Choi Soon-ho (; born 10 January 1962) is a former South Korean football player and manager.
International career At the age of 18, Choi was named in the South Korea squad for the 1980 AFC Asian Cup, where he became the tournament's youngest ever top goalscorer with seven goals. He scored two goals when his country defeated hosts Kuwait 3–0 in the group stage, but he failed to score in their 3–0 final loss, where they met Kuwait again.
Choi participated at the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship after leading the South Korea under-20 team to win the 1980 AFC Youth Championship title. He had two goals and two assists in a 4–1 win over Italy, but scored no goals in two losses to Romania and Brazil.
Until South Korea qualified for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Choi contributed to more than half of their 17 goals by having one goal and eight assists in eight qualifiers. During the tournament, he assisted Park Chang-sun's goal, which is South Korea's first-ever goal at the World Cup, in a 3–1 loss to Argentina, and then scored a goal outside the penalty area in a 3–2 loss to Italy, where he also assisted Huh Jung-moo's goal.
According to several South Korean media outlets, Serie A club Juventus was interested in Choi after watching his performance against Italy at the World Youth Championship. Their interest lasted until the end of the 1986 World Cup, but his transfer faced strong opposition from his team POSCO.
Style of play Regarded as one of the most technically gifted forwards in South Korea, Choi was proficient in controlling the ball in most situations. He also had outstanding pace, field of view and physique. He played in all outfield positions thanks to his various merits during his schooldays, and settled as a striker or attacking midfielder after becoming a professional player.
Career statistics Club
+ Club Season League League cup Total Division Club Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsPOSCO Atoms1980????—??1981National Semipro League????—??1982National Semipro League????—??1983K League22——221984K League2414——24141985K League52——521986K League81—10911987K League162——162Total5521??1056211988K League111??—1111989K League90??—901990K League81——81Total282??—282POSCO Atoms1991K League160——160RodezFrench Division 2182??—182 Career total 11725??1011825
International
The Korea Football Association is showing the list of Choi's 98 international caps in its official website. It originally recognised his 96 caps, but later added two more caps against the Soviet Union Olympic and Argentina Olympic at the 1988 Summer Olympics.
The RSSSF is claiming 103 caps about Choi's international career by recognising six more caps against Malaysia B, Thailand B, Bahrain B (at the 1980 Korea Cup), NIAC Mitra (at the 1982 King's Cup), Indonesia (at the 1983 Korea Cup) and Czechoslovakia XI (at the 1988 Korea Cup), and excluding one cap against the United States (at the 1983 Korea Cup). It recognised his caps in the 1984 Summer Olympics qualifiers, but omitted his two goals against Bahrain and New Zealand at the competition.
FIFA has excluded Choi from its Century Club, which collects players with 100 or more international caps. In 1999, Choi was inducted into the AFC Century Club with 113 caps by the standard of the time.
+Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea1980881981421982114198360198462198512719869419874019886219891011990180199140Career total9830 +Appearances and goals by competitionCompetitionAppsGoalsFriendlies142Minor competitions339Asian Games135AFC Asian Cup67Afro-Asian Cup of Nations10Summer Olympics qualification52Summer Olympics30FIFA World Cup qualification184FIFA World Cup51Total9830 Results list South Korea's goal tally first. +List of international goals scored by Choi Soon-hoNo. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition1 25 August 1980 Chuncheon, South Korea 1 1–0 3–0 1980 Korea Cup2 16 September 1980 Kuwait City, Kuwait 3 1–0 1–1 1980 AFC Asian Cup3 19 September 1980 Kuwait City, Kuwait 4 2–0 2–0 1980 AFC Asian Cup4 21 September 1980 Kuwait City, Kuwait 5 2–0 3–0 1980 AFC Asian Cup5 3–06 24 September 1980 Kuwait City, Kuwait 6 1–0 4–1 1980 AFC Asian Cup7 2–08 3–09 24 April 1981 Kuwait City, Kuwait 11 1–0 5–1 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification10 5–111 21 March 1982 Seoul, South Korea 16 2–0 3–0 Friendly12 11 June 1982 Gwangyang, South Korea 20 3–0 3–0 1982 Korea Cup13 21 November 1982 New Delhi, India 21 2–0 3–0 1982 Asian Games14 3–015 19 April 1984 Singapore 31 1–0 1–0 1984 Summer Olympics qualification16 22 April 1984 Singapore 32 2–0 2–0 1984 Summer Olympics qualification17 6 June 1985 Daejeon, South Korea 40 1–0 3–2 1985 Korea Cup18 8 June 1985 Gwangju, South Korea 41 1–0 3–0 1985 Korea Cup19 2–020 15 June 1985 Seoul, South Korea 42 1–0 2–0 1985 Korea Cup21 2–022 30 July 1985 Jakarta, Indonesia 44 2–0 4–1 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification23 14 December 1985 Nezahualcoyotl, Mexico 47 2–0 2–0 1985 Mexico Tournament24 10 June 1986 Puebla, Mexico 50 1–1 2–3 1986 FIFA World Cup25 20 September 1986 Busan, South Korea 51 2–0 3–0 1986 Asian Games26 3 October 1986 Seoul, South Korea 55 2–0 4–0 1986 Asian Games27 4–028 19 June 1988 Suwon, South Korea 62 2–0 4–0 1988 Korea Cup29 26 October 1988 Tokyo, Japan 66 1–0 1–0 Friendly30 27 May 1989 Seoul, South Korea 69 1–0 3–0 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
Honours Player POSCO Atoms K League 1: 1986 Korean National Semipro League: 1982 Korean National Semipro League (Autumn): 1981
Lucky-Goldstar Hwangso K League 1: 1990 Korean National Championship: 1988
South Korea U20 AFC Youth Championship: 1980
South Korea Asian Games: 1986 Afro-Asian Cup of Nations: 1987 Dynasty Cup: 1990 AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1980
Individual AFC Asian Cup top goalscorer: 1980 AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 1980 Korean FA Best XI: 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986 AFC Youth Championship Most Valuable Player: 1980 AFC Youth Championship top goalscorer: 1980 K League 1 Best XI: 1984 Korean FA Most Valuable Player: 1990 K League All-Star: 1991 K League '80s All-Star Team: 2003 K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013 K League Hall of Fame: 2023
Manager Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Korea National League: 2007, 2008 Korean President's Cup: 2008
Individual K League All-Star: 2004 Korea National League Manager of the Year: 2007, 2008 Korean President's Cup Best Manager: 2008
References
External links
Choi Soon-ho – National Team Stats at KFA
International Appearances & Goals