Ahn Jung-Hwan

This is a Korean name; the family name is Ahn.

Ahn Jung-Hwan

Personal information
Full name	Ahn Jung-Hwan
Date of birth	(1976-01-27) 27 January 1976
Place of birth	Paju, Gyeonggi, South Korea
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Second striker / Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1995–1997	Ajou University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1998–2000	Pusan Daewoo Royals / Pusan I'cons	54	(27)
2000–2002	Perugia	30	(5)
2002–2003	Shimizu S-Pulse	38	(14)
2004–2005	Yokohama F. Marinos	34	(16)
2005–2006	Metz	16	(2)
2006	MSV Duisburg	12	(2)
2007	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	15	(0)
2008	Busan I'Park	19	(4)
2009–2011	Dalian Shide	65	(18)
Total		283	(88)
National team
1997–2010	South Korea	71	(17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ahn Jung-Hwan
Hangul	안정환
Hanja	安貞桓
Revised Romanization	An Jeong-Hwan
McCune–Reischauer	An Chŏng-Hwan

Ahn Jung-Hwan (Hangul: 안정환; Hanja: 安貞桓; born 27 January 1976 in Paju, Gyeonggi) is a South Korean former football player. He made world headlines by scoring the winning golden goal for South Korea against Italy in the 2002 FIFA World Cup second round, sending South Korea into the quarterfinals.

Football career

After starting his professional career with K-League's Pusan I'cons, Ahn joined Serie A's AC Perugia in 2000–01, on loan.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored an extra-time header in the round of 16 game against Italy that sent the South Koreans through to the quarter-finals. The next day, Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci cancelled his contract and was quoted as saying, "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football."

Perugia later took back what it said, and offered to outright buy Ahn's contract, but the player rejected it, saying "I will no longer discuss my transfer to Perugia, which attacked my character instead of congratulating me for a goal in the World Cup."

During the World Cup in 2002, Ahn also scored the tying goal late in Korea's match with the United States. After scoring the goal he performed a goal celebration with his teammates, mimicking the movements of compatriot Kim Dong-Sung. Six months earlier, during the 2002 Winter Olympics, speedskater Kim was disqualified for "cross tracking" American skater Apolo Anton Ohno in their 1500 m short track event. Because of the disqualification, Ohno won the gold medal even though he had finished second to Kim. Ahn's celebration was a form of protest against the ISU's decision, which many Koreans felt was biased.

Ahn then attempted to secure a permanent move to a European club but failed and returned to Asia, joining J. League Division 1's Shimizu S-Pulse. After one season, he moved to another J. League team, Yokohama F. Marinos. After this successful spell in Japan, he returned to Europe to play for French team FC Metz in July 2005. He scored 2 Ligue 1 goals (Round 1 & 18) in 16 outings.

On 16 January 2006, Ahn was invited to train with Blackburn Rovers but twice failed to show up, one of the dates being on his birthday. In February he secured a 17-month deal with MSV Duisburg in Germany. He scored two goals (Round 31 & 32) in 12 outings. However, the German club was relegated from the Bundesliga, as Ahn saw a move to Heart of Midlothian F.C. of the Scottish Premier League fall apart. On 31 August 2006, he was released by Duisburg, and returned to South Korea in January 2007, joining Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a one-year deal.

Previously, Ahn was selected for Korea's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad in Germany, and came off the bench to score the winner in Korea's 2–1 opening match win over Togo, after coming from a goal down at halftime. Thus, he became Asian football career leader in goals scored in the World Cup, with three.

On 14 March 2007, Ahn scored his first goal of the season against Daejeon Citizen, with a first-half pass from Lee Kwan-Woo. He went on to score a hat-trick in a 4–0 win, in only his third game of the season. He was quoted after the match: "I felt good before the game and I knew I was ready. It feels wonderful to have a great game and make the Suwon fans happy."

After the 2006 World Cup, new Korea manager Pim Verbeek announced his new 23-man roster for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and Ahn was left out. Verbeek then said that his decision was not based on personal issues, as the player was clubless.

In 2008, Ahn returned to the Daewoo Royals, now renamed Busan I'Park. In 2008, he steadily improved his game and overall performances and, for the first time in 22 months, was recalled to the national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications match against Jordan.

According to reports, Ahn's agent investigated the possibility of a move to several Major League Soccer sides, but there were no teams interested in using a Designated Player slot to sign him. He has also been linked with Australian A-League club Sydney FC.

In March 2009, Ahn signed a three-month contract with Chinese Super League side Dalian Shide. He became the key player in the club and scored his first CSL goal on 18 April 2009. He extended his contract to December 2010 with Dalian Shide in June, despite that J-League club Oita Trinita had an intention to sign him. Ahn was promoted to team captain in Season 2010.

Ahn officially announced his retirement on 30 January 2012. He departed football knowing many people viewed him as one of South Korea's greatest ever players.

Personal

Ahn is sometimes called "the Lord of the Ring" by Korean fans. He married former Miss Korea Lee Hye-won (Hangul: 이혜원) in 2001 and got this nickname by kissing his wedding ring after every goal he scores.

Other than football, Ahn is noted for his model-like looks and has appeared in numerous make-up ads. The Korean media often states the similar facial appearance between the footballer and actor Cha In-Pyo. Both view the statement as a compliment.

Club career statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
1998	Pusan Daewoo Royals	K-League	17	5	-	-	16	8	-	-	33	13
1999			24	14	1	0	10	7	-	-	35	21
2000	Pusan I'cons		13	8	-	-	7	2	-	-	20	10
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
2000–01	Perugia	Serie A	15	4	1	0	-		-	-	16	4
2001–02			15	1	2	0	-		-	-	17	1
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2002	Shimizu S-Pulse	J. League Division 1	10	3	3	2	1	0	1	2	15	7
2003			28	11	4	3	4	2	3	3	39	19
2004	Yokohama F. Marinos	J. League Division 1	25	12	1	1	1	0	4	3	31	14
2005			9	4	-		0	0	3	3	12	7
France			League		Coupe de France		Coupe de la Ligue		Europe		Total
2005–06	Metz	Ligue 1	16	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	2
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Other		Europe		Total
2005–06	Duisburg	Bundesliga	12	2	-	-	-		-	-	12	2
2006–07		2. Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	-
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2007	Suwon Bluewings	K-League	15	0	1	0	10	5	-	-	26	5
2008	Busan I'Park	K-League	19	4	1	0	8	2	-	-	28	6
China PR			League		FA Cup		CSL Cup		Asia		Total
2009	Dalian Shide	Chinese Super League	26	6	-		-		-		26	6
2010			24	10	-		-		-		24	10
2011			15	2	0	0	-		-		15	2
Total	South Korea		88	31	3	0	51	24	-	-	142	55
	Italy		30	5	3	0	-	-	-	-	33	5
	Japan		72	30	8	6	6	2	11	11	97	49
	France		16	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	2
	Germany		12	2	-	-	-		-	-	12	2
	China PR		65	18	0	0	-		-	-	65	18
Career total			283	88	14	6	57	26	11	11	365	131

National team statistics

Korea Republic national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1997	3	0
1998	0	0
1999	4	1
2000	5	0
2001	3	0
2002	13	5
2003	7	2
2004	15	6
2005	6	3
2006	8	2
2007	0	0
2008	3	0
2009	0	0
2010	3	0
Total	70	19

Honours

Club

• J. League Champions (1): 2004

Individual

• K-League player of the year: 1999
• K-League's best eleven: 1998, 1999
• AFC footballer of the year nomination: 2002

International goals

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
12 June 1999	Seoul	Mexico	1 goal	1–1	1999 Korea Cup
20 December 2000	Tokyo	Japan	1 goal	1–1	Friendly match
16 May 2002	Busan	Scotland	2 goals	4–1	Friendly match
10 June 2002	Daegu	United States	1 goal	1–1	2002 FIFA World Cup
18 June 2002	Daejeon	Italy	1 goal	1–1 (2–1 a.e.t.)	2002 FIFA World Cup
20 November 2002	Seoul	Brazil	1 goal	2–3	Friendly match
31 May 2003	Tokyo	Japan	1 goal	1–0	Friendly match
4 December 2003	Tokyo	Hong Kong	1 goal	3–1	2003 East Asian Cup
14 February 2004	Ulsan	Oman	2 goals	5–0	Friendly match
9 June 2004	Daejeon	Vietnam	1 goal	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
23 July 2004	Jinan	United Arab Emirates	1 goal	2–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup
27 July 2004	Jinan	Kuwait	1 goal	4–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup
12 November 2005	Seoul	Sweden	1 goal	2–2	Friendly match
13 June 2006	Frankfurt	Togo	1 goal	2–1	2006 FIFA World Cup
16 August 2006	Taipei	Chinese Taipei	1 goal	3–0	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification

External links

• Ahn Jung-Hwan at kleague.com
• Ahn Jung-Hwan – FIFA competition record
• Ahn Jung-Hwan at National-Football-Teams.com

Awards
Preceded by Ko Jong-Soo	K-League Most Valuable Player 1999	Succeeded by Choi Yong-Soo