2015 K League Challenge

The 2015 K League Challenge was the third season of the K League Challenge, the second tier South Korean professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 2013. From the 2014 season, a top place team was promoted to the K League Classic and the promotion play-offs among three clubs ranked between 2nd and 4th took place after the regular season ends.[1]

Hyundai Oilbank
K League Challenge 2015
Season2015
ChampionsSangju Sangmu
(2nd title)
PromotedSangju Sangmu
Suwon FC
Matches played220
Goals scored593 (2.7 per match)
Top goalscorerJohnathan
(26 goals)
Biggest home winGangwon 4–0 Bucheon (R3) & Seoul E 4-0 Chungju (R10)
Biggest away winGoyang 0–5 Sangju (R9)
Highest scoringAnyang 3–4 Seoul E (R36)
Highest attendance20,157
Daegu v Gangwon
(29 March)
Lowest attendance249
Goyang v Gangwon
(10 June)
Average attendance1,606
← 2014
2016 →

Teams

Daejeon Citizen, the champions of the 2014 K League Challenge, and Gwangju FC, a promotion series winners, were promoted to 2015 K League Classic, then Gyeongnam FC and Sangju Sangmu were relegated from the top tier. A total of eleven teams contested the league, including a new team Seoul E-Land FC.

Participating clubs
Location of teams in 2015 K League Challenge
Team City Manager Home venue Capacity
Ansan Police Ansan Lee Heung-sil Ansan Wa~ Stadium 35,000
FC Anyang Anyang Lee Woo-hyung Anyang Stadium 18,216
Bucheon FC 1995 Bucheon Choi Jin-han Bucheon Stadium 34,545
Chungju Hummel Chungju Kim Jong-pil Chungju Stadium 15,000
Daegu FC Daegu Lee Young-jin Daegu Stadium 68,014
Gangwon FC Gangneung Choi Yun-kyum Gangneung Stadium 22,333
Goyang Hi FC Goyang Lee Young-moo Goyang Stadium 41,311
Gyeongnam FC Changwon Park Sung-hwa Changwon Football Center 15,500
Sangju Sangmu Sangju Park Hang-seo Sangju Civic Stadium 15,042
Seoul E-Land Seoul Martin Rennie Seoul Olympic Stadium 69,950
Suwon FC Suwon Cho Duck-je Suwon Stadium 24,670

Stadiums

Primary venues used in the K League Challenge:

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

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 Managers Kit Manufacturer1 Main sponsor1
Ansan Police Zaicro
FC Anyang Zaicro KB Kookmin Bank
Bucheon FC 1995 Astore Bucheon Government
Chungju Hummel Hummel Chungju Government
Daegu FC Kelme Daegu Government
Gyeongnam FC Hummel
Gangwon FC Hummel
Goyang Hi FC New Balance
Sangju Sangmu Atemi
Seoul E-Land New Balance E-Land
Suwon FC Hummel Suwon Government

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.

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
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
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 2016 K League Classic
2 Daegu FC 40 18 13 9 67 47 +20 67 Qualification to K League Challenge play-offs
3 Suwon FC (O, P) 40 18 11 11 64 54 +10 65
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
Updated to match(es) played on 22 November 2015. Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted

Positions by matchday

  Leader & Promotion to the 2016 K League Classic
  Qualification to Relegation/promotion play-offs

Round 1-22
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: kleague.com

Round 23-44
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: kleague.com

Results

Matches 23-44
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
Updated to match(es) played on 22 November 2015. 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 2nd~4th clubs of 2015 K League Challenge and 11th club of 2015 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 Busan 0 0
    2 Daegu 1     3 Suwon FC 1 2
  3 Suwon FC 3     3 Suwon FC 2  
  4 Seoul E-Land 3  

Semi-Playoff
Suwon FC3–3Seoul E-Land FC
Japa 20'
Lim Seong-taek 45+2'
Kim Young-kwang 55' (o.g.)		 Report Tarabai 33' (pen.)
Yoon Sung-yeul 43'
Jeon Min-gwang 52'
Attendance: 1,240
Referee: Ko Hyung-jin

Playoff
Daegu FC1–2Suwon FC
No Byung-jun 40' Report Bae Shin-young 19'
Japa 79'
Attendance: 1,824
Referee: Song Min-seok

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

Second leg
Busan IPark0–2Suwon FC
Report Lim Seong-taek 80'
Japa 90+4'
Attendance: 6,135
Referee: Woo Sang-il

Suwon FC secure promotion to the 2016 K League Classic season, 3–0 on aggregate.

Season statistics

Attendance
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%†

Updated to games played on 22 November 2015
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

Manager of the Month
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

Season Awards

The 2015 K League Awards was held on 1 December 2015.

K League Challenge Most Valuable Player

K League Challenge Top Scorer

K League Challenge Top Assistor

K League Challenge Best XI
Position Player Club
Goalkeeper Jo Hyeon-woo Daegu FC
Defender Park Jin-po Sangju Sangmu
Defender Shin Hyung-min Ansan Police
Defender Kang Min-soo Sangju Sangmu
Defender Lee Yong Sangju Sangmu
Midfielder Ko Kyung-min FC Anyang
Midfielder Lee Seung-gi Sangju Sangmu
Midfielder Cho Won-Hee Seoul E-Land
Midfielder Kim Jae-sung Seoul E-Land
Forward Johnathan Daegu FC
Forward Joo Min-kyu Seoul E-Land

K League Challenge Manager of the Year

References
  1. "2014년 K리그, 달라지는 점은?" (in Korean). K League. 31 December 2014.
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