Yoo Sang-chul facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Korean name, the family name is Yoo.

Quick facts for kids
Yoo Sang-chul

Yoo in July 2011

Personal information

Date of birth

18 October 1971

Place of birth

Seoul, South Korea

Date of death

7 June 2021 (aged 49)

Place of death

Seoul, South Korea

Height

1.84 m

Playing position

Midfielder

Senior career*

Years

Team

Apps^†

(Gls)^†

1994–1998

Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i

(21)

1999–2000

Yokohama F. Marinos

(24)

2001–2002

Kashiwa Reysol

(14)

2002–2003

Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i

(12)

2003–2004

Yokohama F. Marinos

(6)

2005–2006

Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i

(1)

Total

219

(78)

National team

1996

South Korea Olympic (OA)

(0)

2004

South Korea Olympic (OA)

(0)

1993

South Korea B

1994–2005

South Korea

124

(18)

Teams managed

2011–2012

Daejeon Citizen

2014–2017

Ulsan University

2018

Jeonnam Dragons

2019

Incheon United

Honours

Men's football

Representing South Korea
Summer Universiade
Silver	1993 Buffalo	Team
AFC Asian Cup
Bronze	2000 Lebanon	Team
EAFF Championship
Gold	2003 Japan	Team
East Asian Games
Gold	1993 Shanghai	Team

Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (Goals).

Yoo Sang-chul
Hangul	유상철
Hanja	柳想鐵
Revised Romanization	Yu Sangcheol
McCune–Reischauer	Yu Sangch'ŏl

Yoo Sang-chul (Korean: 유상철; 18 October 1971 – 7 June 2021) was a famous South Korean football player and manager. Many people thought Yoo was one of the best South Korean midfielders ever. He was even chosen for the 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. He was also named to the K League 30th Anniversary Best XI.

Playing for Clubs
Playing for His Country
How He Played
Becoming a Manager
His Passing
Career Statistics
- Club
- International
Awards and Achievements
See also

Playing for Clubs

Starting His Career

In 1994, Yoo joined a club called Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i in the K League. Right after his first season, he was chosen as one of the best defenders in the K League. In 1996, his team, Ulsan, won the 1996 K League championship.

Top Scorer and Big Opportunities

In 1998, Yoo became the top goal scorer in the K League. He scored 14 goals in just 20 games! Because of this, he was named one of the best midfielders in the K League.

After the 1998 FIFA World Cup, a famous club, Barcelona, wanted him to try out. But there was some confusion about how player deals work in Europe. So, he missed the chance to try out for Barcelona. Also, his club, Ulsan, had already agreed to sell him to Yokohama F. Marinos.

Moving to Japan and Back to Korea

Yoo joined Kashiwa Reysol in 2001 for a short time. He played 33 games there and scored 14 goals. After his great performance at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, many big European clubs were interested in him. He almost signed with Tottenham Hotspur. He even said goodbye to Kashiwa, but the deal didn't happen.

Without a club, he went back to Ulsan. He was allowed to play even though it was past the player registration deadline. With only eight games left in the 2002 season, he scored nine goals. This helped Ulsan go from the middle of the league to almost winning the title, finishing in second place. That season, he won another Best XI award, this time as a forward. He was one of only two players in K League history to be named to the Best XI in three different positions.

Winning Championships and Retirement

When he returned to Yokohama, Yoo helped Yokohama F. Marinos win the J.League in 2003 and 2004. After that, he went back to Ulsan one last time. He helped them win another championship in 2005. After this win, a long-term knee injury made him stop playing football professionally.

Playing for His Country

Yoo scored two goals for South Korea in the FIFA World Cup. He scored one in 1998 against Belgium. He scored another in 2002 against Poland.

He was a very important player for the South Korea national team in 2002. They made it all the way to the semi-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Because of his amazing play, he was chosen for the World Cup All-Star team. He also played for the South Korea under-23 team in the 2004 Summer Olympics. His team did well in their group but lost to Paraguay in the next round.

How He Played

Yoo was known for being one of South Korea's most flexible players. He could play almost anywhere on the field! He started as a defensive player, like a center-back or right-back. He was very strong.

But he also had a great eye for the game and could start attacks. He could even play as a forward and became the top goal-scorer in the league. His ability to play many different roles made him very valuable. It allowed coach Guus Hiddink to change team plans easily during World Cup games.

Becoming a Manager

Early Coaching Roles

Yoo Sang-chul started his coaching career in 2009. He began as a high school football manager at Chuncheon Machinery Technical High School.

Managing Daejeon Citizen

On 17 July 2011, he became the manager of Daejeon Citizen. This was a very difficult job. The team had lost almost half of its players because of a match-fixing scandal. In 2012, a new rule meant teams could be moved down to a lower league. Even though it was tough, Daejeon managed to stay in the top league in the 2012 season. His contract ended, and he left the team. Many fans were sad about this.

University and Jeonnam Dragons

In January 2014, Yoo became the manager of the Ulsan University football team. This team was connected to the Ulsan Hyundai club, where he played his whole K-League career. He stayed there until December 2017. Then, he became the manager of the Jeonnam Dragons.

At Jeonnam Dragons, Yoo tried to build a team with many young players. However, the team had trouble scoring goals. Despite his efforts, they couldn't get a better forward player. He resigned on August 16, 2018, after the team won only three games. The Jeonnam Dragons ended up being moved down to a lower league that season.

Incheon United and Health Challenges

On May 14, 2019, Yoo was appointed manager of Incheon United. At that time, Incheon United was at the very bottom of the 2019 K League 1 standings. In October 2019, while still managing Incheon United, Yoo was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Even with his illness, he kept managing the team. He helped Incheon United avoid being moved down to a lower league. He resigned in January 2020. After resigning, he was named the honorary head coach. In June 2020, he even asked to manage Incheon United again, but he was not able to because of his health.

His Passing

On 21 November 2019, Yoo shared that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed away on 7 June 2021 in Seoul at the age of 49.

Career Statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	1994	K League	20	5	—		6	0	—		26	5
	1995	K League	26	1	—		7	1	—		33	2
	1996	K League	2	0	?	?	4	1	?	?	6	1
	1997	K League	7	1	?	?	10	0	?	?	17	1
	1998	K League	20	14	?	?	3	1	?	?	23	15
	Total		75	21	?	?	30	3	?	?	105	24
Yokohama F. Marinos	1999	J1 League	22	7	3	1	3	0	—		28	8
	2000	J1 League	22	17	3	0	6	4	—		31	21
	Total		44	24	6	1	9	4	—		59	29
Kashiwa Reysol	2001	J1 League	24	9	1	0	0	0	—		25	9
	2002	J1 League	9	5	0	0	0	0	—		9	5
	Total		33	14	1	0	0	0	—		34	14
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	2002	K League	8	9	?	?	0	0	—		8	9
	2003	K League	10	3	?	?	—		—		10	3
	Total		18	12	?	?	0	0	—		18	12
Yokohama F. Marinos	2003	J1 League	17	6	2	0	3	0	—		22	6
	2004	J1 League	19	0	1	0	2	0	4	1	26	1
	Total		36	6	3	0	5	0	4	1	48	7
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	2005	K League	12	1	?	?	6	0	—		18	1
	2006	K League	1	0	?	?	0	0	?	?	1	0
	Total		13	1	?	?	6	0	?	?	19	1
Career total			219	78	10	1	50	7	4	1	283	87

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	1994	10	1
	1995	8	0
	1996	5	1
	1997	21	7
	1998	24	3
	1999	2	0
	2000	11	0
	2001	8	3
	2002	16	1
	2003	9	1
	2004	5	1
	2005	5	0
Career total		124	18

Scores and results list Korea Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yoo goal.

List of international goals scored by Yoo Sang-chul
No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 October 1994	Hiroshima, Japan	8	Japan	1–1	3–2	1994 Asian Games
2	30 April 1996	Tel Aviv, Israel	19	Israel	2–0	5–4	Friendly
3	25 January 1997	Sydney, Australia	26	New Zealand	3–1	3–1	1997 Opus Tournament
4	21 May 1997	Tokyo, Japan	30	Japan	1–0	1–1	Friendly
5	28 May 1997	Daejeon, South Korea	31	Hong Kong	1–0	4–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
6	12 June 1997	Seoul, South Korea	33	Egypt	2–1	3–1	1997 Korea Cup
7	24 August 1997	Daegu, South Korea	37	Tajikistan	4–1	4–1	Friendly
8	4 October 1997	Seoul, South Korea	40	United Arab Emirates	2–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	18 October 1997	Tashkent, Uzbekistan	42	Uzbekistan	2–0	5–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	25 June 1998	Paris, France	62	Belgium	1–1	1–1	1998 FIFA World Cup
11	9 December 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	66	United Arab Emirates	2–0	2–1	1998 Asian Games
12	14 December 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	68	Thailand	1–1	1–2	1998 Asian Games
13	11 February 2001	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	84	United Arab Emirates	2–1	4–1	2001 Dubai Tournament
14	1 June 2001	Ulsan, South Korea	87	Mexico	2–1	2–1	2001 FIFA Confederations Cup
15	9 December 2001	Seogwipo, South Korea	89	United States	1–0	1–0	Friendly
16	4 June 2002	Busan, South Korea	98	Poland	2–0	2–0	2002 FIFA World Cup
17	8 December 2003	Saitama, Japan	113	China	1–0	1–0	2003 EAFF Championship
18	5 June 2004	Daegu, South Korea	116	Turkey	1–1	2–1	Friendly