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Ahn Jung-Hwan

    SOUTH KOREA NATIONAL TEAM SUPERSTAR

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

Ahn Jung-Hwan (born January 27, 1976 in Paju, Gyeonggi) is a South Korean football player; he made world headlines by scoring the winning golden goal for Korea against Italy in the 2002 World Cup second round, sending Korea into the quarterfinals. He currently plays as attacking midfielder or foward with K-League's Busan I'Park.

He is currently the leading World Cup scorer in Asia with 3 goals (2 goals from 2002 and 1 goal from 2006).

Football career

After starting his professional career with K-League's Busan Daewoo Royals, Jung-Hwan joined Serie A's AC Perugia in 2000-01, on loan.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, his extra-time header dumped the three-time champions from the competition. 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."[3]

Perugia later took back what it said, and offered to outright buy Jung-Hwan'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, Jung-Hwan 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 Dong-Sung 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 the Korean. Jung-Hwan's celebration was a form of protest against the ISU's decision, which many Koreans felt was biased.

Jung-Hwan then attempted to secure a permanent move to a European club but failed and returned to Asia, joining J. League'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 in 16 outings.

On January 16, 2006, Jung-Hwan 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. However, the German club was relegated from the Bundesliga, as Jung-Hwan failed to move to Heart of Midlothian F.C. of the Scottish Premier League.[4][5]On August 31, 2006, he was released by Duisburg, and returned to South Korea in January 2007, joining Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a 1-year deal.

Previously, Jung-Hwan 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 March 14, 2007, Jung-Hwan 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.[6]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."[6]

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

In 2008, Jung-Hwan 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.[7]

According to reports[8], Jung-Hwan was offered to Major League Soccer sides, but there were no teams interested in using a Designated Player slot to sign him, though a move to the States is still a possibility.

Personal

Jung-Hwan is sometimes called "the Lord of the Ring" by Korean fans. He got this nickname by kissing his wedding ring after every goal he scores.

Other than football, Jung-Hwan is noted for his model-like looks and has appeared in numerous makeup 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.