Choi Kang-hee (; born 12 April 1959) is a South Korean

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

manager and former player.

Club career

Choi played for Hanil Bank and Army FC in the Korean Semi-professional League. After he accomplished his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

in ROK Army, South Korea's professional league (

K League K League (Hangul: K리그) is South Korea's professional football league. It includes first division K League 1 and second division K League 2. History Until the 1970s, South Korean football operated two major football leagues, the National ...

) was founded at a similar time, and he started his professional career by joining a K League club POSCO Dolphins. However, he transferred to Hyundai Horang-i after hearing the news of its foundation. He became a founding member of Hyundai Horang-i, and spent the rest of his playing career in there. He retired at the end of the 1992 season after a row with the club's manager Cha Bum-kun over Cha's training methods.

International career

Choi was called up to the South Korean national team for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. He played all three games, but South Korea were knocked out of the group stage in the Olympics. He was also included in South Korea's squad that came runners-up to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...

in the 1988 AFC Asian Cup. He played three games in the Asian Cup. Choi participated in the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...

, playing three games for South Korea. However, South Korea failed to win a single game in the 1990 World Cup.

Managerial career

The year after Choi retired as a player, he went to

Leverkusen Leverkusen () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the south, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne, and to the north the state capital, Düsseldorf. With about 161,000 inhabitants, Leverkusen is o ...

and

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

to study football management. By 1996, he joined the coaching staff at

Suwon Samsung Bluewings ''(The Blue, White and Reds)''Tricolor'' , short name = SSB , image = , caption = , founded = , ground = Suwon World Cup Stadium , capacity = 44,031 , owner = Cheil Worldwide( Samsung's subsidiary) , chairma ...

and then became an assistant to head coach Kim Ho as the club won the 2000–01 Asian Club Championship. He also became an assistant coach of the South Korean national team under

Humberto Coelho Humberto Manuel de Jesus Coelho (born 20 April 1950) is a Portuguese retired Association football, footballer and Manager (association football), manager. In a career mainly associated with S.L. Benfica, Benfica, the Defender (association footba ...

. Choi's first stint managing

K League 1 The K League 1 ( Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in ...

side

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors ( ko, 전북 현대 모터스) is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Playing at the Jeonju World Cup ...

lasted from 2005 to 2011. He focused on offensive tactics and transformed the team into one of the best in Asia. He led Jeonbuk to the

title in 2009 and 2011. He also won the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

in 2006. Choi repeatedly turned down offers to become

South Korea national football team The South Korea national football team (; recognized as Korea Republic by FIFA) represents South Korea in men's international football and is governed by the Korea Football Association. South Korea has emerged as a major football power in Asia ...

head coach after former coach Cho Kwang-rae was sacked. After being repeatedly offered the job, he finally accepted it on 21 December 2011. He insisted that his reign would only last until the end of World Cup qualifiers, saying, "I asked that he contract only runs until June 2013 What we need to do is qualify for the World Cup finals for the eighth time in a row... My mission is to take the national team to the finals. After that, a foreign coach should take over the team. If the KFA doesn't accept this, I won't sign the contract." However, Choi's team showed poor performances in the final round ( fourth round) of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. While Cho managed the national team, they split into two factions, overseas clubs' players and K League players. Choi also failed to bring this team together, and received criticisms from the overseas players. South Korea narrowly qualified for the World Cup by finishing as runners-up in their group due to goal difference, although they were on the same points as third-placed team

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. Prior to the last qualifier against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

in his country, Choi complained that Iran had provided poor training facilities and unfair treatments when his team had gone to Iran to play an away qualifier. Iran coach

Carlos Queiroz Carlos Manuel Brito Leal de Queiroz (; born 1 March 1953) is a Portuguese football coach who currently is the head coach of the Iran national team. He has served as the manager of his native Portugal's national team, the United Arab Emirat ...

hit back at this statement by claiming that Choi had humiliated the Iranian people and demanded an immediate apology. Instead, Choi said Iran seemed to make unnecessary provocations in desperation and that Queiroz would watch the World Cup on TV. Queiroz pinned the sad face of Choi on his black polo shirt and mocked him, and also offered to send Choi the jersey of Uzbek team as Choi said he would help Uzbekistan qualify for the World Cup finals over Iran. After Iran won this match, Queiroz showed his anger on Choi with a

raised fist The raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a long-standing image of mixed meaning, often a symbol of political solidarity. It is also a common symbol of communism, socialism, and other revolutionary social movements. It can also represent a salute ...

gesture which was deemed offensive by the Korean players and staff, almost causing a fight between the two teams. Choi returned to Jeonbuk and led them to four more

titles in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. He also led the team to its second

title in 2016. His successful career in Jeonbuk made him one of South Korea's most successful managers of all time, although his club caused controversy over bribing referees.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Player

ROK Army *

Korean President's Cup The President's Cup National Football Tournament is a football competition, held by Korea Football Association, for South Korean semi-professional and amateur football clubs. This competition was originally one of major club competitions of Sou ...

runner-up: 1980 Hyundai Horang-i * Korean League Cup:

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

* Korean National Championship runner-up: 1989 South Korea *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second oldest cont ...

runner-up: 1988 Individual * K League 1 Best XI:

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, 1988,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

* Korean League Cup Best Player:

* Korean FA Best XI: 1988 * K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013

Manager

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Korean FA Cup The Korean FA Cup is a national football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the FA Cup was established in 1996, two predecessor competitions named All Joseon Football Tournament ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

* Korean League Cup runner-up:

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Shanghai Shenhua *

Chinese FA Cup The Chinese FA Cup (, abbreviated as CFA Cup) is the national knockout cup competition in China organized by the Chinese Football Association. Its current holders are Shandong Taishan, having beaten Shanghai Port in 2021 for a record seventh title ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Individual *

Best Manager:

* K League 1 Manager of the Year:

* AFC Coach of the Year: 2016

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Kang-Hee 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1988 AFC Asian Cup players Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of South Korea South Korea national football team managers Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors managers Pohang Steelers players Ulsan Hyundai FC players K League 1 players Association football defenders South Korea international footballers South Korean football managers South Korean footballers Footballers from Seoul Expatriate football managers in China 1959 births Living people