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Seol Ki-hyeon
Seol.JPG
Seol with Fulham in 2009
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-01-08) 8 January 1979 (age 45)
Place of birth Jeongseon, Gangwon, South Korea
Height 1.87 m
Playing position Winger
Club information
Current club Gyeongnam FC (manager)
Youth career
1994–1996 Gangneung Commercial High School [ko]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Royal Antwerp 25 (10)
2001–2004 Anderlecht 71 (18)
2004–2006 Wolverhampton Wanderers 69 (8)
2006–2007 Reading 30 (4)
2007–2010 Fulham 18 (1)
2009 Al-Hilal (loan) 7 (0)
2010 Pohang Steelers 16 (7)
2011 Ulsan Hyundai 34 (5)
2012–2014 Incheon United 73 (11)
Total 343 (64)
National team
1999 South Korea U20 12 (7)
1999–2000 South Korea U23 25 (10)
2000–2009 South Korea 82 (19)
Teams managed
2015 Sungkyunkwan University (caretaker)
2016–2018 Sungkyunkwan University
2019– Gyeongnam FC
Honours
Representing  South Korea
Men's football
AFC Asian Cup
Bronze 2000 Lebanon Team
AFC Youth Championship
Gold 1998 Thailand Team
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).
Korean name
Hangul 설기현
Hanja 薛琦鉉
Revised Romanization Seol Gi-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer Sŏl Ki-hyŏn

Seol Ki-hyeon (Korean: 설기현; Hanja: 薛琦鉉 ; born 8 January 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a winger, and who currently is the manager of Gyeongnam FC. He is also the first South Korean footballer to score in the history of the UEFA Champions League, during his time at Anderlecht.

Club career

Career in Belgium

In July 2000, Seol joined a Belgian club Royal Antwerp. He became the second South Korean footballer to score in double figures during a season in Europe, following Cha Bum-kun. After a successful season with Royal Antwerp, Seol moved to Anderlecht in the same league. He scored a hat-trick in the space of 12 minutes in the 2001 Belgian Super Cup. He also became the first South Korean player to score in the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League. He won the 2003–04 Belgian First Division with Anderlecht.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In August 2004, Seol moved to England, joining a Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Wolverhampton manager at the time, Glenn Hoddle, preferred Seol as one of his first-choice forwards, using him in various roles such as striker, attacking midfielder and winger.

Disappointed by the failure of Wolves' promotion, Seol sought Premier League clubs interested in him before the 2006 FIFA World Cup despite having two years left on his contract. He was reported as saying "At this stage, I'm frustrated not to be in the Premiership. I think there will be some good news after the World Cup."

Reading

Seol eventually joined newly promoted Premier League club Reading on 12 July 2006 for a reported transfer fee of £1.5 million. He was voted the Reading Player of the Month for August by fans after showing great performances early in the season. On 16 September 2006, he scored his first Premiership goal in a 2–1 win over Sheffield United. On 1 October 2006, he scored his second goal for Reading in a 1–0 win over West Ham United. His third goal for Reading, his first at home, came on 18 November 2006 in the 2–0 win against Charlton Athletic. However, his performance was not consistently kept during the rest of the season. He scored his fourth goal in the last game of the season against Blackburn Rovers.

Fulham

Seol left Reading for Fulham on 31 August 2007 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, with Liam Rosenior going the other way. Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted that strained relations between him and Seol led to the move.

After his manager Lawrie Sanchez was replaced by Roy Hodgson, Seol wasn't chosen as Hodgson's player during the rest of the season. He scored his first goal for Fulham in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City on 16 August 2008, but he still didn't show something special the next season. On 14 January 2009, he signed an initial six-month loan move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia with a view to moving permanently. However, he stated that he desired to stay at Fulham to win his place in the squad at the end of his loan deal.

Seol scored his second goal for the club in a Europa League qualifier against FK Vėtra on 30 July 2009, but he failed to made a twist for his status. On 15 January 2010, It was announced that his contract with Fulham was cancelled by mutual consent.

Retirement

Seol played for Pohang Steelers, Ulsan Hyundai, and Incheon United in the K League after leaving Fulham. During his K League career, he was criticised for having no respect for clubs and lying to fans. He announced his retirement on 2 March 2015 in order to become the interim manager of Sungkyunkwan University. His retirement ceremony took place in a friendly match between South Korea and Jamaica on 13 October 2015.

International career

Seol was a participant in 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the 2002 World Cup hosted by his country, he helped South Korea to reach the semi-finals as a starter. He also scored crucial equaliser in the round of 16 against Italy. He was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in that year.

Managerial career

On 26 December 2019, Seol was appointed as manager of Gyeongnam FC.

Media

Seol was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Royal Antwerp 2000–01 Belgian First Division 25 10 2 1 27 11
Anderlecht 2001–02 Belgian First Division 20 3 0 0 3 1 1 3 24 7
2002–03 Belgian First Division 31 12 3 0 8 1 42 13
2003–04 Belgian First Division 19 3 1 0 6 1 26 4
2004–05 Belgian First Division 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
Total 71 18 4 0 18 3 1 3 94 24
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2004–05 Championship 37 4 2 1 1 1 40 6
2005–06 Championship 32 4 2 0 2 0 36 4
Total 69 8 4 1 3 1 76 10
Reading 2006–07 Premier League 27 4 4 0 0 0 31 4
2007–08 Premier League 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Total 30 4 4 0 0 0 34 4
Fulham 2007–08 Premier League 12 0 2 0 1 0 15 0
2008–09 Premier League 4 1 0 0 2 0 6 1
2009–10 Premier League 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 5 1
Total 18 1 2 0 4 0 2 1 26 2
Al Hilal (loan) 2008–09 Saudi Pro League 7 0 5 0 5 1 7 0 24 1
Pohang Steelers 2010 K League 16 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 18 7
Ulsan Hyundai 2011 K League 34 5 4 2 7 2 45 9
Incheon United 2012 K League 40 7 1 1 41 8
2013 K League 1 26 4 3 1 29 5
2014 K League 1 7 0 0 0 7 0
Total 73 11 4 2 77 13
Career total 343 64 29 6 19 4 29 4 1 3 421 81

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
South Korea 2000 16 6
2001 11 1
2002 14 3
2003 3 0
2004 15 2
2005 4 0
2006 9 4
2007 2 0
2008 4 2
2009 4 1
Career total 82 19
Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Seol Ki-hyeon
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 April 2000 Seoul, South Korea  Laos 4–0 9–0 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
2 8–0
3 9–0
4 9 April 2000 Seoul, South Korea  Myanmar 1–0 4–0 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
5 2–0
6 7 October 2000 Dubai, United Arab Emirates  Australia 3–2 4–2 2000 LG Cup
7 11 February 2001 Dubai, United Arab Emirates  United Arab Emirates 3–1 4–1 2001 Dubai Tournament
8 26 May 2002 Suwon, South Korea  France 2–1 2–3 Friendly
9 18 June 2002 Daejeon, South Korea  Italy 1–1 2–1 (aet) 2002 FIFA World Cup
10 20 November 2002 Seoul, South Korea  Brazil 1–0 2–3 Friendly
11 14 February 2004 Ulsan, South Korea  Oman 2–0 5–0 Friendly
12 31 July 2004 Jinan, China  Iran 1–1 3–4 2004 AFC Asian Cup
13 26 May 2006 Seoul, South Korea  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1–0 2–0 Friendly
14 2 September 2006 Seoul, South Korea  Iran 1–0 1–1 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
15 6 September 2006 Suwon, South Korea  Chinese Taipei 1–0 8–0 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
16 3–0
17 6 February 2008 Seoul, South Korea  Turkmenistan 2–0 4–0 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
18 4–0
19 5 September 2009 Seoul, South Korea  Australia 3–1 3–1 Friendly

Honours

Anderlecht

Al-Hilal

  • Saudi Crown Prince Cup: 2008–09

Ulsan Hyundai

  • Korean League Cup: 2011

South Korea U20

  • AFC Youth Championship: 1998

South Korea

Individual

  • Korean FA Fans' Player of the Year: 2006

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Seol Ki-hyeon para niños

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