# Choi Yong-soo

Choi Yong-soo (Korean: 최 용수, 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 LG Cheetahs / 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 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 |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs | 1994 | K League | 29 | 9 | — | — | 6 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 10 |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs | 1995 | K League | 21 | 9 | — | — | 7 | 2 | — | — | 28 | 11 |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs | 1996 | K League | 16 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 23 | 5 |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs | 1999 | K League | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 30 | 19 |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs | 2000 | K League | 25 | 10 | ? | ? | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 36 | 15 |
| Anyang LG Cheetahs | Total | Total | 111 | 44 | 4 | 5 | 35 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 152 | 60 |
| Sangmu FC (draft) | 1997 | Semipro League | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | — | — | ? | ? |
| Sangmu FC (draft) | 1998 | Semipro League | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | — | — | ? | ? |
| Sangmu FC (draft) | Total | Total | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | — | — | ? | ? |
| JEF United Ichihara | 2001 | J1 League | 26 | 21 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 34 | 27 |
| JEF United Ichihara | 2002 | J1 League | 23 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 19 |
| JEF United Ichihara | 2003 | J1 League | 24 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 17 |
| JEF United Ichihara | Total | Total | 73 | 54 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 2 | — | — | 88 | 63 |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan) | 2004 | J2 League | 33 | 20 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 20 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 2005 | J1 League | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 3 |
| FC Seoul | 2006 | K League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 234 | 119 | 12 | 12 | 44 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 296 | 146 |

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| South Korea | 1995 | 5 | 1 |
| South Korea | 1997 | 15 | 11 |
| South Korea | 1998 | 24 | 13 |
| South Korea | 2000 | 5 | 0 |
| South Korea | 2001 | 6 | 2 |
| South Korea | 2002 | 8 | 0 |
| South Korea | 2003 | 6 | 0 |
| Career total | Career total | 69 | 27 |
    Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Choi Yong-soo :
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 31 January 1995 | Hong Kong | 1 | Colombia | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1995 Lunar New Year Cup |
| 2 | 28 May 1997 | Daejeon, South Korea | 7 | Hong Kong | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 28 May 1997 | Daejeon, South Korea | 7 | Hong Kong | 3–0 | 4–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 4 | 14 June 1997 | Suwon, South Korea | 9 | Ghana | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1997 Korea Cup |
| 5 | 24 August 1997 | Daegu, South Korea | 12 | Tajikistan | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 6 | 6 September 1997 | Seoul, South Korea | 14 | Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 6 September 1997 | Seoul, South Korea | 14 | Kazakhstan | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 8 | 6 September 1997 | Seoul, South Korea | 14 | Kazakhstan | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 9 | 12 September 1997 | Seoul, South Korea | 15 | Uzbekistan | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 11 October 1997 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | 18 | Kazakhstan | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 18 October 1997 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 19 | Uzbekistan | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 12 | 18 October 1997 | Tashkent, Uzbekistan | 19 | Uzbekistan | 3–0 | 5–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 13 | 27 January 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 21 | Egypt | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1998 King's Cup |
| 14 | 29 January 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 22 | Thailand | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1998 King's Cup |
| 15 | 31 January 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 23 | Egypt | 1–1 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) | 1998 King's Cup |
| 16 | 7 February 1998 | Auckland, New Zealand | 24 | New Zealand | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 17 | 18 April 1998 | Skopje, Macedonia | 30 | Macedonia | 2–1 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 18 | 27 May 1998 | Seoul, South Korea | 34 | Czech Republic | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 19 | 2 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 39 | Turkmenistan | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 20 | 2 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 39 | Turkmenistan | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 21 | 4 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 40 | Vietnam | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 22 | 4 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 40 | Vietnam | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 23 | 7 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 41 | Japan | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 24 | 7 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 41 | Japan | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 25 | 11 December 1998 | Bangkok, Thailand | 43 | Kuwait | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 Asian Games |
| 26 | 13 September 2001 | Daejeon, South Korea | 54 | Nigeria | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 27 | 13 November 2001 | Gwangju, South Korea | 55 | Croatia | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |

## Managerial statistics

    As of 14 June 2023
Managerial record by team and tenure :
| Team | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Ref. |
| Team | From | To | Pld | W | D | L | Win % | Ref. |
| FC Seoul | 26 April 2011 | 22 June 2016 | 266 | 138 | 70 | 58 | 051.88 | |
| Jiangsu Suning | 1 July 2016 | 1 June 2017 | 42 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 045.24 | |
| FC Seoul | 18 October 2018 | 30 July 2020 | 63 | 22 | 15 | 26 | 034.92 | |
| Gangwon FC | 17 November 2021 | 14 June 2023 | 63 | 21 | 14 | 28 | 033.33 | |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 434 | 200 | 107 | 127 | 046.08 | |

## 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
* 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