2020 K League 1

Hana 1Q
K League 1
Season2020
Dates8 May – 1 November 2020
ChampionsJeonbuk Hyundai Motors
(8th title)
RelegatedSangju Sangmu
Busan IPark
Champions LeagueJeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Ulsan Hyundai
Pohang Steelers
Daegu FC
Matches played162
Goals scored425 (2.62 per match)
Best PlayerSon Jun-ho
Top goalscorerJúnior Negrão
(26 goals)
Biggest home winDaegu 6–0 Seoul
(14 June 2020)
Biggest away winSeongnam 0–6 Incheon
(27 September 2020)
Highest scoringDaegu 4–6 Gwangju
(30 August 2020)
Longest winning run5 matches
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Ulsan Hyundai
Longest unbeaten run11 matches
Ulsan Hyundai
Longest winless run15 matches
Incheon United
Longest losing run8 matches
Incheon United
← 2019
2021 →

The 2020 K League 1 was the 38th season of the top division of professional football in South Korea, and the eighth season of the K League 1. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors won their eighth title, becoming the most successful K League club which had the most titles.[1]

The regular season was scheduled to begin on 29 February and to end on 4 October,[2] but was postponed until 8 May due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3][4][5]

On 24 April 2020, the K League Federation confirmed that they would adopt a modified plan for the season, reducing the number of matchdays to 27 including five matchdays of each divided final league.

Sangju Sangmu and the lowest-placed team at the end of the season were relegated to the K League 2 for the 2021 season.[6]

In this season, one additional spot for players from ASEAN countries was added regardless of the "3+1" foreign players rule.[7][8]

Teams

Team changes

Relegated to K League 2

Promoted from K League 2

Locations

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2020 K League 1 teams[9]

The following twelve teams competed in the 2020 K League 1.[10]

Team City/Province
Busan IPark Busan
Daegu FC Daegu
Gangwon FC Gangwon
Gwangju FC Gwangju
Incheon United Incheon
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk
Pohang Steelers Pohang
Sangju Sangmu Sangju
Seongnam FC Seongnam
FC Seoul Seoul
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Suwon
Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan

Stadiums

Busan IPark Daegu FC Incheon United
Busan Gudeok Stadium DGB Daegu Bank Park Incheon Football Stadium
Capacity: 12,349 Capacity: 12,415 Capacity: 20,891
Pohang Steelers Sangju Sangmu Seongnam FC
Pohang Steel Yard Sangju Civic Stadium Tancheon Stadium
Capacity: 17,443 Capacity: 15,042 Capacity: 16,146
FC Seoul Suwon Samsung Bluewings Ulsan Hyundai
Seoul World Cup Stadium Suwon World Cup Stadium Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Capacity: 66,704 Capacity: 44,031 Capacity: 44,102
Gwangju FC Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Gwangju World Cup Stadium Gwangju Football Stadium Jeonju World Cup Stadium
Capacity: 40,245 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 42,477
Gangwon FC
Chuncheon Songam Leports Town Gangneung Stadium
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 22,333

Personnel and sponsoring

Team Manager Main sponsor Kit manufacturer Other sponsor(s)
Busan IPark South Korea Lee Ki-hyung (caretaker) Hyundai Development Company Adidas
Daegu FC South Korea Lee Byung-keun (caretaker) Daegu Government Forward DGB Daegu Bank
AJIN Industrial Co., Ltd.
Gangwon FC South Korea Kim Byung-soo Gangwon Provincial Government Applerind Kangwon Land
Gwangju FC South Korea Park Jin-sub Gwangju Government Kelme
Incheon United South Korea Jo Sung-hwan Incheon Government Macron Shinhan Bank
Incheon International Airport
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Portugal José Morais Hyundai Motor Company Hummel
Pohang Steelers South Korea Kim Gi-dong POSCO Astore Pohang Government
Sangju Sangmu South Korea Kim Tae-wan Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps Kelme
Seongnam FC South Korea Kim Nam-il Seongnam Government Umbro
FC Seoul South Korea Park Hyuk-soon (caretaker) GS Group Le Coq Sportif
Suwon Samsung Bluewings South Korea Park Kun-ha Cheil Worldwide Puma Samsung Electronics
Ulsan Hyundai South Korea Kim Do-hoon Hyundai Heavy Industries Hummel Hyundai Oil Bank

Foreign players

Restricting the number of foreign players strictly to five per team, including a slot for a player from the Asian Football Confederation countries and a slot for a player from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A team could use five foreign players on the field each game, including at least one player from the AFC confederation.

Players in bold were registered during the mid-season transfer window.

Team Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC player ASEAN player[a] Former player(s)
Busan IPark Brazil Vintecinco Brazil Rômulo Uzbekistan Dostonbek Tursunov Brazil Reis
Daegu FC Brazil Césinha Brazil Edgar Montenegro Dejan Damjanović Japan Tsubasa Nishi
Gangwon FC Japan Takahiro Nakazato
Gwangju FC Brazil Felipe Brazil Willyan Costa Rica Marco Ureña Uzbekistan Rustam Ashurmatov
Incheon United Montenegro Stefan Mugoša Costa Rica Elías Aguilar Brazil Gustavo Australia Rashid Mahazi Nigeria Lanre Kehinde
Bosnia and Herzegovina Gordan Bunoza
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Brazil Murilo The Gambia Modou Barrow Brazil Gustavo Japan Takahiro Kunimoto South Africa Lars Veldwijk
Pohang Steelers Colombia Manuel Palacios Russia Stanislav Iljutcenko Serbia Aleksandar Paločević Australia Brandon O’Neill
Seongnam FC Croatia Igor Jovanović Croatia Tomislav Kiš Uzbekistan Jamshid Iskanderov
FC Seoul Brazil Adriano Spain Osmar Uzbekistan Ikromjon Alibaev Serbia Aleksandar Pešić
Suwon Samsung Bluewings Canada Doneil Henry Australia Terry Antonis Australia Adam Taggart Bosnia and Herzegovina Sulejman Krpić
Ulsan Hyundai Brazil Júnior Negrão Netherlands Dave Bulthuis Norway Bjørn Maars Johnsen Australia Jason Davidson
  1. ^ Did not exist in the regulation of AFC.

League table

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C) 27 19 3 5 46 21 +25 60 Qualification for Champions League group stage
2 Ulsan Hyundai 27 17 6 4 54 23 +31 57
3 Pohang Steelers 27 15 5 7 56 35 +21 50
4 Sangju Sangmu[b] (R) 27 13 5 9 34 36 −2 44 Relegation to K League 2
5 Daegu FC 27 10 8 9 43 39 +4 38 Qualification for Champions League group stage
6 Gwangju FC 27 6 7 14 32 46 −14 25
7 Gangwon FC 27 9 7 11 36 41 −5 34
8 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 27 8 7 12 27 30 −3 31
9 FC Seoul 27 8 5 14 23 44 −21 29
10 Seongnam FC 27 7 7 13 24 37 −13 28
11 Incheon United 27 7 6 14 25 35 −10 27
12 Busan IPark (R) 27 5 10 12 25 38 −13 25 Relegation to K League 2
Source: K League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference; 4) Wins; 5) Head-to-head points
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams are split into two groups (Final A and Final B) after each have played 22 matches.
  2. ^ Sangju Sangmu were a military team and were not eligible to represent South Korea in the AFC club competitions. Additionally, they were relegated to K League 2 regardless of their final position by moving their stronghold the next season.

Positions by matchday

  Leaders
  Qualification for Champions League group stage
  Relegation to K League 2

Round 1–22

Team ╲ Round12345678910111213141516171819202122
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors5211111111222222222222
Ulsan Hyundai1122222222111111111111
Pohang Steelers3364645555443544544443
Sangju Sangmu12746564333334433333334
Daegu FC6889856444555355455555
Gwangju FC11121212108777891010810101077786
Gangwon FC2575333667666678866968
Suwon Samsung Bluewings910108910881010899101111111111111111
FC Seoul8637791011991011111186689677
Seongnam FC4453479981111889679108899
Incheon United79911121212121212121212121212121212121212
Busan IPark10111110111111101167777997910101010
Source: K League

Round 23–27

The league was divided into two groups, the top six and the bottom six, after the 22nd matchday.

Source: K League

Results

Matches 1–22

Home \ Away BSI DGU GWN GJU ICU JHM PHS SJS SFC SEO SSB USH
Busan IPark — 2–2 1–2 0–0 0–0 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–2
Daegu FC 3–0 — 2–1 4–6 0–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 3–2 6–0 3–1 1–3
Gangwon FC 2–4 0–0 — 4–1 2–3 1–0 0–3 2–2 1–1 3–1 1–2 0–3
Gwangju FC 3–1 2–4 2–2 — 2–1 3–3 0–2 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–1 1–1
Incheon United 0–1 0–0 1–2 1–3 — 1–1 1–4 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–0 0–1
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 2–0 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 — 2–1 2–1 2–2 3–0 1–0 2–1
Pohang Steelers 2–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–2 — 4–3 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–4
Sangju Sangmu 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–0 3–1 1–0 2–4 — 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–5
Seongnam FC 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–2 0–0 2–0 0–4 0–1 — 1–2 0–2 1–2
FC Seoul 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–4 1–3 2–1 0–1 — 2–1 0–2
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–1 0–1 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–3 0–0 0–1 0–1 3–3 — 2–3
Ulsan Hyundai 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 4–1 0–2 2–0 4–0 1–0 3–0 0–0 —
Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–27

Statistics

Top goalscorers

Rank Player[11] Club Goals
1 Brazil Júnior Negrão Ulsan Hyundai 26
2 Russia Stanislav Iljutcenko Pohang Steelers 19
3 Brazil Cesinha Daegu FC 18
4 Serbia Aleksandar Paločević Pohang Steelers 14
5 Montenegro Stefan Mugoša Incheon United 12
Brazil Felipe Gwangju FC
7 South Korea Han Kyo-won Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 11
8 South Korea Song Min-kyu Pohang Steelers 10
9 Montenegro Dejan Damjanović Daegu FC 9
Australia Adam Taggart Suwon Samsung Bluewings
South Korea Ko Moo-yeol Gangwon FC

Top assist providers

Rank Player[11] Club Assists
1 South Korea Kang Sang-woo Sangju Sangmu
Pohang Steelers 		12
2 South Korea Jeong Seung-won Daegu FC 7
3 South Korea Kim Seung-dae Gangwon FC 6
Serbia Aleksandar Paločević Pohang Steelers
South Korea Kim In-sung Ulsan Hyundai
Colombia Manuel Palacios Pohang Steelers
Russia Stanislav Iljutcenko Pohang Steelers
South Korea Song Min-kyu Pohang Steelers
9 South Korea Son Jun-ho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 5
10 12 players 4

Awards

Weekly awards

Monthly awards

Month Player of the Month Manager of the Month Goal of the Month
Player Club Manager Club Division Player Club
May Brazil Júnior Negrão Ulsan South Korea Kim Nam-il Seongnam 1 South Korea Cho Jae-wan Gangwon
June Brazil Cesinha Daegu Portugal José Morais Jeonbuk 1 Brazil Cesinha Daegu
July Brazil Júnior Negrão Ulsan South Korea Kim Do-hoon Ulsan 1 South Korea Lee Dong-gyeong Ulsan
August South Korea Moon Seon-min Sangju South Korea Nam Ki-il Jeju 2 South Korea Moon Seon-min Sangju
September Montenegro Stefan Mugoša Incheon South Korea Kim Gi-dong Pohang 1 Australia Adam Taggart Suwon
October Russia Stanislav Iljutcenko Pohang South Korea Nam Ki-il Jeju 2 South Korea Hong Si-hoo Seongnam

Annual awards

The 2020 K League Awards was held on 5 November 2020.

Award Winner Club
Most Valuable Player South Korea Son Jun-ho Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Young Player of the Year South Korea Song Min-kyu Pohang Steelers
Top goalscorer Brazil Júnior Negrão Ulsan Hyundai
Top assist provider South Korea Kang Sang-woo Sangju Sangmu
Pohang Steelers
Manager of the Year South Korea Kim Gi-dong Pohang Steelers
Position Best XI
Goalkeeper South Korea Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan)
Defenders South Korea Kim Tae-hwan
(Ulsan) 		South Korea Kwon Kyung-won
(Sangju) 		South Korea Hong Jeong-ho
(Jeonbuk) 		South Korea Kang Sang-woo
(Sangju, Pohang)
Midfielders Serbia Aleksandar Paločević
(Pohang) 		Brazil Cesinha
(Daegu) 		South Korea Son Jun-ho
(Jeonbuk) 		South Korea Han Kyo-won
(Jeonbuk)
Forwards Russia Stanislav Iljutcenko (Pohang) Brazil Júnior Negrão (Ulsan)

Attendance

Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 16,808 10,535 0 1,200 −91.4%†
2 Ulsan Hyundai 16,352 6,973 0 1,168 −87.9%†
3 FC Seoul 13,047 5,485 0 931 −91.9%†
4 Daegu FC 7,265 3,030 0 558 −94.8%†
5 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 7,072 2,912 0 544 −93.8%†
6 Incheon United 6,849 3,428 0 526 −93.8%†
7 Pohang Steelers 6,996 3,280 0 499 −94.1%†
8 Seongnam FC 5,066 1,655 0 361 −93.5%†
9 Gangwon FC 2,978 1,967 0 212 −92.6%†
10 Gwangju FC 1,711 860 0 131 −95.8%†
11 Busan IPark 1,416 830 0 108 −97.4%†
12 Sangju Sangmu 1,080 666 0 83 −96.5%†
League total 86,640 10,535 0 534 −93.3%†

Updated to games played on 1 December 2020
Source: K League
Notes:
† Teams that played previous season in K League 2.

See also

References

  1. ^ Yoo, Jee-ho (1 November 2020). "Jeonbuk show championship mettle in taking record-breaking K League title". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  2. ^ K리그1 2020 시즌 2월 29일 개막 (in Korean). K League. 3 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. ^ K리그 개막 무기한 연기..스포츠계 '코로나19 비상' (in Korean). Korean Broadcasting System. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  4. ^ King, Tom (27 April 2020). "K-League to return on May 8". Sport Business. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  5. ^ Jackson, Ed (26 April 2020). "Socceroos star Adam Taggart is back playing for his club — and he's already scoring goals". Fox Sports Australia. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  6. ^ K리그 개막전, 5월8일 '불금' 전북-수원전 '전주성'서 무관중으로 열린다 (in Korean). Sports Chosun. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  7. ^ "S. Korean pro football to add Southeast Asian player quota in 2020". Yonhap News Agency. 17 April 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  8. ^ "News: K League to Introduce ASEAN Quota in 2020". K League United. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  9. ^ "K League club profiles" (in Korean). K League.
  10. ^ "K League Official Club Profiles Page".
  11. ^ a b "K League / Record". Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2020.

External links

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