2021 K League 2
Season | 2021 |
---|---|
Dates | 27 February – 31 October 2021 |
Champions | Gimcheon Sangmu |
Promoted | Gimcheon Sangmu |
Champions League | Jeonnam Dragons (as 2021 Korean FA Cup winners) |
Matches played | 180 |
Goals scored | 435 (2.42 per match) |
Top goalscorer | An Byong-jun (23 goals) |
← 2020 2022 → |
The 2021 K League 2 was the ninth season of the K League 2, the second-tier South Korean professional league for association football clubs since its establishment in 2013, and the fourth one with its current name, the K League 2. The top-ranked team and the winner of the promotion-relegation play-off got promoted to the 2022 K League 1.
On 21 January 2021, the Korean Professional Football Union confirmed that the 2021 season of K League 2 will begin on 27 February 2021 with 36 regular season matches per team.[1]
Teams[]
New Team[]
Sangju Sangmu was renamed to Gimcheon Sangmu and was relegated to K League 2 and moved to Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang, South Korea ahead for 2021 season after the club was dissolved in the 2020 season.
Team | City | Home venue |
---|---|---|
Ansan Greeners | Ansan | Ansan Wa~ Stadium |
FC Anyang | Anyang | Anyang Stadium |
Bucheon FC 1995 | Bucheon | Bucheon Stadium |
Busan IPark | Busan | Busan Gudeok Stadium |
Chungnam Asan | Asan | Yi Sun-sin Stadium |
Daejeon Hana Citizen | Daejeon | Daejeon World Cup Stadium |
Gimcheon Sangmu | Gimcheon | Gimcheon Stadium |
Gyeongnam FC | Gyeongnam | Changwon Football Center |
Jeonnam Dragons | Jeonnam | Gwangyang Stadium |
Seoul E-Land | Seoul | Seoul Olympic Stadium |
Stadiums[]
Ansan Greeners | FC Anyang | Bucheon FC 1995 | Busan IPark | Chungnam Asan |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ansan Wa~ Stadium | Anyang Stadium | Bucheon Stadium | Busan Gudeok Stadium | Yi Sun-sin Stadium |
Capacity: 35,000 | Capacity: 17,143 | Capacity: 34,456 | Capacity: 12,349 | Capacity: 17,376 |
Daejeon Hana Citizen | Gimcheon Sangmu FC | Gyeongnam FC | Jeonnam Dragons | Seoul E-Land |
Daejeon World Cup Stadium | Gimcheon Stadium | Changwon Football Center | Gwangyang Stadium | Seoul Olympic Stadium |
Capacity: 40,535 | Capacity: 25,000 | Capacity: 15,074 | Capacity: 13,496 | 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 | Manager | Kit manufacturer1 | Main sponsor1 |
---|---|---|---|
Ansan Greeners | Kim Gil-sik | Kappa | Ansan Government |
FC Anyang | Lee Woo-hyung | Joma | Anyang Government |
Bucheon FC 1995 | Lee Young-min | Kappa | Bucheon Government |
Busan IPark | Ricardo Peres | Adidas | HDC Group |
Chungnam Asan | Park Dong-hyuk | Mizuno | |
Daejeon Hana Citizen | Lee Min-sung | Astore | Hana Financial Group |
Gimcheon Sangmu | Kim Tae-wan | Kelme | |
Gyeongnam FC | Seol Ki-Hyeon | Hummel | Nonghyup |
Jeonnam Dragons | Jeon Kyung-jun | Puma | POSCO |
Seoul E-Land | Chung Jung-yong | New Balance | E-Land |
Managerial changes[]
Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Busan IPark | Lee Ki-Hyung | End of caretaker spell | November 25, 2020 | Ricardo Peres | November 25, 2020[2] |
Foreign players[]
Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player from AFC and ASEAN countries. Gimcheon Sangmu FC, being a military-owned team, is not allowed to sign any foreign players. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game. Players in bold are players who join midway through the competition. An Byong-jun, playing for Busan IPark,[3] was deemed to be a native player.
- As of March 10, 2021[4]
Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player | ASEAN Player | Former Players |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ansan Greeners | Santiago De Sagastizabal | Anderson Canhoto | Róbson | Go Iwase | Asnawi Mangkualam | |
FC Anyang | Nilson Júnior | Jonathan Moya | Maxwell Acosty | Ryosuke Tamura | ||
Bucheon FC 1995 | Crislan | Wataru Murofushi | ||||
Busan IPark | Domagoj Drožđek | Valentinos Sielis | Renato Santos | Ryan Edwards | ||
Chungnam Asan | Matheus Alves | Ryohei Michibuchi | ||||
Daejeon Hana Citizen | Bruno Baio | Matheus Pato | Masatoshi Ishida | Ikromjon Alibaev | Edinho | |
Gyeongnam FC | Hernandes | Willyan | ||||
Jeonnam Dragons | Alex | Jonathan Balotelli | Samuel Nnamani | Oleg Zoteyev | ||
Seoul E-Land | Nicolás Benegas | William Barbio | Leandro | Yuki Kobayashi |
League table[]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gimcheon Sangmu (C) | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 60 | 34 | +26 | 71 | Promotion to 2022 K League 1 |
2 | FC Anyang | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 62 | Qualification to K League 2 Playoff |
3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 58 | Qualification to K League 2 Semi-playoff |
4 | Jeonnam Dragons | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 52 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage and K League 2 Semi-playoff[a] |
5 | Busan IPark | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 46 | 56 | −10 | 45 | |
6 | Gyeongnam FC | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 43 | |
7 | Ansan Greeners | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 37 | 49 | −12 | 43 | |
8 | Chungnam Asan | 36 | 11 | 8 | 17 | 38 | 41 | −3 | 41 | |
9 | Seoul E-Land | 36 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 40 | 39 | +1 | 37 | |
10 | Bucheon FC 1995 | 36 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 53 | −21 | 37 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champion
Notes:
- ^ Qualified as 2021 Korean FA Cup winners
Positions by matchday[]
Leader & Promotion to the 2022 K League 1
Qualification to Relegation/promotion play-offs
Results[]
Matches 1–18[]
Matches 19–36[]
Promotion-relegation playoffs[]
The Semi-playoff is contested between the 3rd and 4th placed teams in the K League 2. The winners advance to the Playoff to face the 2nd placed team in the K League 2, and the winners advance to the Promotion-relegation playoffs to match against the 11th placed team in the K League 1. The winners of that tie secure a place in the 2022 K League 1.
If scores are tied after regular time in the Semi-playoff and Playoff rounds, the higher-placed team will advance to the next phase. The same conditions do not apply for the Promotion-relegation playoffs, which are held instead over two legs.
Semi-playoff | Playoff | Promotion-relegation Playoffs | |||||||||||||
K1 (11) | Gangwon FC | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||
K2 (2) | FC Anyang | 1 | K2 (3) | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
K2 (3) | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 0 | K2 (3) | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | ||||||||||
K2 (4) | Jeonnam Dragons | 0 |
Semi-playoff[]
Playoff[]
FC Anyang | 1–3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
---|---|---|
Jonathan Moya 12' | Report | Park Jin-sub 32' Bruno Baio 69', 85' |
Promotion-relegation playoffs[]
The Promotion-relegation play-offs were contested between the winners of K League 2 play-offs and the 11th placed team in K League 1.
Gangwon FC won 4–2 on aggregate, to secure a place in the 2022 K League 1 season.
8 December 2021 First leg | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 1–0 | Gangwon FC | Hanbat Sports Complex, Daejeon |
19:00 KST | Lee Hyeon-sik 51' |
12 December 2021 Second leg | Gangwon FC | 4–1 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | Gangneung Stadium, Gangneung |
14:00 KST | Lee Ji-sol 26' (o.g.) Lim Chae-min 28' Han Kook-young 31' Hwang Mun-ki 90+3' |
17' |
Season statistics[]
Top scorers[]
|
Top assists[]
|
|
Awards[]
Most Valuable Player of the Round[]
Season Awards[]
The 2021 K League Awards was held on 18 November 2021.
K League 2 Most Valuable Player[]
- The K League 2 Most Valuable Player award was won by An Byong-jun (Busan IPark).
K League 2 Young Player[]
- The K League 2 Young Player award was won by (Chungnam Asan).
K League 2 Top Scorer[]
- The K League 2 Top Scorer award was won by An Byong-jun (Busan IPark).
K League 2 Top Assistor[]
- The K League 2 Top Assistor award was won by Joo Hyeon-woo (FC Anyang).
K League 2 Best XI[]
2021 K League 1 Best XI |
Position | Player | Club |
---|---|---|
Goalkeeper | Gu Sung-yun | Gimcheon Sangmu |
Defender | Seo Young-jae | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
Defender | Jung Seung-hyun | Gimcheon Sangmu |
Defender | Joo Hyeon-woo | FC Anyang |
Defender | Choi Jun | Busan IPark |
Midfielder | Kim Kyung-jung | FC Anyang |
Midfielder | Kim Hyeon-uk | Jeonnam Dragons |
Midfielder | Masatoshi Ishida | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
Midfielder | Park Jin-sub | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
Forward | An Byong-jun | Busan IPark |
Forward | Jonathan Moya | FC Anyang |
K League Manager of the Year[]
- The K League Manager of the Year award was won by Kim Tae-wan (Gimcheon Sangmu).
Controversies[]
On December 12, 2021, Gangwon FC and Daejeon Hana Citizen faced one another in the second leg of the Promotion-relegation play-offs, with the latter team finding himself in advantage after winning the first leg 1–0. Played at Gangneung Stadium, Gangwon's home soil, the match saw the hosts secure a 4-1 comeback victory and maintain their spot in K League 1. However, the game was marred by a series of incidents, occurring between the first and the second half. After Han Kook-young had scored Gangwon's third goal in the 31st minute, the ball boys around the stadium reportedly started to delay giving the ball back to Daejeon players, an event that happened multiple times during the match and was possibly meant to waste time in favour of the hosts: the fans in the away sector reacted furiously, with some of them throwing plastic bottles in direction of one of the ball boys. The game still went ahead, as six minutes of extra time were added at the end of the second half. The K League administration decided to open an official investigation on the controversial events.[6][7]
When asked to talk about the incidents, Gangwon's director Lee Young-pyo originally dismissed them, pointing out that similar instances were already common in European football, but later apologized, saying that he felt "direct responsibility" for the "unsmooth match" and promising that he would work so that Gangwon FC would become "a mature club" in the future.[6] Meanwhile, on December 21, just hours before K League's final disciplinary meeting took place, the Daejeon board released an official response to the matter, stating that there was "clear evidence of the game delays being intentional and organized", as well as noticing that such acts violated the league's Code of Ethics for fair play and respect.[6][8]
In the end, the league's administration decided to keep the final score unchanged: however, Gangwon FC was fined 30 million Korean Won ($25,000) for the episodes of time wasting, whereas Daejeon Hana Citizen was fined 2 million Korean Won ($1,677) for their fans' behavior towards one of the ball boys.[6][7]
See also[]
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ "[공식발표] K리그2, 2월 27일 개막..경남vs안양으로 스타트" (in Korean). InterFootball. 2021-01-21. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ^ "OFFICIAL | Busan IPark have appointed ex-Casa Pia manager Ricardo Peres as a new manager of the team". Twitter. November 25, 2020. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Wilde, Todd (January 22, 2021). "Busan IPark have announced the signing of K League 2 MVP and 2020 top scorer Ahn Byung-jun. The North Korean international signs from Suwon FC". Twitter. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "2021 K League 2 Foreign Players".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)[permanent dead link] - ^ a b "K LEAGUE / Record". Archived from the original on 2019-04-16. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
- ^ a b c d Neat, Paul (2021-12-21). "Gangwon FC fined for Playoff Final "ballboy controversy"". K League United. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b 이석무 (2021-12-21). "'볼보이 고의 지연 논란' 강원FC, 제재금 3천만원..."구단 책임 커"". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-12-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ 기자, 김명석 (2021-12-21). ""강원 볼보이 논란, 누군가 지시 없이는 불가능" 대전, 철저한 진상조사 요구". sports.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2021-12-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links[]
- K League 2 seasons
- 2021 in South Korean football
- 2021 in Asian second tier association football leagues