Choi Kang-hee (footballer)

Choi Kang-hee (Korean: 최강희; Hanja: 崔康熙; born 12 April 1959) is a South Korean football manager and former player; he is the currently head coach of Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan.

Choi Kang-hee

Personal information
Full name	Choi Kang-hee
Date of birth	(1959-04-12) 12 April 1959 (age 65)
Place of birth	Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Right-back
Team information
Current team	Shandong Taishan (head coach)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979	Hanil Bank
1980–1982	ROK Army (draft)
1983	POSCO Dolphins	3	(0)
1984–1992	Hyundai Horang-i	184	(10)
Total		187	(10)
International career
1987	South Korea B
1988–1992	South Korea	33	(0)
Managerial career
2005–2011	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2011–2013	South Korea
2013–2018	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
2018–2019	Tianjin Quanjian
2019	Dalian Yifang
2019–2021	Shanghai Shenhua
2023–	Shandong Taishan
Medal record Men's football Representing  South Korea AFC Asian Cup 1988 Qatar Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

In this Korean name, the family name is Choi.

Club career

Choi played for Hanil Bank and Army FC in the Korean Semi-professional League. After he accomplished his military service in ROK Army, South Korea's professional league (K League) 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.^[1]

International career

Choi was called up to the South Korean national team for the 1988 Summer Olympics. He played all three games, but South Korea were knocked out of the group stage in the Olympics.^[2] He was also included in South Korea's squad that came runners-up to Saudi Arabia in the 1988 AFC Asian Cup. He played three games in the Asian Cup.^[3]

Choi participated in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, playing three games for South Korea.^[4] 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 and Cologne in Germany to study football management.^[5] By 1996, he joined the coaching staff at Suwon Samsung Bluewings and then became an assistant to head coach Kim Ho as the club won the 2000–01 Asian Club Championship.^[6] He also became an assistant coach of the South Korean national team under Humberto Coelho.

Choi's first stint managing K League 1 side Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 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 K League 1 title in 2009 and 2011. He also won the AFC Champions League in 2006.

Choi repeatedly turned down offers to become South Korea national football team 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 [the 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.^[7] 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.

Prior to the last qualifier against Iran 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 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.^[8] After Iran won this match, Queiroz showed his anger on Choi with a raised fist gesture which was deemed offensive by the Korean players and staff, almost causing a fight between the two teams.^[8]

Choi returned to Jeonbuk and led them to four more K League 1 titles in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. He also led the team to its second AFC Champions League 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.^[9]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup		Other[b]		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hanil Bank	1979	Semipro League	?	?	?	?	—		?	?	?	?
ROK Army (draft)	1980	Semipro League	?	?	?	?	—		?	?	?	?
	1981	Semipro League	?	?	?	?	—		?	?	?	?
	1982	Semipro League	?	?	?	?	—		?	?	?	?
	Total		?	?	?	?	—		?	?	?	?
POSCO Dolphins	1983	K League	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Hyundai Horang-i	1984	K League	26	0	—		—		—		26	0
	1985	K League	21	0	—		—		—		21	0
	1986	K League	16	0	—		15	0	—		31	0
	1987	K League	25	3	—		—		—		25	3
	1988	K League	20	0	?	?	—		—		20	0
	1989	K League	9	0	?	?	—		—		9	0
	1990	K League	13	2	—		—		—		13	2
	1991	K League	37	5	—		—		—		37	5
	1992	K League	17	0	—		3	0	—		20	0
	Total		184	10	—		18	0	—		202	10
Career total			187	10	—		18	0	?	?	205	10

1. Includes Korean National Championship
2. Includes Korean President's Cup

Honours

Player

ROK Army

• Korean President's Cup runner-up: 1980^[10]

Hyundai Horang-i

• Korean League Cup: 1986^[10]
• Korean National Championship runner-up: 1989^[11]

South Korea

• AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1988^[12]

Individual

• K League 1 Best XI: 1985, 1986, 1988, 1991^{[13][14][15][16]}
• Korean League Cup Best Player: 1986^[17]
• Korean FA Best XI: 1988^[18]
• K League All-Star: 1991, 1992^[19][20]
• K League '80s All-Star Team: 2003^[21]
• K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013^[22]

Manager

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

• K League 1: 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018^[11]
• Korean FA Cup: 2005^[10]
• Korean League Cup runner-up: 2010^[10]
• AFC Champions League: 2006, 2016

Shanghai Shenhua

• Chinese FA Cup: 2019

Individual

• Korean FA Cup Best Manager: 2005^[23]
• K League 1 Manager of the Year: 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018^[24]
• K League Manager of the Month: October 2014, November 2014, April 2015, July 2015, July 2016, June 2017, April 2018^{[25][26][27][28][29]}
• AFC Coach of the Year: 2016^[30]
• Chinese Super League Coach of the Month: June 2023, July 2023^[31]
• Chinese Super League Coach of the Year: 2023^[32]

References

1. 이번엔 스승이 제자 이길까?…차범근과 최강희의 오랜 악연 관심. Naver (in Korean). Kukinews. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
2. "Choi Gang-Hui". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
3. "Kang-hee Choi » Länderspiele » Asian Cup". weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2019.
4. "CHOI Kanghee". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
5. 최강희 '조용한 카리스마'. Naver (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
6. "Asian Club Competitions 2000/01". RSSSF. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
7. 홍명보號의 해묵은 숙제 '대표팀 내분·파벌 해소' (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
8. "Iran Carlos Queiroz offers South Korea coach obscene gesture after qualifying for World Cup". Yahoo Sports. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
9. '심판매수' 전북 현대, 승점 9점 삭감…벌과금 1억원(종합2보) (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 30 September 2016.
10. Lee, Seung-soo; Trevena, Mark (8 April 2020). "South Korea - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
11. Lee, Seung-soo; Schöggl, Hans; Trevena, Mark (13 May 2020). "South Korea - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
12. Stokkermans, Karel (7 February 2019). "Asian Nations Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
13. 슈퍼리그 작년꼴찌 럭키금성 覇權. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 23 September 1985. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
14. 86 축구대제전 베스트11 선정. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 18 November 1986.
15. 油公"浦鐵엔 안진다". Naver (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 14 November 1988.
16. 鄭(정)용환 MVP·모범상 "2冠(관)늠름" 기자단투표 선정. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 4 November 1991.
17. 되돌아본 86 월드컵서「86」까지 스포츠熱風의 한해 (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 30 December 1986.
18. 88MVP 鄭용환 축구협 베스트11선정. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 25 January 1989. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
19. 프로축구올스타전 10일 오후 동대문運서. Naver (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 5 November 1991. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
20. 프로축구 올스타戰 오늘 동대문구장서. Naver (in Korean). Kyunghyang. 22 July 1992. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
21. [프로축구]80년대 vs 90년대 축구 왕별들 뜬다…15일 OB 올스타전 (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 1 August 2003. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
22. 프로축구 '레전드 베스트11' 투표 (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 31 May 2013.
23. 전북 현대, 프로 자존심 지켰다. Naver (in Korean). Munhwa Ilbo. 18 December 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
24. [표] 프로축구 역대 감독상·MVP·영플레이어상 수상자 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
25. 전북 우승 이끈 최강희 감독 ‘11월의 감독’ (in Korean). Korean Broadcasting System. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
26. 2015 K리그 올해의 감독, `이달의 감독상`에 물어봐 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
27. <축구> 최강희 감독, 7월의 감독상 수상…7월 성적 5승1무 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
28. '6월 3승1무' 전북 최강희 감독, K리그 이달의 감독 선정 (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
29. '감독 최다승' 최강희, 4월 '인터파크 이달의 감독' 선정 (in Korean). YTN. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
30. "AFC Men's Coach of the Year 2016: Choi Kang-hee". AFC. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
31. "恭喜！崔康熙蝉联月度最佳教练，带队16场仅输2场狂进42球" (in Chinese). Sohu. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
32. "中超赛季最佳：武磊MVP，崔康熙最佳教练，马宁获金哨" (in Chinese). Dongqiudi. 4 January 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.

External links

• Choi Kang-hee – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
• Choi Kang-hee – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Choi Kang-hee at National-Football-Teams.com