# Cho Jae-jin

Cho Jae-jin (Korean: 조재진; born 9 July 1981) is a former South Korean football player.

## Playing career

Cho emerged as a national star when he played for South Korean under-23 team in the 2004 Summer Olympics. He scored two goals in a 3–3 draw with Mali, helping his team advance to the quarter-finals.
Cho showed impressive performances including 45 goals in 101 J1 League appearances while playing for Shimizu S-Pulse from 2004 to 2007. He was also selected for South Korean national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and played three World Cup matches as a powerful target man. David Pleat, an expert of The Guardian at the time, selected him as one of six talents outside the Premier League after the World Cup.
After his successful stint at Shimizu, Cho tried to join a Premier League club, and received offers from Newcastle United, Fulham, Portsmouth and West Ham United. However, he signed for K League club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors after failing to negotiate with them.
Cho has congenital hip dysplasia, and started to suffer from pain when he was 22. He had relied on the drug to continue playing football, but eventually announced his retirement on 18 March 2011.

## Personal life

Cho is a close friend of Kim Dong-jin, who was also a member of South Korean Olympic team.
Cho appeared in advertisements for Adidas, Cosmopolitan and clothing brand "ASK" in South Korea.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2000 | K League | 5 | 0 | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | 5 | 0 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2001 | K League | 3 | 0 | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | 3 | 0 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 2004 | K League | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 1 |
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Total | Total | 16 | 1 | ? | ? | 0 | 0 | ? | ? | 16 | 1 |
| Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo (draft) | 2002 | Semipro League | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | ? | ? |
| Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo (draft) | 2003 | K League | 31 | 3 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 33 | 4 |
| Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo (draft) | Total | Total | 31 | 3 | 2 | 1 | ? | ? | — | — | 33 | 4 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2004 | J1 League | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 14 | 8 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2005 | J1 League | 29 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 3 | — | — | 39 | 14 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2006 | J1 League | 32 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 17 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2007 | J1 League | 28 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 14 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Total | Total | 101 | 45 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 5 | — | — | 122 | 53 |
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 2008 | K League | 26 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 33 | 11 |
| Gamba Osaka | 2009 | J1 League | 25 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 35 | 11 |
| Gamba Osaka | 2010 | J1 League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| Gamba Osaka | Total | Total | 35 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 51 | 13 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 209 | 67 | 15 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 255 | 82 |

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| South Korea | 2003 | 7 | 2 |
| South Korea | 2004 | 3 | 1 |
| South Korea | 2005 | 3 | 0 |
| South Korea | 2006 | 14 | 5 |
| South Korea | 2007 | 10 | 2 |
| South Korea | 2008 | 3 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | 40 | 10 |
    Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Cho Jae-jin :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 25 September 2003 | Incheon, South Korea | Vietnam | 2–0 | 5–0 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 2 | 24 October 2003 | Muscat, Oman | Nepal | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 3 | 19 December 2004 | Busan, South Korea | Germany | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 1 February 2006 | Hong Kong | Denmark | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2006 Lunar New Year Cup |
| 5 | 26 May 2006 | Seoul, South Korea | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 6 | 6 September 2006 | Suwon, South Korea | Chinese Taipei | 5–0 | 8–0 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 7 | 6 September 2006 | Suwon, South Korea | Chinese Taipei | 7–0 | 8–0 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 8 | 11 October 2006 | Seoul, South Korea | Syria | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 9 | 5 July 2007 | Seoul, South Korea | Uzbekistan | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 10 | 5 July 2007 | Seoul, South Korea | Uzbekistan | 2–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Note(s) |
| 2021 | Kick A Goal Season 1 | Himself | |
| 2021–2022 | Kick A Goal Season 2 | Himself | |
| 2022–2023 | Kick A Goal Season 3 | Himself | |
| 2022 | The Fishermen and the City Season 4 | Himself | Episode 12 |

## Honours
### Player

Suwon Samsung Bluewings
* Korean League Cup: 2000, 2001
* Korean Super Cup: 2000
* Asian Club Championship: 2000–01
* Asian Super Cup: 2001
Gwangju Sangmu Bulsajo
* Korean Semi-professional League (Spring): 2002
* Korean Semi-professional Championship runner-up: 2002
Shimizu S-Pulse
* Emperor's Cup runner-up: 2005
Gamba Osaka
* Emperor's Cup: 2009
South Korea
* AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007

### Television personality

List of awards and nominations received by TV personality Cho Jae-jin :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2022 | Leader of the Year Award | Kick A Goal | Won | |
* ↑ Shared with Ha Seok-ju, Kim Byung-ji, Kim Tae-young, Choi Jin-cheul, Choi Sung-yong, Lee Eul-yong, Hyun Young-min, Lee Young-pyo, Oh Beom-seok and Baek Ji-hoon