2016 K League Challenge

Hyundai Oilbank
K League Challenge 2016
Season	2016
Champions	Ansan Mugunghwa; (1st title)
Promoted	Daegu FC ; Gangwon FC
Matches played	220
Goals scored	528 (2.4 per match)
Top goalscorer	Kim Dong-chan; (20 goals)
Biggest home win	Gyeongnam 7–0 Goyang (33R) & Chungju 8–1 Ansan (41R)
Biggest away win	Chungju 0–4 Busan (22R) & Goyang 0–4 Ansan (36R) & Ansan 0–4 Gangwon (43R)
Highest scoring	Chungju 8–1 Ansan (41R)
Highest attendance	23,015 ; Daegu v Gyeongnam ; (10 April)
Lowest attendance	124 ; Goyang v Gyeongnam ; (16 October)
Average attendance	1,506
	← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 K League Challenge was the fourth season of the K League Challenge, the second tier South Korean professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 2013. Top-ranked team (excluding Ansan Mugunghwa) gained promotion to the K League Classic and the promotion play-offs among three clubs ranked between 2nd and 4th place was held after the regular season ends.

Teams[]

Sangju Sangmu FC, the champions of the 2015 K League Challenge, and Suwon FC, promotion series winners, were promoted to the 2016 K League Classic, then Daejeon Citizen and Busan IPark were relegated from the top tier. A total of eleven teams contested in the league.

Participating clubs[]

Ansan

Daejeon

Location of teams in 2016 K League Challenge

Team	City	Manager	Home venue	Capacity
Ansan Mugunghwa	Ansan	Lee Heung-sil	Ansan Wa~ Stadium	35,000
Busan IPark	Busan	Choi Young-jun	Busan Asiad Stadium	53,864
FC Anyang	Anyang	Lee Young-min	Anyang Stadium	18,216
Bucheon FC 1995	Bucheon	Song Sun-ho	Bucheon Stadium	34,545
Chungju Hummel	Chungju	Ahn Seung-in	Chungju Stadium	15,000
Daegu FC	Daegu	Lee Young-jin	Daegu Stadium	68,014
Daejeon Citizen	Daejeon	Choi Moon-sik	Daejeon World Cup Stadium	40,535
Gangwon FC	Gangneung	Choi Yun-kyum	Gangneung Stadium	22,333
Goyang Zaicro	Goyang		Goyang Stadium	41,311
Gyeongnam FC	Changwon	Kim Jong-boo	Changwon Football Center	15,116
Seoul E-Land	Seoul	Martin Rennie	Seoul Olympic Stadium	69,950

Stadiums[]

Primary venues used in the K League Challenge:

Ansan Mugunghwa	FC Anyang	Bucheon FC 1995	Busan IPark	Chungju Hummel	Daegu FC
Ansan Wa~ Stadium	Anyang Stadium	Bucheon Stadium	Busan Asiad Main Stadium	Chungju Stadium	Daegu Stadium
Capacity: 35,000	Capacity: 17,143	Capacity: 34,545	Capacity: 53,864	Capacity: 15,000	Capacity: 68,014

Daejeon Citizen	Gangwon FC	Goyang Zaicro	Gyeongnam FC	Seoul E-Land
Daejeon World Cup Stadium	Gangneung Stadium	Goyang Stadium	Changwon Football Center	Seoul Olympic Stadium
Capacity: 40,535	Capacity: 22,333	Capacity: 41,311	Capacity: 15,500	Capacity: 69,950

Personnel and kits[]

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

Team	Kit Manufacturer¹	Main sponsor¹
Ansan Mugunghwa		Ansan Government
FC Anyang
Bucheon FC 1995		Bucheon Government
Busan IPark	Adidas	Hyundai Development Company
Chungju Hummel	Hummel	Chungju Government
Daegu FC	Kelme	Daegu Government
Daejeon Citizen	Kelme	Daejeon Government
Gyeongnam FC	Hummel	DSME
Gangwon FC		High1 Resort
Goyang Zaicro
Seoul E-Land	New Balance	E-Land

Foreign players[]

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.

As of 1 August 2016.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Asian Player
FC Anyang
Bucheon FC 1995	Edson Paraíba	Lukian	Waguininho
Busan IPark	Nilson Júnior	Willian Popp	Miloš Stojanović
Chungju Hummel	Aubin Kouakou		Rafael Ratão
Daegu FC	Alex	Cesinha	Paulo Sérgio	Éder¹
Daejeon Citizen	Gustavo	Jean-Claude Bozga
Gyeongnam FC	Ivan Herceg	Cristian Dănălache	Ivan Marković
Gangwon FC	Maranhão	Matheus Alves	Luiz Henrique	Serginho
Goyang Zaicro		Paulo Victor
Seoul E-Land	Tarabai	Carlyle Mitchell

^1 Éder owns Palestine citizenship and was counted as an Asian player in the K League.

League table[]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Ansan Mugunghwa (C)	40	21	7	12	57	55	+2	70
2	Daegu FC (P)	40	19	13	8	53	36	+17	70	Promotion to 2017 K League Classic
3	Bucheon FC 1995	40	19	10	11	49	33	+16	67	Qualification to K League Challenge play-offs
4	Gangwon FC (O, P)	40	19	9	12	50	33	+17	66
5	Busan IPark	40	19	7	14	52	39	+13	64
6	Seoul E-Land	40	17	13	10	47	35	+12	64
7	Daejeon Citizen	40	15	10	15	56	52	+4	55
8	Gyeongnam FC^[a]	40	18	6	16	61	58	+3	50
9	FC Anyang	40	11	13	16	40	53	−13	46
10	Chungju Hummel	40	7	8	25	42	62	−20	29	Club exit from K League Challenge and folded
11	Goyang Zaicro	40	2	10	28	21	72	−51	16	Club exit from K League Challenge and folded

Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted
Notes:

^ Gyeongnam FC were deducted 10 points due to bribery scandal.

Positions by matchday[]

Leader & Promotion to the 2017 K League Classic
Qualification to Relegation/promotion play-offs

Round 1-22[]

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Team ╲ Round
Ansan Police	1	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	1
Gangwon FC	9	9	6	4	3	3	2	2	2	3	4	2	1	1	2	2	1	2	3	3	2	2
Daegu FC	2	4	4	3	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	3
Bucheon FC 1995	7	6	7	7	5	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	3	4
Seoul E-Land	3	2	2	1	2	2	5	5	5	5	5	6	7	5	5	5	6	7	5	6	5	5
FC Anyang	3	3	5	6	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	6	7	6	5	6	6	7	7	6
Daejeon Citizen	10	10	10	10	10	9	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	8	8	7	7	5	7	5	6	7
Busan IPark	8	5	3	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	5	7	6	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Gyeongnam FC	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10	9	9	9
Chungju Hummel	3	7	8	8	8	8	9	10	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10
Goyang Zaicro	3	7	9	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11

Source: kleague.com

Round 23-44[]

Team ╲ Round	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44
Team ╲ Round
Ansan Police	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Daegu FC	3	3	2	3	3	2	4	4	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	4	2	3	2	2	2	2
Bucheon FC 1995	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	4	3	3	5	3
Gangwon FC	2	2	3	2	2	3	2	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	4	2	4	2	4	4	3	4
Busan IPark	8	9	9	9	9	8	9	9	7	7	8	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	5
Seoul E-Land	5	5	5	6	5	7	7	7	8	8	7	8	7	7	7	7	6	6	6	6	6	6
Daejeon Citizen	6	6	7	7	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7
Gyeongnam FC	9	8	8	8	8	9	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
FC Anyang	7	7	6	5	7	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	9	9
Chungju Hummel	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10
Goyang Zaicro	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

Source: kleague.com

Results[]

Matches 1-22[]

Home \ Away	ASM	ANY	BUC	BIP	CJH	DGU	DJC	GWN	GHI	GNM	SEL
Ansan Police		2–1	0–0	1–1	2–1	0–2	2–1	3–1	1–0	5–0	1–0
FC Anyang	1–0		0–1	1–0	2–1	3–2	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–0	2–1
Bucheon FC 1995	3–1	1–1		1–1	0–1	0–0	3–1	3–1	1–0	1–0	0–1
Busan IPark	1–3	3–1	0–2		2–1	1–4	0–0	0–0	2–0	1–1	1–2
Chungju Hummel	1–2	1–0	0–1	0–4		0–1	1–1	1–2	2–3	1–3	3–1
Daegu FC	1–2	1–1	1–1	1–0	2–1		2–1	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–0
Daejeon Citizen	0–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	3–1	0–2		0–1	0–0	3–1	2–1
Gangwon FC	2–0	4–1	0–2	0–1	2–0	1–0	1–0		4–0	0–0	2–1
Goyang Hi FC	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	2–4	1–3	0–1	0–1		1–2	0–3
Gyeongnam FC	0–1	2–0	0–2	3–2	2–1	2–1	4–4	1–0	2–1		0–1
Seoul E-Land	0–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–1

Updated to match(es) played on 20 August 2016. Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23-44[]

Home \ Away	ASM	ANY	BUC	BIP	CJH	DGU	DJC	GWN	GHI	GNM	SEL
Ansan Police		2–2	2–3	0–2	1–1	4–1	1–0	0–4	2–1	2–0	2–0
FC Anyang	2–3		2–2	0–1	0–0	0–1	1–0	0–0	3–2	1–2	3–1
Bucheon FC 1995	0–2	1–0		1–0	2–3	2–3	2–0	0–1	4–1	1–2	0–2
Busan IPark	4–0	2–0	2–1		0–0	0–2	3–0	2–1	2–0	2–3	1–1
Chungju Hummel	8–1	0–1	0–1	0–1		0–3	1–2	2–2	0–0	3–2	0–1
Daegu FC	2–2	1–1	0–0	0–1	1–0		1–0	1–3	1–0	1–2	0–1
Daejeon Citizen	5–0	3–2	0–0	2–1	2–2	1–1		1–0	3–0	3–1	2–3
Gangwon FC	1–0	3–0	0–1	1–2	2–1	1–1	1–2		0–0	1–1	1–0
Goyang Hi FC	0–4	0–1	0–3	0–1	1–0	0–1	1–2	0–1		2–3	0–2
Gyeongnam FC	1–2	2–0	0–1	1–3	2–0	1–2	4–3	2–0	7–0		1–1
Seoul E-Land	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–2	1–1	2–0

Updated to match(es) played on 30 October 2016. Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Promotion-Relegation Playoffs[]

Promotion and relegation playoffs will be held between 3rd~5th clubs of 2016 K League Challenge and 11th club of 2016 K League Classic. If scores are tied after regular time at Semi-Playoff and Playoff, the higher placed team advances to the next phase. The same conditions do not apply to Promotion-Relegation Playoffs.

Semi-Playoff			Playoff			Relegation/Promotion Playoffs

						1	Seongnam	0	1
			2	Bucheon	1	4	Gangwon (a)	0	1
3	Gangwon	1	4	Gangwon	2
4	Busan	0

Semi-Playoff[]

2 November 2016

19:00 KST

Gangwon FC	1–0	Busan IPark
Matheus 89'	Report

Gangneung Stadium, Gangneung

Attendance: 925

Referee: Ko Hyung-jin

Playoff[]

5 November 2016

14:00 KST

Bucheon FC 1995	1–2	Gangwon FC
Han Hee-hoon 50'	Report	Jung Seung-yong 17' Maranhão 90+3'

Bucheon Stadium, Bucheon

Attendance: 3,121

Referee:

Promotion-Relegation Playoffs[]

First leg[]

17 November 2016

19:00 KST

Gangwon FC	0–0	Seongnam FC
	Report

Gangneung Stadium, Gangneung

Attendance: 3,039

Referee: Kim Hee-gon

Second leg[]

20 November 2016

15:00 KST

Seongnam FC	1–1	Gangwon FC
Hwang Jin-sung 77'		Han Seok-jong 42'

Tancheon Stadium, Seongnam

Attendance: 6,548

Referee: Kim Seong-ho

Gangwon FC secure promotion to the 2016 K League Classic season, 1:1 on aggregate with away goals.

Season statistics[]

Top scorers[]

Rank	Scorer	Club	Goals
1	Kim Dong-chan	Daejeon Citizen	20
2	Cristian Dănălache	Gyeongnam FC	19
3	Willian Popp	Busan IPark	18
4	Paulo Sérgio	Daegu FC	17
5	Lukian	Bucheon FC 1995	15
6	Joo Min-kyu	Seoul E-Land	14
7	Kim Shin	Chungju Hummel	13
8	Tarabai	Seoul E-Land	12
9	Matheus Alves	Gangwon FC	11
	Cesinha	Daegu FC
	Kim Min-kyun	FC Anyang

Top assists[]

Rank	Scorer	Club	Assists
1	Lee Ho-seok	Gyeongnam FC	10
1	Jung Seok-hwa	Busan IPark	10
3	Cesinha	Daegu FC	8
3	Kim Dong-chan	Daejeon Citizen	8
5	Moon Ki-han	Bucheon FC 1995	7
6	Gustavo Sauer	Daejeon Citizen	6
	Song Soo-young	Gyeongnam FC
	Kim Shin	Chungju Hummel
	Jin Chang-soo	Bucheon FC 1995
	Lee Hyun-seung	Ansan Mugunghwa
	Han Ji-ho	Ansan Mugunghwa
	Cristian Dănălache	Gyeongnam FC

Attendance[]

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Daegu FC	54,246	23,015	369	2,712	−10.4%^†
2	Daejeon Citizen	50,797	18,082	955	2,540	−23.9%^†
3	Bucheon FC 1995	41,619	10,982	713	2,081	+22.6%^†
4	FC Anyang	36,530	9,145	521	1,827	+7.5%^†
5	Busan IPark	30,670	6,075	508	1,534	−38.5%^†
6	Seoul E-Land	26,218	3,060	508	1,311	−28.2%^†
7	Gyeongnam FC	24,003	4,610	307	1,200	−36.6%^†
8	Gangwon FC	21,328	3,042	518	1,066	−21.4%^†
9	Ansan Police	20,093	4,072	202	1,005	−39.6%^†
10	Chungju Hummel	18,871	3,118	388	944	−23.1%^†
11	Goyang Hi FC	7,054	897	124	353	−48.7%^†
	League total	331,429	23,015	124	1,506	−6.2%^†

Updated to games played on 30 October 2016
Source: K League
Notes:
Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.
^† Team played previous season in K League Classic.

Awards[]

Most Valuable Player of The Round[]

R	MVP	Club
1	Lim Sun-young	Ansan Mugunghwa
2	Jung Jae-yong	FC Anyang
3	Jo Hyeon-woo	Daegu FC
4	Jonatas Belusso	Seoul E-Land FC
5	Shim Young-sung	Gangwon FC
6	Lee Young-chang	Chungju Hummel
7	Park Tae-hong	Daegu FC
8	Jo Hyeon-woo	Daegu FC
9	Willian Popp	Busan IPark
10	Lukian	Bucheon FC 1995
11	Jung Jae-yong	FC Anyang
12	Jung Jae-yong	FC Anyang
13	Park Ji-min	Chungju Hummel
14	Jung Seung-yong	Gangwon FC
15	Éder	Daegu FC
16	Jang Baek-gyu	Chungju Hummel
17	Kim Min-kyun	FC Anyang
18	Wanderson	Daejeon Citizen
19	Jeong Woo-jae	Daegu FC
20	Gustavo	Daejeon Citizen
21	Cesinha	Daegu FC
22	Kim Min-kyun	FC Anyang

R	MVP	Club
23	Hwang In-beom	Daejeon Citizen
24	Song Soo-young	Gyeongnam FC
25	Cristian Dănălache	Gyeongnam FC
26	Jung Sung-min	Ansan Mugunghwa
27	Joo Min-kyu	Seoul E-Land FC
28	Ko Kyung-min	Busan IPark
29	Jung Seung-yong	Gangwon FC
30	Kim Dong-chan	Daejeon Citizen
31	Alex	Daegu FC
32	Han Ji-ho	Ansan Mugunghwa
33	Cristian Dănălache	Gyeongnam FC
34	Aubin Kouakou	Chungju Hummel
35	Willian Popp	Busan IPark
36	Lee Ho-seok	Gyeongnam FC
37	Cesinha	Daegu FC
38	Cristian Dănălache	Gyeongnam FC
39	Cesinha	Daegu FC
40	Joo Min-kyu	Seoul E-Land FC
41	Cristian Dănălache	Gyeongnam FC
42	Hong Dong-hyun	Busan IPark
43	Jung Seok-hwa	Busan IPark
44	Cesinha	Daegu FC

Manager of the Month[]

Month	Manager	Club	Division
March/April	Choi Yong-soo	FC Seoul	K League Classic
May	Nam Ki-il	Gwangju FC	K League Classic
June	Lee Heung-sil	Ansan Mugunghwa	K League Challenge
July	Choi Kang-hee	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	K League Classic
August	Choi Young-jun	Busan IPark	K League Challenge
September	Choi Yun-kyum	Gangwon FC	K League Challenge
October	Hwang Sun-hong	FC Seoul	K League Classic

Season Awards[]

The 2016 K League Awards was held on 8 November 2016.

K League Challenge Most Valuable Player[]

The K League Challenge Most Valuable Player award was won by Kim Dong-chan (Daejeon Citizen).

K League Challenge Top Scorer[]

The K League Challenge Top Scorer award was won by Kim Dong-chan (Daejeon Citizen).

K League Challenge Top Assistor[]

The K League Challenge Top Assistor award was won by Lee Ho-seok (Gyeongnam FC).

K League Challenge Best XI[]

Position	Player	Club
Goalkeeper	Jo Hyeon-woo	Daegu FC
Defender	Jeong Woo-jae	Daegu FC
Defender	Hwang Jae-won	Daegu FC
Defender	Lee Han-saem	Gangwon FC
Defender	Jung Seung-yong	Gangwon FC
Midfielder	Waguininho	Bucheon FC 1995
Midfielder	Lee Hyun-seung	Ansan Mugunghwa
Midfielder	Hwang In-beom	Daejeon Citizen
Midfielder	Cesinha	Daegu FC
Forward	Kim Dong-chan	Daejeon Citizen
Forward	Willian Popp	Busan IPark

K League Challenge Manager of the Year[]

The K League Challenge Manager of the Year award was won by Son Hyun-jun(caretaker) (Daegu FC).

References[]

2014 Season Review at K League Website (in Korean)

External links[]

Official K League Website (in Korean)

[table_note_GNM0.098399088298156-1] Gyeongnam FC were deducted 10 points due to bribery scandal.

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