Choi Yong-soo (; born 10 September 1973) is a South Korean professional football manager and former player. He competed for South Korea at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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.
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. On 30 July 2020, he resigned from Seoul due to his poor results in the 2020 season.
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.
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.
Career statistics Club +Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotal Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps GoalsAnyang LG Cheetahs1994K League299—61—35101995K League219—72—28111996K League1641061—2351999K League20123572—30192000K League2510??94213615Total111444535102115260Sangmu FC (draft)1997Semipro League????——??1998Semipro League????——??Total????——??JEF United Ichihara2001J1 League26213452—34272002J1 League23164310—28192003J1 League24170020—2617Total73547782—8863Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan)2004J2 League332010——3420Júbilo Iwata2005J1 League151001042203FC Seoul2006K League200000—20Career total2341191212441263296146
International +Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea1995511997151119982413200050200162200280200360Career total6927
Results list South Korea's goal tally first. +List of international goals scored by Choi Yong-sooNo. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition 31 January 1995 Hong Kong 1 1–0 1–0 1995 Lunar New Year Cup228 May 1997Daejeon, South Korea72–04–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification 3–0 14 June 1997 Suwon, South Korea 9 2–0 3–0 1997 Korea Cup 24 August 1997 Daegu, South Korea 12 2–0 4–1 Friendly66 September 1997Seoul, South Korea141–03–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification72–0 3–0 12 September 1997 Seoul, South Korea 15 1–0 2–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification 11 October 1997 Almaty, Kazakhstan 18 1–0 1–1 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification1118 October 1997Tashkent, Uzbekistan191–05–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification 3–0 27 January 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 21 1–0 2–0 1998 King's Cup 29 January 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 22 2–0 2–0 1998 King's Cup 31 January 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 23 1–1 1–1 1998 King's Cup 7 February 1998 Auckland, New Zealand 24 1–0 1–0 Friendly 18 April 1998 Skopje, Macedonia 30 2–1 2–2 Friendly 27 May 1998 Seoul, South Korea 34 2–2 2–2 Friendly192 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand391–02–31998 Asian Games 2–0214 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand402–04–01998 Asian Games 4–0 237 December 1998Bangkok, Thailand411–02–01998 Asian Games 2–0 11 December 1998 Bangkok, Thailand 43 1–0 1–0 1998 Asian Games 13 September 2001 Daejeon, South Korea 54 2–2 2–2 Friendly 13 November 2001 Gwangju, South Korea 55 1–0 1–1 Friendly
Managerial statistics
+Managerial record by team and tenureTeamFromToRecordFC Seoul26 April 201122 June 2016Jiangsu Suning 1 July 20161 June 2017FC Seoul18 October 201830 July 2020Gangwon FC17 November 202114 June 2023Career total
Honours Player FC Seoul K League 1: 2000 Korean League Cup: 2006
Sangmu FC Korean Semi-professional League (Autumn): 1997, 1998
South Korea U20 AFC Youth Championship runner-up: 1992
South Korea EAFF Championship: 2003
Individual K League Rookie of the Year: 1994 AFC Asian All-Star: 1997 K League All-Star: 1998, 1999, 2000 Korean Semi-professional League (Autumn) top goalscorer: 1998 Korean FA Cup top goalscorer: 1999 K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 2000 K League 1 Best XI: 2000 J.League All-Star: 2001, 2003
Manager FC Seoul K League 1: 2012 Korean FA Cup: 2015 AFC Champions League runner-up: 2013
Jiangsu Suning Chinese FA Cup runner-up: 2016
Individual K League 1 Manager of the Year: 2012 K League All-Star: 2013 AFC Coach of the Year: 2013 K League Manager of the Month: September 2014, March/April 2016, March 2019 Korean FA Cup Best Manager: 2015
Notes
References
External links