| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Choi Kang-hee | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1959-04-12)12 April 1959 (age 66) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Yangpyeong,Gyeonggi, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | 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
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Choi Kang-hee (Korean: 최강희;Hanja: 崔康熙; born 12 April 1959) is a South Koreanfootball manager and former player; he is the currently head coach ofChinese Super League clubShandong Taishan.
Choi played forHanil Bank andArmy FC in theKorean Semi-professional League. After he accomplished hismilitary 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 clubPOSCO Dolphins. However, he transferred toHyundai 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 managerCha Bum-kun over Cha's training methods.[1]
Choi was called up to theSouth Korean national team for the1988 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 toSaudi Arabia in the1988 AFC Asian Cup. He played three games in the Asian Cup.[3]
Choi participated in the1990 FIFA World Cup, playing three games for South Korea.[4] However, South Korea failed to win a single game in the 1990 World Cup.
The year after Choi retired as a player, he went toLeverkusen andCologne inGermany to study football management.[5] By 1996, he joined the coaching staff atSuwon Samsung Bluewings and then became an assistant to head coachKim Ho as the club won the2000–01 Asian Club Championship.[6] He also became an assistant coach of theSouth Korean national team underHumberto Coelho.
Choi's first stint managingK League 1 sideJeonbuk 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 theK League 1 title in 2009 and 2011. He also won theAFC Champions League in 2006.
Choi repeatedly turned down offers to becomeSouth Korea national football team head coach after former coachCho 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 teamUzbekistan.
Prior to the last qualifier againstIran 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 coachCarlos 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 araised 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 moreK League 1 titles in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. He also led the team to its secondAFC 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]
| 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 | |||
ROK Army
Hyundai Horang-i
South Korea
Individual
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Shanghai Shenhua
Individual
Awards | |||||
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