Song Chong-gug
Song Chong-Gug (송종국; born 20 February 1979 in Danyang, Chungcheongbuk-do) is a retired South Korean football player who last played for Tianjin Teda F.C. in the Chinese Super League.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Song Chong-gug | ||
| Date of birth | 20 February 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Danyang, South Korea | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| 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) |
| Total | 216 | (11) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1997–1999 | South Korea U-20 | 11 | (0) |
| 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) ‡ 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 |
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 FIFA World Cup, and contributed greatly to Korea's victories against Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain.
Song was a virtually unknown to most South Korea fans before 2001. Song had made his international debut against Macedonia in June 2000 under Huh Jung-Moo, Hiddink's predecessor, but had not yet developed well. When Guus Hiddink arrived to take over the reins, he received mass criticism from the Korean public when he chose the inexperienced Song in Korean starting line-up for the 2001 FIFA 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 team sheet during the 2002 World Cup.
One of the reasons Hiddink rated Song so highly was 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. 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 Riyadh 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.[1] 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. However, Song was released by Tianjin in the end of the 2011 league season.
Personal life
In 2003, Song married Kim Jung-Ah to the surprise of many of his fans after dating Kim since April 2001. Before the marriage, he had been linked with multiple celebrities including Lee Jin, a member of a Korean girl band Fin.K.L..[2] He presented a bigger surprise three years later by getting divorced. On 17 December 2006, he married actress and model Park Yun-Soo after an 18-month relationship.[3] The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding.[4] In October 2015, Song divorce his wife.
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 1 | 25 | 2 | 10 | 0 | - | 35 | 2 | |||
| 2002 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | 10 | 2 | |||||
| Netherlands | League | KNVB Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2002-03 | Feyenoord | Eredivisie | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 27 | 1 | ||
| 2003-04 | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 1 | ||||
| 2004-05 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||||
| South Korea | League | KFA Cup | League Cup | Asia | Total | |||||||
| 2005 | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | K League 1 | 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 | 10 | 2 | ||||
| South Korea | League | KFA Cup | League Cup | Asia | Total | |||||||
| 2011 | Ulsan Hyundai | K League 1 | 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 | 216 | 7 | |
| Netherlands | 53 | 2 | 4 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 | 70 | 2 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | 7 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 10 | 2 | ||
| China PR | 14 | 1 | 2 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 16 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 216 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 51 | 1 | 29 | 0 | 312 | 12 | ||
International career statistics
| Korea Republic national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2000 | 2 | 0 |
| 2001 | 14 | 1 |
| 2002 | 22 | 2 |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0 |
| 2005 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 8 | 0 |
| 2007 | 3 | 0 |
| Total | 60 | 3 |
International goals
- Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
| Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 February 2001 | Dubai, UAE |  | 1 goal | 4–1 | 2001 Dubai Tournament |
| 19 January 2002 | Pasadena, USA |  | 1 goal | 1–2 | 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 29 June 2002 | Daegu, South Korea |  | 1 goal | 2–3 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
Filmography
Variety shows
- 2015: Running Man - guest, ep. 257
References
- 울산 현대, 국가대표 수비수 출신 송종국 영입 (in Korean). uhfc.tv. Retrieved 8 February 2011.
- 삐걱거리던 결혼, 2년여만에 종지부 찍은 월드컵스타 송종국
- 송종국-탤런트 박연수, 백여명 축하속 조촐한 웨딩!
- 수원 송종국 득녀 "아빠 됐어요"
- "Song Chong-gug". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman.
- "足协杯-王新欣于大宝联手逆转 天津2-1胜山东夺冠" (in Chinese). Sports.sina.com.cn. 19 November 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Song Chong-Gug. |
- Song Chong-gug – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
- Song Chong-gug – National Team Stats at KFA (in Korean)
- Song Chong-gug – FIFA competition record
- Song Chong-gug at National-Football-Teams.com
- Song Chong-Gug in Ronald Zwiers (in Dutch)
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lee Kwan-Woo |
Suwon Samsung Bluewings captain 2008 |
Succeeded by Kwak Hee-Ju |
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