2 2–3 2–2 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 1–5
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 21–40

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Home \ Away ASM ANY BUC CJH DGU GWN GHI GNM SJS SEL SUW
Ansan Police 1–2 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 2–2 2–2 2–2 0–1 0–1
FC Anyang 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 1–2 3–0 2–0 2–1 3–4 3–2
Bucheon FC 1995 0–1 0–1 2–0 0–1 4–2 1–0 1–0 2–1 3–1 0–0
Chungju Hummel 0–0 2–2 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–2 4–1 1–3 1–3
Daegu FC 1–0 2–4 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–3 3–0 5–1 3–3 1–2
Gangwon FC 2–0 4–1 1–1 3–3 3–2 2–2 1–1 0–2 4–4 1–1
Goyang Hi FC 0–1 1–0 2–3 2–5 3–3 2–4 2–1 0–4 2–1 1–1
Gyeongnam FC 0–1 2–2 1–0 1–0 1–3 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0
Sangju Sangmu 3–0 1–2 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–3 4–1 1–0 1–1 2–5
Seoul E-Land 1–1 1–0 1–0 4–2 0–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 1–4
Suwon FC 2–1 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–2 3–2 0–0 3–1 1–0 3–1
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Promotion playoffs

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When the first round and semi-final match were finished as draws, their winners were decided on the regular season rankings without extra time and the penalty shoot-out.

Bracket

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First round Semi-final Final
           
2 Daegu FC 1
3 Suwon FC 2
3 Suwon FC 3
4 Seoul E-Land 3
Suwon FC 1 2 3
Busan IPark 0 0 0

First round

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Suwon FC3–3Seoul E-Land
Report
Attendance: 1,240
Referee: Ko Hyung-jin

Semi-final

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Daegu FC1–2Suwon FC
No Byung-jun   40' Report
Attendance: 1,824
Referee: Song Min-seok

Final

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The promotion-relegation playoffs were held between the winners of the 2015 K League Challenge playoffs and the 11th-placed club of the 2015 K League Classic. The winners on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2016 K League Classic.

Suwon FC1–0Busan IPark
Jung Min-woo   85' Report
Attendance: 2,347
Referee: Lee Dong-jun

Busan IPark0–2Suwon FC
Report
Attendance: 6,135
Referee: Woo Sang-il

Suwon FC won 3–0 on aggregate and were promoted to the K League Classic, while Busan IPark were relegated to the K League Challenge.

Player statistics

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Top scorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Johnathan Daegu FC 26
2   Joo Min-kyu Seoul E-Land 23
3   Japa Suwon FC 19
  Cho Seok-jae Chungju Hummel
5   Tarabai Seoul E-Land 17
6   Ko Kyung-min FC Anyang 16
7   Jonatas Belusso Gangwon FC 15
8   Lim Sang-hyub Sangju Sangmu 12
  Kim You-sung Goyang Hi FC
10   Choi Seung-in Gangwon FC 11
  Rodrigo Paraná Bucheon FC 1995

Top assist providers

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Rank Player Club Assists
1   Kim Jae-sung Seoul E-Land 11
2   Lim Chang-gyoon Gyeongnam FC 9
  Seo Bo-min Gangwon FC
  Moon Ki-han Daegu FC
5   Kim Jong-woo Suwon FC 8
6   Jang Baek-gyu Daegu FC 7
  Japa Suwon FC
  Choi Jin-soo FC Anyang
  Joo Min-kyu Seoul E-Land
10   Lee Jung-hyup Sangju Sangmu 6
  Han Sang-woon Sangju Sangmu
  Kim Young-keun Seoul E-Land
  Kwon Yong-hyun Suwon FC
  Lee Hak-min Bucheon FC 1995
  Jin Chang-soo Goyang Hi FC
  Johnathan Daegu FC

Attendance

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Attendants who entered with free ticket were not counted.

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Daegu FC 60,569 20,157 504 3,028 +213.5%
2 Gyeongnam FC 37,835 5,214 311 1,892 −58.3%
3 Seoul E-Land 36,510 4,342 680 1,826 n/a
4 FC Anyang 34,003 10,147 583 1,700 +8.1%
5 Bucheon FC 1995 33,943 12,332 511 1,697 +57.7%
6 Ansan Police 33,298 10,094 304 1,665 +178.4%
7 Gangwon FC 27,137 7,051 438 1,357 +34.6%
8 Suwon FC 27,106 5,688 420 1,355 +36.9%
9 Sangju Sangmu 24,692 4,244 512 1,235 −51.7%
10 Chungju Hummel 24,553 3,925 514 1,228 +58.7%
11 Goyang Hi FC 13,764 3,083 249 688 +17.8%
League total 353,410 20,157 249 1,606 +32.6%

Source: K League
Notes:
Team played previous season in K League Classic.

Awards

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The 2015 K League Awards was held on 1 December 2015.[2]

Main awards

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Best XI

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Position Player Club
Goalkeeper   Jo Hyeon-woo Daegu FC
Defenders   Park Jin-po Sangju Sangmu
  Shin Hyung-min Ansan Police
  Kang Min-soo Sangju Sangmu
  Lee Yong Sangju Sangmu
Midfielders   Ko Kyung-min FC Anyang
  Lee Seung-gi Sangju Sangmu
  Cho Won-hee Seoul E-Land
  Kim Jae-sung Seoul E-Land
Forwards   Johnathan Daegu FC
  Joo Min-kyu Seoul E-Land

Player of the Round

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Manager of the Month

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Month Manager Club Division
March   Nam Ki-il Gwangju FC K League Classic
April   Choi Kang-hee Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League Classic
May   Kim Hak-bum Seongnam FC K League Classic
June   Park Hang-seo Sangju Sangmu K League Challenge
July   Choi Kang-hee Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors K League Classic
August   Kim Hak-bum Seongnam FC K League Classic
September   Hwang Sun-hong Pohang Steelers K League Classic
October   Lee Young-jin Daegu FC K League Challenge
November   Cho Duck-je Suwon FC K League Challenge

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 2014년 K리그, 달라지는 점은? (in Korean). K League. 31 December 2014.
  2. ^ [K리그 어워즈] '킬러' 조나탄-주민규, 챌린지 베스트 11 선정 (in Korean). InterFootball. 1 December 2015.
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