History of South Korea National Football Team

To WORLD CUP 2014

2002 World Cup
South Korea co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup tournament with Japan. As they had never won a
game in the World Cup previously hopes were not very high. However led by Dutch coach Guus Hiddink from
the Netherlands and assistant coach Pim Verbeek, the South Korean team achieved their first ever victory in
the World Cup with a 20 victory against Poland. Their next game was against the United States and earned a
1-1 draw, with striker Ahn Jung Hwan scoring a late game equalizer. Their last game was against the favored
Portuguese side. Portugal earned two red cards in the match, reducing them to nine men and Park Ji-Sung
scored the winning goal in a 1-0 victory, allowing the South Korean team to qualify for the second round for
the first time in their history.
South Korea's second round opponents were Italy, who they defeated 2-1 in a very physical match. The
Korean team was down for most of the match but Seol Ki-Hyeon scored an equalizer in the 88th minute,
allowing the game to go through to extra time. Ahn Jung-Hwan scored the winner with a headed golden goal,
allowing them to advance to the quarter-final. South Korea faced Spain in the quarter finals. The game went to
penalties after two valid disallowed Spanish goals and South Korea won the penalty shootout 5-3, becoming
the first Asian team to reach the final four.
The South Korean team's run was halted by a 10 loss to Germany in the semi-finals. They lost to
Turkey 32 in the third-place match to gain fourth place. This level of success was unprecedented for a country
that had never before won a game in the World Cup. They had gone further than any Asian team and upset
several established European teams in the process, leading to an increase in the popularity of football in the
country. Hiddink became a national hero in South Korea, becoming the first person to be granted honorary
citizenship in addition to being given a private villa.

2003-2013
After Hiddink's departure there was a greater emphasis on hiring foreign coaches. As a result
Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho became the new manager. Under his management Korea participated in
and won the first EAFF East Asian Cup in 2003. However they had less success the next year in the Asian Cup,
losing to Iran in the quarter finals. Afterwards Coelho resigned and was replaced by Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere.
South Korea hosted the East Asian Cup in 2005, this time achieving fourth place.
Korea qualified for the 2006 World Cup after defeating Kuwait in the qualifiers, finishing second in
Group B after Saudi Arabia. By this point Bonfrere had come under heavy criticism for the team's poor
performance during the 2005 East Asian Cup as well as a defeat to Saudi Arabia during World Cup qualification.
As a result the Korean Football Association named Dick Advocaat the new coach to lead the team into the
World Cup. During the 2006 World Cup, South Korea achieved their first World Cup victory outside Asia by
beating Togo 21, with goals from Lee Chun-Soo and Ahn Jung-Hwan. Their next game was against France.
France held the advantage for most of the game but a goal by Park Ji-Sung allowed the South Korean team to
draw with eventual finalists. This placed South Korea at the top of their group but they lost their last game 20
to Switzerland, which eliminated them from the tournament.
Korea's next major tournament was the 2007 Asian Cup. Without star players such as Lee Young-Pyo,
Park Ji-Sung, and Seol Ki-Hyeon, they managed to make it out of the group stage with only four points. They
defeated Iran in the quarterfinals but lost to Iraq in the semifinals. They then defeated Japan to achieve third
place. All of Korea's matches outside the group stage were decided by penalty shootouts. Later, it was
discovered that during the tournament, four veteran players, including then captain Lee Woon-Jae, broke
team rules to go on a late-night drinking binge in an Indonesian bar. Each of the four players were banned
from national team participation for at least two years.[4] Pim Verbeek, the national coach at the time,
resigned after the tournament, taking blame for the team's unsatisfactory performance. He also criticized the
unrealistic expectations from the fans. Afterwards South Korea chose its first Korean coach since 2000 when
Huh Jung-Moo, who had previously coached the team, was appointed in 2008. Under his management the
South Korean team managed to win the 2008 East Asian Cup, go undefeated for twenty-seven consecutive
games in 2009, and qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
South Korea won the 2010 World Cup AFC qualification with 16 points seven wins and seven draws in
total. In the 2010 World Cup they were placed in Group B. They won their first game against Greece 20, with
goals from Lee Jung-Soo and Park Ji-Sung. They then faced Argentina and suffered a large loss 41, including an
own goal by forward Park Chu-Young. They then obtained a 22 draw in a hard fought match against Nigeria,
allowing them to make it to the second round for the first time on foreign soil. In the knockout stage they met
Uruguay, who defeated South Korea by a score of 21 and eliminated them from the tournament.
In the 2011 AFC Asian Cup they finished second in their group, losing to Australia on goal difference.
They defeated Iran 10 in the quarter-finals and faced rivals Japan in the semi-finals. The match ended 2-2 but
South Korea was defeated 3-0 in a penalty shoot-out. They faced and defeated Uzbekistan 3-2 to get third
place for the second Asian Cup in a row. South Korea narrowly qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by
finishing second in their group via goal difference. Head coach Choi Kang-hee took responsibility for the team's
poor performance and resigned following the loss to Iran in the last match of qualification. He was replaced by
former player Hong Myung-Bo, who had captained the 2002 World Cup team and coached the under-23 team
to a third place finish at the 2012 Olympics.




Coaching staff
Position Name
Head Coach Hong Myung-Bo
Assistant Coach Kim Tae-Young
Coach Park Kun-Ha
Coach Ikeda Seigo
Coach Ton du Chatinier
Goalkeeping Coach Kim Bong-Soo

Players
Current squad
Players called for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Caps and goals correct as of: 28 May 2014, after match against Tunisia.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
GK Jung Sung-Ryong 4 Jan 1985 (age 29) 60 0
Suwon Bluewings
GK Kim Seung-Gyu 30 Sep 1990 (age 23) 5 0
Ulsan Hyundai
GK Lee Bum-Young 2 April 1989 (age 25) 0 0
Busan IPark
DF Kim Chang-Soo 12 Sep 1985 (age 28) 8 0
Kashiwa Reysol
DF Yun Suk-Young 13 Feb 1990 (age 24) 3 0 Queens Park Rangers
DF Kwak Tae-Hwi 8 July 1981 (age 32) 34 5
Al-Hilal
DF Kim Young-Gwon 27 Feb 1990 (age 24) 20 1
Guangzhou Evergrande
DF Hwang Seok-Ho 27 June 1989 (age 24) 3 0
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
DF Lee Yong 24 Dec 1986 (age 27) 11 0
Ulsan Hyundai
DF Hong Jeong-Ho 12 Aug 1989 (age 24) 24 1 Augsburg
DF Park Joo-Ho 16 Jan 1987 (age 27) 13 0 Mainz 05
MF Kim Bo-Kyung 6 Oct 1989 (age 24) 27 3 Cardiff City
MF Ha Dae-Sung 2 March 1985 (age 29) 13 0
Beijing Guoan
MF Koo Ja-Cheol 27 Feb 1989 (age 25) 36 12 Mainz 05
MF Han Kook-Young 19 April 1990 (age 24) 9 0
Kashiwa Reysol
MF Park Jong-Woo 10 March 1989 (age 25) 10 0
Guangzhou R&F
MF Ki Sung-Yueng 24 Jan 1989 (age 25) 57 5 Swansea City
MF Lee Chung-Yong 2 July 1988 (age 25) 54 6 Bolton Wanderers
FW Son Heung-Min 8 July 1992 (age 21) 24 6 Bayer Leverkusen
FW Park Chu-Young 10 July 1985 (age 28) 63 24 Arsenal
FW Lee Keun-Ho 11 April 1985 (age 29) 63 18
Sangju Sangmu
FW Kim Shin-Wook 14 April 1988 (age 26) 27 3
Ulsan Hyundai
FW Ji Dong-Won 28 May 1991 (age 23) 27 8 Borussia Dortmund