2021 K League 2
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 27 February – 31 October 2021[1] |
| Champions | Gimcheon Sangmu (1st title) |
| Promoted | Gimcheon Sangmu |
| Champions League | Jeonnam Dragons(viaKorean FA Cup) |
| Matches played | 180 |
| Goals scored | 435 (2.42 per match) |
| Best Player | An Byong-jun |
| Top goalscorer | An Byong-jun (23 goals) |
←2020 2022→ | |
The2021 K League 2was the ninth season of theK League 2,the second-tier South Korean professionalfootballleague. The champions and the winners of the promotion play-offs could be promoted to theK League 1.
Teams
[edit]Team changes
[edit]Sangju Sangmu was renamedGimcheon Sangmuand moved its city toGimcheonbefore the season.
Relegated fromK League 1
- Sangju Sangmu (renamedGimcheon Sangmu)
- Busan IPark
Promoted toK League 1
Locations
[edit]
| Team | City/Province | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| Ansan Greeners | Ansan | Ansan |
| FC Anyang | Anyang | Anyang |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | Bucheon | Bucheon |
| Busan IPark | Busan | Busan |
| Chungnam Asan | Asan | Chungnam Asan |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Daejeon | Daejeon |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | Gimcheon | Gimcheon |
| Gyeongnam FC | Gyeongnam | Gyeongnam |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Jeonnam | Jeonnam |
| Seoul E-Land | Seoul | Seoul E |
Stadiums
[edit]| 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 | 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 sponsoring
[edit]| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Main sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ansan Greeners |  Kim Gil-sik
|
Kappa | AnsanGovernment |
| FC Anyang | Lee Woo-hyung
|
Joma | AnyangGovernment |
| Bucheon FC 1995 | Lee Young-min
|
Kappa | BucheonGovernment |
| Busan IPark |  Ricardo Peres
|
Adidas | HDC Group |
| Chungnam Asan | Park Dong-hyuk
|
Mizuno | AsanGovernment |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | Lee Min-sung
|
Astore | Hana Financial Group |
| Gimcheon Sangmu | Kim Tae-wan
|
Kelme | Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps GimcheonGovernment |
| Gyeongnam FC | Seol Ki-hyeon
|
Hummel | GyeongnamProvincial Government |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Jeon Kyung-jun
|
Puma | POSCO |
| Seoul E-Land | Chung Jung-yong
|
New Balance | E-Land |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined underFIFAeligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managerial changes
[edit]| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Incoming | Date | Table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busan IPark | Lee Ki-hyung(caretaker)
|
Caretaker | 25 November 2020 | Ricardo Peres
|
25 November 2020[2] | Pre-season |
Foreign players
[edit]Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player fromAFCandASEANcountries. A team could use four foreign players on the field each game.
Military-owned teamGimcheon Sangmuis not allowed to sign any foreign players.
North Korean playerAn Byong-junwas deemed as a native player in K League bySouth Korean nationality lawand passport.
Players inboldare players who join midway through the competition.[3]
League table
[edit]| 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 toK League 1 |
| 2 | FC Anyang | 36 | 17 | 11 | 8 | 51 | 37 | +14 | 62 | Qualification forpromotion play-offs semi-final |
| 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 36 | 17 | 7 | 12 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 58 | Qualification forpromotion play-offs first round |
| 4 | Jeonnam Dragons | 36 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 52 | Qualification forChampions League group stage andpromotion play-offs first round[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) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C)Champions
Notes:
- ^Qualified asKorean FA Cupchampions.
Positions by matchday
[edit]Leaders, promotion toK League 1
Qualification forpromotion play-offs semi-final
Qualification forpromotion play-offs first round
Results
[edit]Matches 1–18
[edit]Matches 19–36
[edit]Promotion play-offs
[edit]The first round was contested between the third and fourth-placed teams, and the runners-up directly advanced to the second round. When the first and second round matches were finished as draws, their winners were decided on the regular season rankings without extra time and penalty shoot-outs. The winners of the second round competed with eleven-placed team of theK League 1in the two-legged final for a K League 1 spot of the next season.
Bracket
[edit]| First round | Semi-final | Final | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | FC Anyang | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| 4 | Jeonnam Dragons | 0 | ||||||||||||||
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Gangwon FC | 0 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||
First round
[edit]Semi-final
[edit]| FC Anyang | 1–3 | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
|---|---|---|
Jonathan Moya 12' |
Report | Park Jin-sub32' Bruno Baio 69',85' |
Final
[edit]| Gangwon FC | 4–1 | Daejeon Hana Citizen |
|---|---|---|
|
Lee Jong-hyeon17' |
Gangwon FC won 4–2 on aggregate and therefore both clubs remain in their respective leagues.
Statistics
[edit]Top goalscorers
[edit]Top assist providers
[edit]| Rank | Player[4] | Club | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joo Hyeon-woo
|
FC Anyang | 8 |
| 2 |  Leandro Ribeiro
|
Seoul E-Land | 7 |
| 3 | Park Tae-jun
|
FC Anyang | 6 |
| Baek Sung-dong
|
Gyeongnam FC | ||
| Lee Sang-min
|
Ansan Greeners | ||
| 6 | Kim Seung-seob
|
Daejeon Hana Citizen | 5 |
| Lee Hyeon-sik
|
Daejeon Hana Citizen | ||
| 8 | 9 players | 4 | |
Awards
[edit]Weekly awards
[edit]Monthly awards
[edit]| Month | Manager of the Month | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Division | |
| March | Kim Sang-sik
|
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1 |
| April | Lee Woo-hyung
|
FC Anyang | 2 |
| May | Park Kun-ha
|
Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 1 |
| June | Kim Tae-wan
|
Gimcheon Sangmu | 2 |
| July | Jo Sung-hwan
|
Incheon United | 1 |
| August | Hong Myung-bo
|
Ulsan Hyundai | 1 |
| September | Lee Byung-keun
|
Daegu FC | 1 |
| October | Nam Ki-il
|
Jeju United | 1 |
| November | An Ik-soo
|
FC Seoul | 1 |
Annual awards
[edit]The 2021 K League Awards was held on 18 November 2021.
| Award | Winner | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  An Byong-jun
|
Busan IPark |
| Young Player of the Year | Kim In-kyun
|
Chungnam Asan |
| Top goalscorer | An Byong-jun
|
Busan IPark |
| Top assist provider | Joo Hyeon-woo
|
FC Anyang |
| Manager of the Year | Kim Tae-wan
|
Gimcheon Sangmu |
| Position | Best XI | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeeper | Gu Sung-yun(Gimcheon)
| |||
| Defenders | Choi Jun (Busan) |
Joo Hyeon-woo (Anyang) |
Jung Seung-hyun (Gimcheon) |
Seo Young-jae (Daejeon) |
| Midfielders |  Masatoshi Ishida(Daejeon) |
Park Jin-seop (Daejeon) |
Kim Hyeon-uk (Jeonnam) |
Kim Kyung-jung (Anyang) |
| Forwards |  Jonathan Moya(Anyang)
|
An Byong-jun(Busan)
| ||
Controversies
[edit]On 12 December 2021,Gangwon FCandDaejeon Hana Citizenfaced 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 atGangneung 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 ofincidents,occurring between the first and the second half. AfterHan Kook-younghad scored Gangwon's third goal in the 31st minute, theball boysaround 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 throwingplastic bottlesin 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. TheK Leagueadministration decided to open an official investigation on the controversial events.[5][6]
When asked to talk about the incidents, Gangwon's directorLee Young-pyooriginally dismissed them, pointing out that similar instances were already common inEuropean 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.[5]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'sCode of Ethicsfor fair play and respect.[5][7]
In the end, the league's administration decided to keep the final score unchanged: however, Gangwon FC was fined 30 millionSouth Korean Won(US$25,000) for the episodes of time wasting, whereas Daejeon Hana Citizen was fined 2 million South Korean Won (US$1,677) for their fans' behavior towards one of the ball boys.[5][6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^[공식발표] K리그2, 2월 27일 개막..경남vs안양으로 스타트(in Korean). InterFootball. 21 January 2021.Retrieved21 January2021.
- ^"OFFICIAL | Busan IPark have appointed ex-Casa Pia manager Ricardo Peres as a new manager of the team".Twitter.com.Korea Football News. 25 November 2020.Retrieved24 January2021.
- ^"2021 K League 2 Foreign Players"(in Korean). K League. February 2022. Archived fromthe originalon 19 December 2021.
- ^ab"Record".K League. Archived fromthe originalon 16 April 2019.Retrieved21 January2021.
- ^abcdNeat, Paul (21 December 2021)."Gangwon FC fined for Playoff Final" ballboy controversy "".K League United.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2021.Retrieved21 December2021.
- ^abLee, Seok-moo (21 December 2021).'볼보이 고의 지연 논란' 강원FC, 제재금 3천만원... "구단 책임 커".Naver(in Korean). Edaily.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2021.Retrieved21 December2021.
- ^Kim, Myeong-seok (21 December 2021)."강원 볼보이 논란, 누군가 지시 없이는 불가능" 대전, 철저한 진상조사 요구.Naver(in Korean). Starnews Korea.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2021.Retrieved21 December2021.