Seo Jung-won facts for kids
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Seo Jung-won | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 17 December 1970 | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Gwangju, Gyeonggi, South Korea | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.73 m | |||||||||||||||
Playing position | Winger | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current club | Chengdu Rongcheng (head coach) | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
1992–1997 | Anyang LG Cheetahs | 66 | (13) | |||||||||||||
1994–1995 | → Sangmu FC (draft) | |||||||||||||||
1998 | Strasbourg | 16 | (4) | |||||||||||||
1999–2004 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | 143 | (36) | |||||||||||||
2005 | Austria Salzburg | 12 | (2) | |||||||||||||
2005–2007 | SV Ried | 55 | (9) | |||||||||||||
Total | 292 | (64) | ||||||||||||||
National team | ||||||||||||||||
1988 | South Korea U20 | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||
1991–1992 | South Korea U23 | 20 | (10) | |||||||||||||
1990–2001 | South Korea | 88 | (16) | |||||||||||||
Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
2013–2018 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | |||||||||||||||
2021– | Chengdu Rongcheng | |||||||||||||||
Honours
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Seo Jung-won | |
Hangul |
서정원
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Hanja |
徐正源
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Revised Romanization | Seo Jeong-won |
McCune–Reischauer | Sŏ Chŏngwŏn |
Seo Jung-won (born 17 December 1970) is a famous South Korean football manager and former player. He was known for being a very fast and agile player. Today, he is the head coach for a team called Chengdu Rongcheng in China.
Playing Career
Seo Jung-won was a winger, which means he played on the sides of the field. He was super fast, earning him the nickname "Nalssaendori," meaning "agile man" in Korean.
He played for the South Korean under-23 team in the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. He even scored a goal against Sweden there! After his great performance, big European clubs like FC Barcelona reportedly wanted to sign him. However, he decided to stay in South Korea to complete his two years of mandatory military service.
Seo also played for the senior South Korea team in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In one exciting game, he scored a goal that helped his team draw 2–2 with Spain.
After his military service, Seo really wanted to play football in Europe. In 1997, he almost joined a Portuguese club called Benfica. He even played a few practice games for them. But the Korean Football Association didn't allow him to move overseas at that time because they wanted him to help the national team qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
In January 1998, Seo joined Strasbourg in France. This made him the first South Korean player to play in the Ligue 1, which is France's top football league! He helped his team stay in the league that season. He also played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, even though he was feeling unwell.
In February 1999, he returned to South Korea and joined Suwon Samsung Bluewings. This was a very successful time for him. He helped Suwon win an amazing 12 trophies over six years! This included two Asian Club Championship titles, which are big tournaments for clubs in Asia.
Later in his career, he played for teams in Austria, like Austria Salzburg and SV Ried. While playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga, he was even called the best footballer in Austria by two major sports newspapers!
Managerial Career
After he stopped playing, Seo Jung-won became a football coach. From 2009 to 2010, he worked with his friend Hong Myung-bo as part of the coaching staff for South Korea's under-20 and under-23 national teams. In 2010, he joined the coaching staff for the senior national team.
In 2012, he became a coach for Suwon Samsung Bluewings, the team he played for before. He became the main manager in 2013. Under his leadership, the Bluewings finished second in the K League in 2014 and 2015.
In 2016, his team won the Korean FA Cup. The final match was very exciting because it was against FC Seoul, one of Suwon's biggest rivals! The game went into extra time, and then to a penalty shootout. Suwon Samsung Bluewings won 10–9 in penalties, giving Seo his first trophy as a manager!
Personal Life
Seo Jung-won got married in 1995 and has three sons. His third son, Seo Dong-han, also became a football player and plays as a forward for Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
Honours
Player
Anyang LG Cheetahs
- Korean League Cup runner-up: 1992
Sangmu FC
- Korean Semi-professional League (Spring): 1994
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
- K League 1: 1999, 2004
- Korean FA Cup: 2002
- Korean League Cup: 1999+, 2000, 2001
- Korean Super Cup: 1999, 2000
- Asian Club Championship: 2000–01, 2001–02
- Asian Super Cup: 2001, 2002
SV Ried
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2006
South Korea
- Asian Games bronze medal: 1990
- Dynasty Cup: 1990
Individual
- Asian Games top goalscorer: 1990
- K League All-Star: 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003
- K League 1 Best XI: 1999, 2001, 2002
- Asian Super Cup Most Valuable Player: 2001
- Korean FA Cup Most Valuable Player: 2002
- K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013
Manager
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
- Korean FA Cup: 2016
Individual
- K League Manager of the Month: July 2017
- Chinese Super League Coach of the Month: May 2023, October/November 2023
See also
In Spanish: Seo Jung-won para niños