Song Chong-Gug

Song Chong-Gug

Personal information
Full name	Song Chong-gug
Date of birth	20 February 1979 (1979-02-20)
Place of birth	Danyang, South Korea
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Midfielder, Defender
Club information
Current club	Free agent
Youth career
1997–2000	Yonsei University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2001–2002	Busan I'cons	34	(4)
2002–2005	Feyenoord	53	(2)
2005–2010	Suwon Bluewings	95	(2)
2010	Al-Shabab	7	(2)
2011	Ulsan Hyundai	13	(0)
2011	Tianjin Teda	14	(1)
National team‡
1999	South Korea U-20
2000	South Korea U-23	2	(0)
2000–2007	South Korea	60	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 November 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 June 2010 (UTC)

Song Chong-Gug
Hangul	송종국
Hanja	宋鐘國
Revised Romanization	Song Jong-guk
McCune–Reischauer	Song Chongguk

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

Song Chong-Gug (born 20 February 1979 in Danyang, Chungcheongbuk-do) is a Korean football player who last played for Tianjin Teda F.C. in the Chinese Super League.

Career

From 2001 to 2002, Song played in the K-league for his hometown team Busan I'cons, now known as Busan I'Park, before he became famous.

In 2002 Song became a superstar virtually overnight when he played in 2002 Football World Cup, and contributed greatly to Korea's victories against Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain.

Song was a virtual unknown to most South Korea fans prior in 2001. Song had actually made his international debut against Macedonia in June 2000 under Huh Jung-Moo, Hiddink's predecessor, but had not yet developed into the player we know today. When Guus Hiddink arrived to take over the reins, he received mass criticism from the Korean public when he chose the inexperienced Song in Korea' starting line-up for the 2001 Confederations Cup, to replace the popular but injured captain Hong Myung Bo for the tournament. Under Guus Hiddink's expert guidance Song developed into a key player that was always one of the first names to go on Hiddink's teamsheet during the 2002 World Cup.

One of the reasons Hiddink rated Song so highly was due to his uncanny ability to shut down opposing players - against the highly fancied Portugal, Song was deployed as a wingback and successfully marked a (although injured) Luís Figo out of the game during Korea's group match, greatly reducing the threat to Korea's defence. Ironically, Song started his professional career as a right winger and Luís Figo was his greatest idol.

After the 2002 World Cup, Song left Korea to play for Dutch giants Feyenoord. He was a defender for Feyenoord most of the time, but played a couple of matches on the midfield. Song spent about three years in Rotterdam, playing in 53 matches, and scoring two goals and seven assists. When Feyenood hired a new manager, Song never managed to impress him.

After leaving Feyenoord, Song returned to Korea in 2005 to play in the K-league with Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Song has had a left ankle injury, which prevented him from making a comeback in 2005. Although Song was not able to recover as fast as he hoped, and only was able to play in late March 2006, prospect of his recovery was enough to guarantee his place in the South Korean squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

He signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab in the summer of 2010 and decided to start a new experience in the Saudi Professional League.

He joined to Ulsan Hyundai on 8 February 2011, signing a one year contract. Having made 13 league appearances for Ulsan, he had his contract canceled by mutual consent on 5 July 2011.

He joined Chinese outfit Tianjin Teda the next day, signing a one-and-half-year contract.

Private life

In 2003, Song married Kim Jung-Ah to the surprise of many of his fans after dating Kim since April 2001. Prior to the marriage, he had been linked with multiple celebrities including Lee Jin, a member of a Korean girl band Fin.K.L.. He presented a bigger surprise three years later by getting divorced. On December 17, 2006, he married actress and model Park Yun-Soo after an 18-month relationship. The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding.

Club career statistics

As of 18 November 2011

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
2001	Busan I'cons	K-League	25	2			10	0	-
2002			9	2			1	0	-
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2002-03	Feyenoord	Eredivisie	18	1	3	0			6	0
2003-04			25	1	1	0			3	0
2004-05			10	0	0	0			4	0
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2005	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	K-League	9	0	0	0	11	1	2	0	22	1
2006			23	0	4	0	4	0	-		31	0
2007			24	0	2	0	9	0	-		35	0
2008			23	2	1	0	6	0	-		30	2
2009			9	0	1	0	2	0	5	0	17	0
2010			7	0	1	0	3	0	6	0	17	0
Saudi Arabia			League		Crown Prince Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2010-11	Al-Shabab Riyadh	Saudi Premier League	7	2					3	0
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2011	Ulsan Hyundai	K-League	13	0	1	0	5	0	-		19	0
China PR			League		FA Cup		CSL Cup		Asia		Total
2011	Tianjin Teda	Chinese Super League	14	1	2	0	-		-		16	1
Total	South Korea		142	6	10	0	51	1	13	0
	Netherlands		53	2	4	0			13	0
	Saudi Arabia		7	2					3	0
	China PR		14	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	16	1
Career total			216	12					29	0

International career statistics

South Korea national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2000	2	0
2001	14	0
2002	22	2
2003	3	0
2004	8	0
2005	0	0
2006	8	0
2007	3	0
Total	60	2

International goals

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
February 11, 2001	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	1 goal	4-1	2001 Emarate Cup
January 19, 2002	Pasadena	United States	1 goal	1-2	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
June 29, 2002	Daegu	Turkey	1 goal	2-3	2002 FIFA World Cup

External links

• Song Chong-Gug at kleague.com
• National Team Player Record (Korean)
• FIFA Player Statistics
• Club & Country Statistics
• Song Chong-Gug in Ronald Zwiers (Dutch)

Awards
Preceded by Yang Hyun-Jung	K-League Rookie of the Year 2001	Succeeded by Lee Chun-Soo