2014 K League Classic

The 2014 K League Classic was the 32nd season of the top division of South Korean professional football, and the second season of the K League Classic.

Hyundai Oilbank
K League Classic

Season	2014
Dates	8 March – 30 November 2014
Champions	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (3rd title)
Relegated	Gyeongnam FC Sangju Sangmu
Champions League	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Seongnam FC Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC Seoul
Matches	228
Goals	503 (2.21 per match)
Best Player	Lee Dong-gook
Top goalscorer	Júnior Santos (14 goals)
Biggest home win	Jeonbuk 6–0 Sangju (20 July 2014)
Biggest away win	Gyeongnam 1–4 Jeonbuk (13 July 2014)
Highest scoring	Jeju 6–2 Jeonnam (6 September 2014)
Longest winning run	9 matches Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Longest unbeaten run	15 matches Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Longest winless run	16 matches Gyeongnam FC
Longest losing run	4 matches Gyeongnam FC Jeonnam Dragons
Highest attendance	46,549 Seoul 2–0 Suwon (12 July 2014)
Lowest attendance	858 Jeonnam 1–1 Seongnam (1 November 2014)
Average attendance	7,932
← 2013 2015 →

Teams

Busan IPark

Jeonnam Dragons

FC Seoul

Gyeongnam FC

Incheon United

Jeju United

Jeonbuk Hyundai
Motors

Pohang Steelers

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Ulsan Hyundai

Sangju Sangmu

Locations of the 2014 K League Classic clubs

General information

Club	City/Province	Manager	Owner(s)	Other sponsor(s)
Busan IPark	Busan	Yoon Sung-hyo	HDC Hyundai Development Company
Gyeongnam FC	Gyeongnam	Branko Babić (caretaker)	Gyeongnam Provincial Government	DSME Gyeongnam Bank
Incheon United	Incheon	Kim Bong-gil	Incheon Government	Shinhan Bank Incheon International Airport
Jeju United	Jeju	Park Kyung-hoon	SK Energy
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Jeonbuk	Choi Kang-hee	Hyundai Motor Company
Jeonnam Dragons	Jeonnam	Ha Seok-ju	POSCO
Pohang Steelers	Pohang, Gyeongbuk	Hwang Sun-hong	POSCO
Sangju Sangmu	Sangju, Gyeongbuk	Park Hang-seo	Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corps
Seongnam FC	Seongnam, Gyeonggi	Lee Sang-yoon (caretaker)	Seongnam Government
FC Seoul	Seoul	Choi Yong-soo	GS Group
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Suwon, Gyeonggi	Seo Jung-won	Cheil Worldwide	Samsung Electronics
Ulsan Hyundai	Ulsan	Cho Min-kook	Hyundai Heavy Industries

Stadiums

Busan IPark	Gyeongnam FC	Incheon United	Jeju United	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Jeonnam Dragons
Busan Asiad Stadium	Changwon Football Center	Incheon Football Stadium	Jeju World Cup Stadium	Jeonju World Cup Stadium	Gwangyang Football Stadium
Capacity: 53,864	Capacity: 15,116	Capacity: 20,891	Capacity: 35,657	Capacity: 42,477	Capacity: 20,009
Pohang Steelers	Sangju Sangmu	Seongnam FC	FC Seoul	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Ulsan Hyundai
Pohang Steel Yard	Sangju Civic Stadium	Tancheon Stadium	Seoul World Cup Stadium	Suwon World Cup Stadium	Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium
Capacity: 25,000	Capacity: 15,042	Capacity: 16,250	Capacity: 66,704	Capacity: 43,959	Capacity: 44,474

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing	Manner	Date	Incoming	Date	Table
Daegu FC	Baek Jong-chul	Resigned	30 November 2013	Choi Duck-joo	20 December 2013	Pre-season
Ulsan Hyundai	Kim Ho-kon	Resigned	4 December 2013	Cho Min-kook	6 December 2013
Gyeongnam FC	Ilija Petković	Sacked	11 December 2013	Lee Cha-man	17 December 2013
Seongnam FC	An Ik-soo	Resigned	20 December 2013	Park Jong-hwan	20 December 2013
Seongnam FC	Park Jong-hwan	Resigned	22 April 2014	Lee Sang-yoon (caretaker)	22 April 2014	8th
Gyeongnam FC	Lee Cha-man	Resigned	11 August 2014	Branko Babić (caretaker)	14 August 2014	12th
Seongnam FC	Lee Sang-yoon (caretaker)	Sacked	26 August 2014	Lee Young-jin (caretaker)	26 August 2014	10th
Seongnam FC	Lee Young-jin (caretaker)	Caretaker	6 September 2014	Kim Hak-bum	6 September 2014	10th

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 including a least one player from the AFC country. Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.

As of 1 August 2014

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	AFC player	Former player
Busan IPark	Fágner	Nilson	Jacio		Nikola Komazec
Gyeongnam FC	Edin Junuzović	Sreten Sretenović	Miloš Stojanović	Luke DeVere	Miloš Bosančić
Incheon United	Ivo	Diogo Acosta			João Paulo Stefan Nikolić Nathan Burns
Jeju United	Thiago Alagoano	Hugo Droguett		Aleksandar Jovanović	Jovica Stokić Julián Estiven Vélez
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Leonardo	Kaio	Vinícius Reche	Alex Wilkinson	Marcos Aurélio
Jeonnam Dragons	Leandrinho	Sandi Križman	Stevica Ristić	Robert Cornthwaite
Pohang Steelers
Seongnam FC	Valdivia	Server Djeparov			Brendan Hamill Ivan Vuković
FC Seoul	Éverton Santos	Mauricio Molina	Osmar	Sergio Escudero	Rafael Costa
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Júnior Santos	Roger	Reiner Ferreira	Jong Tae-se[a]
Ulsan Hyundai	Wander Luiz	Tartá	Filip Kasalica		Caíque Rafinha Almir

1. Jong Tae-se represented North Korea at international level, but he was deemed as a native player in the K League by South Korean law and passport.

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors (C)	38	24	9	5	60	22	+38	81	Qualification for Champions League group stage
2	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	38	19	10	9	52	37	+15	67
3	FC Seoul	38	15	13	10	42	28	+14	58	Qualification for Champions League play-off round
4	Pohang Steelers	38	16	10	12	50	39	+11	58
5	Jeju United	38	14	12	12	39	36	+3	54
6	Ulsan Hyundai	38	13	11	14	44	43	+1	50
7	Jeonnam Dragons	38	14	9	15	48	53	−5	51
8	Busan IPark	38	10	13	15	37	49	−12	43
9	Seongnam FC	38	9	13	16	32	39	−7	40	Qualification for Champions League group stage[a]
10	Incheon United	38	8	16	14	33	46	−13	40
11	Gyeongnam FC (R)	38	7	15	16	30	52	−22	36	Qualification for relegation play-offs
12	Sangju Sangmu (R)	38	7	13	18	39	62	−23	34	Relegation to K League Challenge

Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Qualified as champions of FA Cup.

Positions by matchday

  Leaders
  Qualification for Champions League
  Qualification for relegation play-offs
  Relegation to K League Challenge

Round 1–33

Team ╲ Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	1	2	3	2	2	5	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	3	6	11	5	6	6	2	4	6	5	6	6	4	5	5	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2
Pohang Steelers	8	12	8	5	4	4	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3
FC Seoul	8	10	10	9	9	9	11	11	11	10	11	9	9	9	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4
Jeju United	8	4	4	6	7	5	3	6	3	3	4	3	3	5	4	4	3	4	4	4	4	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5
Ulsan Hyundai	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	5	5	5	6	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	5	6	6	6	6	7	6	7	7	7	7	7	6	6
Jeonnam Dragons	2	4	3	2	3	3	4	3	6	4	3	4	4	3	3	3	4	5	5	6	5	4	4	5	5	7	6	6	6	6	6	7	7
Incheon United	6	9	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	10	9	9	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8
Busan IPark	12	6	5	4	5	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	10	11	12	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	11	9	9
Seongnam FC	8	10	10	9	10	10	8	9	9	11	8	8	8	8	9	9	8	8	9	10	11	10	10	9	9	10	10	10	9	10	9	10	10
Sangju Sangmu	6	8	7	8	11	11	10	10	10	8	9	11	7	7	8	8	9	9	8	8	8	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	11	11	10	11	11
Gyeongnam FC	2	7	9	7	8	8	9	8	8	9	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	11	12	12	12	11	11	10	10	12	12	12

Source: K League

Round 34–38

Team ╲ Round	34	35	36	37	38
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1	1	1	1	1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2	2	2	2	2
FC Seoul	5	4	4	4	3
Pohang Steelers	3	3	3	3	4
Jeju United	4	5	5	5	5
Ulsan Hyundai	6	6	6	6	6
Jeonnam Dragons	7	7	7	7	7
Busan IPark	9	8	8	8	8
Seongnam FC	10	11	11	10	9
Incheon United	8	9	9	9	10
Gyeongnam FC	11	10	10	11	11
Sangju Sangmu	12	12	12	12	12

Source: K League

Results

Matches 1–22

Teams play each other twice, once at home, once away.

Home \ Away	BIP	GNM	ICU	JJU	JHM	JND	PHS	SJS	SEN	SEO	SSB	USH
Busan IPark	—	2–2	2–2	1–1	0–2	0–1	3–1	1–1	1–0	0–2	0–2	0–0
Gyeongnam FC	1–1	—	1–0	1–1	1–4	2–3	0–0	0–0	1–0	1–1	2–2	0–1
Incheon United	0–0	2–0	—	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	1–2	1–1	1–0	0–3	2–0
Jeju United	2–1	1–1	1–0	—	2–0	2–0	0–0	2–3	1–0	1–1	0–1	1–0
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	3–0	4–1	1–1	1–1	—	2–0	1–3	6–0	1–0	1–2	3–2	1–0
Jeonnam Dragons	2–1	3–1	1–2	1–2	0–2	—	2–2	4–3	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–0
Pohang Steelers	2–0	3–0	3–0	3–0	0–2	3–1	—	4–2	1–0	0–0	2–1	0–1
Sangju Sangmu	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–1	0–0	1–2	0–2	—	1–1	2–1	1–1	1–1
Seongnam FC	2–4	1–0	0–0	1–2	0–3	0–1	3–1	0–0	—	0–0	2–0	1–1
FC Seoul	0–1	0–0	5–1	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–1	2–1	1–0	—	2–0	0–1
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–0	0–0	3–2	1–0	1–0	1–0	4–1	2–2	1–1	0–1	—	3–2
Ulsan Hyundai	3–0	3–0	3–0	1–1	0–0	1–0	0–2	3–0	0–1	2–1	2–2	—

Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 23–33

Teams play every other team once (either at home or away).

Home \ Away	BIP	GNM	ICU	JJU	JHM	JND	PHS	SJS	SEN	SEO	SSB	USH
Busan IPark	—	4–0	—	2–1	1–1	—	—	1–1	1–0	—	—	1–3
Gyeongnam FC	—	—	—	—	2–1	1–0	0–2	—	0–1	—	—	—
Incheon United	3–0	—	—	—	0–2	3–3	2–1	1–0	—	—	—	—
Jeju United	—	—	0–2	—	—	6–2	3–0	—	—	—	0–0	1–0
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	—	1–0	—	2–0	—	—	—	2–0	—	0–0	1–0	1–0
Jeonnam Dragons	2–1	0–0	—	—	2–1	—	0–1	—	—	1–2	—	1–1
Pohang Steelers	0–0	—	—	—	2–2	—	—	3–0	1–0	0–1	—	—
Sangju Sangmu	—	—	—	1–2	—	1–0	—	—	1–1	1–0	0–1	—
Seongnam FC	—	—	2–0	1–1	0–1	1–0	—	—	—	1–2	—	3–4
FC Seoul	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–0	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–1	—
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–1	—	1–1	—	—	2–1	2–1	—	2–2	—	—	2–0
Ulsan Hyundai	—	2–1	1–1	—	—	—	1–2	2–1	—	0–3	—	—

Source: K League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 34–38

After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once (either at home or away). The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.

Group A Home \ Away JJU JHM PHS SEO SSB USH Jeju United — 0–3 — 1–2 0–1 — Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors — — 1–0 — — 1–1 Pohang Steelers 1–1 — — — 1–2 2–2 FC Seoul — 0–1 0–0 — — 2–2 Suwon Samsung Bluewings — 1–2 — 0–1 — — Ulsan Hyundai 0–1 — — — 0–3 — Source: K League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Group B Home \ Away BIP GNM ICU JND SJS SEN Busan IPark — — 1–0 1–1 — — Gyeongnam FC 0–1 — — 3–1 — — Incheon United — 1–1 — — 1–1 0–1 Jeonnam Dragons — — 0–0 — 3–1 1–1 Sangju Sangmu 2–3 3–1 — — — 1–1 Seongnam FC 1–0 1–1 — — — — Source: K League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation play-offs

The promotion-relegation play-offs were held between the winners of the 2014 K League Challenge play-offs and the 11th-placed club of the 2014 K League Classic. The winners on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2015 K League Classic.

3 December 2014

19:00

Gwangju FC	3–1	Gyeongnam FC
Cho Yong-tae 20' Diego Silva 48' Sretenović 85' (o.g.)	Report	Stojanović 32'

Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju

Attendance: 2,667

---

6 December 2014

14:00

Gyeongnam FC	1–1	Gwangju FC
Song Soo-young 70'	Report	Kim Ho-nam 75'

Changwon Football Center, Changwon

Attendance: 1,969

Gwangju FC won 4–2 on aggregate and were promoted to the K League Classic, while Gyeongnam FC were relegated to the K League Challenge.

Player statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Júnior Santos	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	14
2	Lee Dong-gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	13
	Stevica Ristić	Jeonnam Dragons
4	Han Kyo-won	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	11
	Lim Sang-hyub	Busan IPark
6	Kim Seung-dae	Pohang Steelers	10
	Lee Jong-ho	Jeonnam Dragons
	Fágner	Busan IPark
	Hugo Droguett	Jeju United
10	Kim Shin-wook	Ulsan Hyundai	9
	Yang Dong-hyun	Ulsan Hyundai
	Kaio	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

Top assist providers

Rank	Players	Club	Assists
1	Lee Seung-gi	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	10
	Leonardo	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
3	Lee Myung-joo	Pohang Steelers	9
4	Kim Seung-dae	Pohang Steelers	8
	Yeom Ki-hun	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
6	Hyun Young-min	Jeonnam Dragons	7
	Júnior Santos	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
8	Han Sang-woon	Sangju Sangmu	6
	Ahn Yong-woo	Jeonnam Dragons
	Lee Dong-gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Ivo	Incheon United

Awards

The 2014 K League Awards was held on 1 December 2014.

Main awards

Award	Winner	Club
Most Valuable Player	Lee Dong-gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Top goalscorer	Júnior Santos	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Top assist provider	Lee Seung-gi	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Young Player of the Year	Kim Seung-dae	Pohang Steelers
FANtastic Player	Lee Dong-gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Manager of the Year	Choi Kang-hee	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Special Award	Kim Byung-ji	Jeonnam Dragons
Best Referee	Choi Myung-yong	—
Best Assistant Referee	Noh Tae-sik	—
Fair Play Award	FC Seoul
Youth Team of the Year	Maetan Middle School (Suwon Samsung Bluewings)

Source:^[1]

Best XI

Position	Winner	Club
Goalkeeper	Kwon Sun-tae	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Defenders	Hong Chul	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
	Alex Wilkinson	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Kim Ju-young	FC Seoul
	Cha Du-ri	FC Seoul
Midfielders	Lim Sang-hyub	Busan IPark
	Koh Myong-jin	FC Seoul
	Lee Seung-gi	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Han Kyo-won	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Forwards	Lee Dong-gook	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
	Júnior Santos	Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Source:^[1]

Attendance

Attendance by club

Attendants who entered with free ticket are not counted.

Pos	Team	Total	High	Low	Average	Change
1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	372,551	34,029	6,527	19,608	+10.8%†
2	FC Seoul	323,244	46,549	4,336	17,013	+2.4%†
3	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	250,134	30,597	6,142	13,165	+29.6%†
4	Pohang Steelers	186,216	17,424	4,487	9,801	+1.0%†
5	Ulsan Hyundai	126,572	16,216	2,016	7,032	−20.4%†
6	Jeju United	127,520	17,484	1,125	6,712	+3.8%†
7	Incheon United	86,815	11,238	2,086	4,569	−35.4%†
8	Gyeongnam FC	86,285	10,943	1,554	4,541	−23.8%†
9	Seongnam FC	71,344	8,624	1,282	3,755	+32.9%†
10	Jeonnam Dragons	67,294	10,022	858	3,365	+47.7%†
11	Busan IPark	61,819	7,008	1,134	3,254	−19.4%†
12	Sangju Sangmu	48,606	6,469	867	2,558	−7.7%†
	League total	1,808,400	46,549	858	7,932	+3.6%†

Updated to games played on 30 November 2014
Source: K League
Notes:
^† Team played previous season in K League Challenge.

Top matches

Rank	Date	Home	Score	Away	Venue	Attendance	Round	Day of week
1	12 July 2014	FC Seoul	2–0	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Seoul World Cup Stadium	46,549	15	Saturday
2	5 October 2014	FC Seoul	0–1	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	Seoul World Cup Stadium	41,297	30	Sunday
3	9 November 2014	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–1	FC Seoul	Suwon World Cup Stadium	34,029	35	Sunday
4	23 August 2014	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	1–2	FC Seoul	Jeonju World Cup Stadium	30,597	22	Saturday
5	27 April 2014	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	0–1	FC Seoul	Suwon World Cup Stadium	29,318	10	Sunday
6	24 August 2014	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–1	Seongnam FC	Suwon World Cup Stadium	27,558	22	Sunday
7	16 August 2014	FC Seoul	5–1	Incheon United	Seoul World Cup Stadium	24,027	21	Saturday
8	19 July 2014	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	3–2	Incheon United	Suwon World Cup Stadium	23,835	16	Saturday
9	30 March 2014	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–0	Busan IPark	Suwon World Cup Stadium	23,767	5	Sunday
10	3 May 2014	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1–0	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Suwon World Cup Stadium	23,466	11	Saturday

See also

• 2014 in South Korean football
• 2014 K League Challenge
• 2014 Korean FA Cup