# 2010 K-League

The 2010 K League, officially known as Sonata K-League 2010, was the 28th season of the K League. It was sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company, and was held from 27 February to 5 December 2010.
The K League match-fixing scandal, the biggest incident in history of South Korean football, occurred in this season, and was revealed in 2011. 15 matches were fixed by 47 players, and they were banned for life from working in football.

## Teams
### General information

| Club | Manager | City | Stadium | 2009 season |
| Busan IPark | Hwang Sun-hong | Busan | Busan Asiad Stadium | 12th place |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Park Hang-seo | Gwangyang | Gwangyang Stadium | 4th place |
| Daegu FC | Lee Young-jin | Daegu | Daegu Stadium Daegu Civil Stadium | 15th place |
| Daejeon Citizen | Wang Sun-jae | Daejeon | Daejeon World Cup Stadium | 9th place |
| FC Seoul | Nelo Vingada | Seoul | Seoul World Cup Stadium | 5th place |
| Gangwon FC | Choi Soon-ho | Gangneung Chuncheon | Gangneung Stadium Chuncheon Stadium | 13th place |
| Gwangju Sangmu | Lee Soo-chul | Gwangju | Gwangju World Cup Stadium | 11th place |
| Gyeongnam FC | Kim Gwi-hwa | Changwon | Changwon Football Center | 7th place |
| Incheon United | Huh Jung-moo | Incheon | Incheon Munhak Stadium | 6th place |
| Jeju United | Park Kyung-hoon | Seogwipo | Jeju World Cup Stadium | 14th place |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Choi Kang-hee | Jeonju | Jeonju World Cup Stadium | Champions |
| Pohang Steelers | Park Chang-hyun | Pohang | Pohang Steel Yard | 3rd place |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Shin Tae-yong | Seongnam | Seongnam 2 Stadium | Runners-up |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Yoon Sung-hyo | Suwon | Suwon World Cup Stadium | 10th place |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Kim Ho-kon | Ulsan | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium | 8th place |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing | Manner | Date | Incoming | Date | Table |
| FC Seoul | Şenol Güneş | End of contract | 25 November 2009 | Nelo Vingada | 14 December 2009 | Pre-season |
| Daegu FC | Byun Byung-joo | Resigned | 8 December 2009 | Lee Young-jin | 22 December 2009 | Pre-season |
| Pohang Steelers | Sérgio Farias | Signed for Al-Ahli | 27 December 2009 | Waldemar Lemos | 3 January 2010 | Pre-season |
| Pohang Steelers | Waldemar Lemos | Sacked | 10 May 2010 | Park Chang-hyun | 10 May 2010 | 12th |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Cha Bum-kun | Resigned | 6 June 2010 | Yoon Sung-hyo | 15 June 2010 | 15th |
| Incheon United | Ilija Petković | Resigned | 8 June 2010 | Kim Bong-gil | 24 June 2010 | 6th |
| Gyeongnam FC | Cho Kwang-rae | Signed for South Korea | 28 July 2010 | Kim Gwi-hwa | 28 July 2010 | 5th |
| Incheon United | Kim Bong-gil | Caretaker | 22 August 2010 | Huh Jung-moo | 22 August 2010 | 9th |
| Gwangju Sangmu | Lee Kang-jo | Resigned | 31 October 2010 | Lee Soo-chul | 31 October 2010 | 15th |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Former player(s) |
| Busan IPark | Felipe Azevedo | | | | Di Fábio Rômulo |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Adriano Chuva | Índio | | | |
| Daegu | Isaac Acosta | Léo Paulista | | | Anderson |
| Daejeon Citizen | Alexandre | Fábio Lopes | Zacarias | | Válber |
| FC Seoul | Adilson | Dejan Damjanović | | Server Djeparov | Ricardo Esteves |
| Gangwon | Renato Medeiros | Stipe Lapić | Blazhe Ilijoski | Li Chunyu | |
| Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo | | | | | |
| Gyeongnam FC | Camilo | Marcinho | | | Lúcio Curió Marcelo Brás Alex Asamoah |
| Incheon United | Samir Bekrić | Bruno Correa | Dušan Savić | | Dragan Čadikovski Ognjen Koroman |
| Jeju United | Eraldo | Júnior Santos | | Yan Song | Léo Mineiro |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Eninho | Luiz Henrique | Krunoslav Lovrek | Feng Xiaoting | |
| Pohang Steelers | Almir | Mota | Zulu | Kazunari Okayama | Alexandro |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Fabrício Souza | Mauricio Molina | Dženan Radončić | Sasa Ognenovski | |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | José Mota | Márcio Diogo | | Naohiro Takahara | Juninho Reinaldo Li Weifeng |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Carmelo Valencia | Julián Estiven Vélez | José Ortigoza | | |

## Regular season
### League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | FC Seoul | 28 | 20 | 2 | 6 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 62 | Qualification for the playoffs final |
| 2 | Jeju United | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 54 | 25 | +29 | 59 | Qualification for the playoffs semi-final |
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 51 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 4 | Ulsan Hyundai | 28 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 50 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 5 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 48 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 6 | Gyeongnam FC | 28 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 48 | Qualification for the playoffs first round |
| 7 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 41 | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 8 | Busan IPark | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 36 | 37 | −1 | 33 | |
| 9 | Pohang Steelers | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 39 | 48 | −9 | 33 | |
| 10 | Jeonnam Dragons | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 32 | |
| 11 | Incheon United | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 31 | |
| 12 | Gangwon FC | 28 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 36 | 50 | −14 | 30 | |
| 13 | Daejeon Citizen | 28 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 27 | 50 | −23 | 22 | |
| 14 | Gwangju Sangmu | 28 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 17 | 43 | −26 | 19 | |
| 15 | Daegu FC | 28 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 28 | 57 | −29 | 19 | |
* ↑ Qualified as champions of the FA Cup.

### Positions by matchday

| 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 |
| FC Seoul | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jeju United | 5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 5 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 10 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 13 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Busan IPark | 10 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Pohang Steelers | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Incheon United | 5 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 10 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 |
| Gangwon FC | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | 4 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 |
| Daegu FC | 9 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 |

### Results

| Home \ Away | BIP | JND | DGU | DJC | SEO | GWN | GWJ | GNM | ICU | JJU | JHM | PHS | SIC | SSB | USH |
| Busan IPark | — | 5–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | 2–2 | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 3–3 |
| Daegu FC | 2–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| Daejeon Citizen | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 2–5 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 |
| FC Seoul | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 |
| Gangwon FC | 0–0 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Gyeongnam FC | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | — | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Incheon United | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 1–4 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
| Jeju United | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | — | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 |
| Pohang Steelers | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 2–5 | 3–3 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 4–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | — | 0–2 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 0–2 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | — |

## Championship playoffs
### Bracket

| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semifinal | Semifinal | Semifinal | Final | Final | Final | Final | Final |
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2 | | | | | | | 1 | FC Seoul | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Gyeongnam FC | 0 | | | | 2 | Jeju United | 1 | | Jeju United | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| | | | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1 | | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 0 | | | | | |
| | | | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Ulsan Hyundai | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |

### Final table

| Pos | Team | Qualification |
| 1 | FC Seoul (C) | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 2 | Jeju United | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 3 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Qualification for the Champions League |
| 4 | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | |
| 5 | Ulsan Hyundai | |
| 6 | Gyeongnam FC | |

## Player statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Yoo Byung-soo | Incheon United | 22 |
| 2 | José Ortigoza | Ulsan Hyundai | 17 |
| 3 | Eninho | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 15 |
| 4 | Kim Young-hoo | Gangwon FC | 13 |
| 4 | Lúcio Curió | Gyeongnam FC | 13 |
| 4 | Kim Eun-jung | Jeju United | 13 |
| 7 | Dejan Damjanovic | FC Seoul | 12 |
| 7 | Lee Dong-gook | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 12 |
| 9 | Jung Jo-gook | FC Seoul | 11 |
| 9 | Dženan Radončić | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 11 |

### Top assist providers

| Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
| 1 | Koo Ja-cheol | Jeju United | 11 |
| 2 | Kim Eun-jung | Jeju United | 9 |
| 3 | Yeom Ki-hun | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 8 |
| 4 | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul | 7 |
| 4 | Choi Tae-uk | FC Seoul Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 7 |
| 4 | Lúcio Curió | Gyeongnam FC | 7 |
| 4 | Mauricio Molina | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | 7 |
| 8 | Park Hee-do | Busan IPark | 6 |
| 8 | Eninho | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 6 |
| 8 | Choi Jae-soo | Ulsan Hyundai | 6 |

## Awards
### Main awards

The K League Players' Player of the Year was published by Korean edition of FourFourTwo in summer, and was not an official award of the K League, but 148 players participated in the selection process.
| Award | Winner | Club |
| Most Valuable Player | Kim Eun-jung | Jeju United |
| Top goalscorer | Yoo Byung-soo | Incheon United |
| Top assist provider | Koo Ja-cheol | Jeju United |
| Rookie of the Year | Yoon Bit-garam | Gyeongnam FC |
| FANtastic Player | Koo Ja-cheol | Jeju United |
| Manager of the Year | Park Kyung-hoon | Jeju United |
| Special Award | Kim Yong-dae | FC Seoul |
| Special Award | Kim Byung-ji | Gyeongnam FC |
| Special Award | Back Min-chul | Daegu FC |
| Special Award | Yoo Byung-seop | — |
| Special Award | Ahn Sang-gi | — |
| Best Referee | Choi Myung-yong | — |
| Best Assistant Referee | Jung Hae-sang | — |
| Team of the Year | FC Seoul | FC Seoul |
| Fair Play Award | Gangwon FC | Gangwon FC |
| Youth Team of the Year | Maetan High School (Suwon Samsung Bluewings) | Maetan High School (Suwon Samsung Bluewings) |
| Players' Player of the Year | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul |
Source:

### Best XI

| Position | Winner | Club |
| Goalkeeper | Kim Yong-dae | FC Seoul |
| Defenders | Choi Hyo-jin | FC Seoul |
| Defenders | Adilson | FC Seoul |
| Defenders | Saša Ognenovski | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
| Defenders | Hong Jeong-ho | Jeju United |
| Midfielders | Koo Ja-cheol | Jeju United |
| Midfielders | Mauricio Molina | Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma |
| Midfielders | Eninho | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors |
| Midfielders | Yoon Bit-garam | Gyeongnam FC |
| Forwards | Kim Eun-jung | Jeju United |
| Forwards | Dejan Damjanović | FC Seoul |
Source:

## Attendance

| Team | Stadium | Matches | Average |
| Busan IPark | Asiad Main Stadium | 14 | 4,393 |
| Jeonnam Dragons | Gwang-Yang Stadium | 14 | 12,004 |
| Daegu FC | Daegu Stadium Daegu Civil Stadium | 14 | 4,946 |
| Daejeon Citizen | Daejeon World Cup Stadium | 14 | 8,577 |
| FC Seoul | Seoul World Cup Stadium | 14 | 30,849 |
| Gangwon FC | Gangneung Stadium Chuncheon Stadium | 14 | 9,537 |
| Gwangju Sangmu | Gwangju World Cup Stadium | 14 | 3,782 |
| Gyeongnam FC | Changwon Football Center | 14 | 12,501 |
| Incheon United | Incheon Munhak Stadium | 14 | 8,571 |
| Jeju United | Jeju World Cup Stadium | 14 | 5,404 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | Jeonju World Cup Stadium | 14 | 14,300 |
| Pohang Steelers | Pohang Steel Yard | 14 | 11,174 |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Tancheon Sports Complex | 14 | 4,129 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Suwon World Cup Stadium | 14 | 26,163 |
| Ulsan Hyundai | Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium | 14 | 7,786 |
| Total | Total | 210 | 10,941 |
Source: K League (in Korean)