"K League 2 is going up, but the K League 1 level is going down." It's understandable from the transfer status
"K League 2 is going up, but the K League 1 level is going down." It's understandable from the transfer status
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"K League 2 is more fun than K League 1." This is a common saying among K League officials these days. Just looking at the goals, which are the flower of soccer, 2.22 goals per game in K League 1, while 2.49 goals in K League 2. Of course, fun is a subjective concept, but there is no disagreement on the fact that the level of K League 2 has risen.
Let's take a look at the players who are playing in K League 2. The top two scorers in K League 1 in the 2024 season will play in K League 2. Mugosa remained with Incheon United, and Ilyuchenko changed his uniform from FC Seoul to Suwon Samsung. Mugosa scored eight goals and Ilyuchenko five, ranking first and second in K League 2. He is continuing his competition to become the top scorer in season 2.
Incheon and Suwon, which were considered the strongest candidates for promotion to the first division even before the opening, are building a mid-range power in the K League 1. Not to mention foreign resources that have been attracting attention from K League 1 teams such as Barlow, Gerson (Incheon), Paulino and Bruno Silva (Suwon), Lee Myung-joo, Kim Do-hyuk, Lee Ju-yong (Incheon), Lee Ki-je, Choi Young-joon and Lee Kyu-sung (Suwon) are active as key players in K League 1.
Seoul E-Land, Jeonnam Dragons, and Busan I-Park also have enough resources to play in the K League 1. K League 1 officials even predict that (the top teams) could be in danger if they go to the playoffs this year. K League 1 teams won all four games of the 2023 and 2024 promotion playoffs, and some say that they cannot guarantee victory this year. As the top teams in the K League engage in fierce competition, the level of K League 2 rises, which leads to fans' interest, leading to a virtuous cycle. During the same period, the number of spectators in the K League 2 increased by 28,000 from the 2024 season.
The reason why the level of K League 2 has risen can be seen by looking at the flow of the player transfer market. There have been a total of 199 player transfers in the transfer market this winter, of which 55 were transfers from K League 1 to K League 2. On the other hand, there were 32 cases of K League 1 → K League 1 and 38 cases of K League 2 → K League 1. In other words, the trend is to move from K League 1 to K League 2. The trend over the past few years is similar. According to data provided by the Korea Professional Football Association, the number of cases from K League 1 to K League 2 has increased every year since the K League 2 was launched in 2014. In 2021, out of 239 transfers, 91 cases or 38 percent of them were K League 1 → K League 2. On the other hand, movement among the top-tier teams of the K League seems to have subsided. As the competition to stay intensifies, each team is not giving up its main players. Rather, the number of cases coming from K League 2 to K League 1 is increasing. In 2024, there were 67 cases.
Of course, there may be errors in explaining the change in level simply by the number of transfers without considering top stars and core resources. Nevertheless, 메이저사이트 it is by no means natural that there are many transfers from upper leagues to lower leagues. K League 1 is the highest level of Korean soccer. If K League 1 players choose to go to K League 2 rather than K League 1, eventually the vacancy will be filled by K League 2 players. Now is the time when good talents are already leaving for Europe. If the current supply and demand of players continues, the quality of K League 1 will inevitably decline. The case of Suwon FC, which fell to the bottom by collecting players mainly from Daejeon Hana Citizen, which is currently leading the league, and K League 2 players last winter, has significant implications.