Choi Yong-soo
Personal information
Full name Choi Yong-soo
Date of birth (1973-09-10) 10 September 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth Busan, South Korea
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Striker
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1993 Yonsei University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–2000 Anyang LG Cheetahs 111 (44)
1997–1998 → Sangmu FC (draft)
2001–2004 JEF United Ichihara 73 (54)
2004 → Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan) 33 (20)
2005 Júbilo Iwata 15 (1)
2006 FC Seoul 2 (0)
Total 234 (119)
International career
1992–1993 South Korea U20 9 (4)
1994–1996 South Korea U23 41[α] (25)
1995–2003 South Korea 69 (27)
Managerial career
2011 FC Seoul (caretaker)
2012–2016 FC Seoul
2016–2017 Jiangsu Suning
2018–2020 FC Seoul
2021–2023 Gangwon FC
Medal record
Representing  South Korea
Men's football
AFC Youth Championship
Silver medal – second place 1992 United Arab Emirates Team
EAFF Championship
Gold medal – first place 2003 Japan Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Choi Yong-soo
Hangul
최용수
Hanja
崔龍洙
Revised RomanizationChoe Yongsu
McCune–ReischauerCh'oe Yongsu

Choi Yong-soo (Korean: 최 용수, born 10 September 1973) is a South Korean professional football manager and former player. He competed for South Korea at the 1996 Summer Olympics.[1]

Playing career

Choi played as a striker for Anyang LG Cheetahs (currently FC Seoul) in South Korea's K League. In 2000, he led Anyang to the K League title, receiving the K League MVP Award. He is considered one of the FC Seoul's legends.[2]

Choi also played for the South Korean national team in 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Managerial career

Choi was appointed as the assistant coach of FC Seoul in August 2006, and was promoted as the caretaker manager in April 2011. He was finally named a permanent coach after leading Seoul as a caretaker manager during the 2011 season. He led his team to the 2012 K League title and the 2013 AFC Champions League Final. They drew all two matches of the Champions League final against Guangzhou Evergrande, a Chinese club led by Marcello Lippi, but couldn't get the title due to the away goals rule. Nevertheless, Choi was named the AFC Coach of the Year.

On 21 June 2016, he was officially appointed as the manager of a Chinese club Jiangsu Suning. He finished as runner-up in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup. On 1 June 2017, he officially resigned from Jiangsu Suning.

On 11 October 2018, Choi was officially reappointed as the manager of FC Seoul, which was being threatened with relegation. On 9 December 2018, Choi won the relegation playoffs against Busan IPark, successfully keeping Seoul in the K League.[3] On 30 July 2020, he resigned from Seoul due to his poor results in the 2020 season.[4]

On 17 November 2021, Choi started to manage Gangwon FC. On 14 June 2023, Choi was replaced by Yoon Jong-hwan at Gangwon FC.

Personal life

Choi divorced his wife in November 2006 after a 15-month-long marriage. His former wife, a one-time contestant in a Miss Korea pageant, went through the legal procedures to take half the estate properties under Choi's name per their prenuptial agreement.[5]

In Australia and Pakistan, Choi is known as "Younis Choi", given to him in recognition of his low, swerving shots on goal – much like the signature delivery bowled by Pakistani cricketer Waqar Younis.[citation needed]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Anyang LG Cheetahs 1994 K League 29 9 — 6 1 — 35 10
1995 K League 21 9 — 7 2 — 28 11
1996 K League 16 4 1 0 6 1 — 23 5
1999 K League 20 12 3 5 7 2 — 30 19
2000 K League 25 10 ? ? 9 4 2 1 36 15
Total 111 44 4 5 35 10 2 1 152 60
Sangmu FC (draft) 1997 Semipro League ? ? ? ? — — ? ?
1998 Semipro League ? ? ? ? — — ? ?
Total ? ? ? ? — — ? ?
JEF United Ichihara 2001 J1 League 26 21 3 4 5 2 — 34 27
2002 J1 League 23 16 4 3 1 0 — 28 19
2003 J1 League 24 17 0 0 2 0 — 26 17
Total 73 54 7 7 8 2 — 88 63
Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan) 2004 J2 League 33 20 1 0 — — 34 20
Júbilo Iwata 2005 J1 League 15 1 0 0 1 0 4 2 20 3
FC Seoul 2006 K League 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
Career total 234 119 12 12 44 12 6 3 296 146

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[6]
National team Year Apps Goals
South Korea 1995 5 1
1997 15 11
1998 24 13
2000 5 0
2001 6 2
2002 8 0
2003 6 0
Career total 69 27
Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Choi Yong-soo
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
1
 31 January 1995 Hong Kong 1  Colombia 1–0 1–0 1995 Lunar New Year Cup
2 28 May 1997 Daejeon, South Korea 7  Hong Kong 2–0 4–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
3
 3–0
4
 14 June 1997 Suwon, South Korea 9  Ghana 2–0 3–0 1997 Korea Cup
5
 24 August 1997 Daegu, South Korea 12  Tajikistan 2–0 4–1 Friendly
6 6 September 1997 Seoul, South Korea 14  Kazakhstan 1–0 3–0 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
7 2–0
8
 3–0
9
 12 September 1997 Seoul, South Korea 15  Uzbekistan 1–0 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10
 11 October 1997 Almaty, Kazakhstan 18  Kazakhstan 1–0 1–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 18 October 1997 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 19  Uzbekistan 1–0 5–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
12
 3–0
13
 27 January 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 21  Egypt 1–0 2–0 1998 King's Cup
14
 29 January 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 22  Thailand 2–0 2–0 1998 King's Cup
15
 31 January 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 23  Egypt 1–1 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(5–4 p)		 1998 King's Cup
16
 7 February 1998 Auckland, New Zealand 24  New Zealand 1–0 1–0 Friendly
17
 18 April 1998 Skopje, Macedonia 30  North Macedonia 2–1 2–2 Friendly
18
 27 May 1998 Seoul, South Korea 34  Czech Republic 2–2 2–2 Friendly
19 2 December 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 39  Turkmenistan 1–0 2–3 1998 Asian Games
20
 2–0
21 4 December 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 40  Vietnam 2–0 4–0 1998 Asian Games
22
 4–0
23 7 December 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 41  Japan 1–0 2–0 1998 Asian Games
24
 2–0
25
 11 December 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 43  Kuwait 1–0 1–0 1998 Asian Games
26
 13 September 2001 Daejeon, South Korea 54  Nigeria 2–2 2–2 Friendly
27
 13 November 2001 Gwangju, South Korea 55  Croatia 1–0 1–1 Friendly

Managerial statistics

As of 14 June 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
P W D L Win %
FC Seoul[a] 26 April 2011 22 June 2016 266 138 70 58 051.88
Jiangsu Suning 1 July 2016 1 June 2017 42 19 8 15 045.24
FC Seoul[a] 18 October 2018 30 July 2020 63 22 15 26 034.92
Gangwon FC 17 November 2021 14 June 2023 63 21 14 28 033.33
Total 434 200 107 127 046.08
  1. ^ a b Includes K League, Korean League Cup, Korean FA Cup and AFC Champions League

Honours

Player

FC Seoul

Sangmu FC

South Korea U20

South Korea

Individual

Manager

FC Seoul

Jiangsu Suning

Individual

Notes

  1. ^ Includes ten appearances and seven goals in non-international matches (nine appearances and seven goals against non-national teams, one appearance against another KFA team).

References

  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Choi Yong-soo". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  2. ^ '독수리' 최용수, FC 서울 둥지 복귀 (in Korean). FC Seoul. 30 January 2006. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  3. ^ Ha, Sung-ryong (18 December 2018). 간신히 1부 잔류한 FC서울…최용수 감독 "잠도 못 잤다" [FC Seoul, barely staying on the K-league Classic, coach Choi Yong-soo said, "I couldn't sleep."] (in Korean). Seoul Broadcasting System.
  4. ^ 최용수 FC서울 감독, 성적 부진 '자진사퇴' (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  5. ^ ‘독수리’ 최용수，결혼 15개월 만에 파경. Naver (in Korean). 24 November 2006.
  6. ^ "Choi Yong-soo at Korea Football Association" (in Korean). KFA. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b Lee, Seung-soo; Schöggl, Hans; Trevena, Mark (13 May 2020). "South Korea - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  8. ^ Lee, Seung-soo; Trevena, Mark (8 April 2020). "South Korea - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  9. ^ Di Maggio, Roberto; Garin, Erik; Jönsson, Mikael; Morrison, Neil; Stokkermans, Karel (22 November 2018). "Asian U-19/U-20 Championship". RSSSF. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  10. ^ Stokkermans, Karel (20 December 2019). "East Asian Championship". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  11. ^ 「적토마」고정운 MVP영예. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 20 November 1994.
  12. ^ "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. 18 January 2018.
  13. ^ 패기의 상무 2연패 가을철 실업축구연맹전. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 17 September 1998. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  14. ^ "South Korea 1999". RSSSF. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  15. ^ a b [프로축구] 최용수, 첫 MVP 등극. Naver (in Korean). Kukmin Ilbo. 1 December 2000.
  16. ^ 최용수 FC서울 감독, 9월 K-리그 이달의 감독 선정 (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  17. ^ 최용수 감독, 3·4월 K리그 `이달의 감독` 선정 (in Korean). The Korea Economic Daily. 11 May 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  18. ^ 신라스테이, K리그 후원…3월 `이달의 감독상`에 최용수 감독 선정 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 7 April 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2023.

External links

Sporting positions Preceded byKang Chun-ho Anyang LG Cheetahs captain 1999–2000 Succeeded byKim Gwi-hwa
Awards
South Korea squads
Choi Yong-soo managerial positions
Categories