Do You Remember Him #8- Ahn Jung Hwan

Biodata

Full Name: Ahn Jung Hwan

Nationality: Korean

Date of Birth: 27 January 1976

Position: Attacking Midfielder/ Forward

Former Clubs:

1998- 2002 Daewoo Royals

2000- 2002 Perugia (loan)

2002- 2003 Shimizu S-Pulse

2004- 2005 Yokohama F. Marinos

2005- 2006 Metz

2006 MSV Duisburg

2007 Suwon Samsung Bluewings

2008 Busan IPark

2009- 2011 Dalian Shide

International Career:

1997- 2010 South Korea

Achievement:

Daewoo Royals

1998 Korean League Cup

Yokohama F. Marinos

2004 J1 League

Career

The 2002 FIFA World Cup will be always remembered as one of the best underdog stories in the recent footballing history. The story of South Korea as the semi-finalist of the tournament will always to be remembered by the Korean or even Asian football fans. South Korea had beaten the likes of Portugal, Italy and Spain to qualify to the semi-final in the tournament. However, do you know who is the one who scored the goal in the Round of 16 against Italy that ignited the miracle of South Korea in the tournament?

Ahn Jung Hwan started his professional career in Busan Daewoo Royals in 1998 at the age of 22. He started his career by helping his side to win the Korean League Cup and selected as one of the 1998 K League Best XI in his debut season. In the next season, Ahn was named as the Most Valuable Player by helping Busan Daewoo Royals to reach the runners-up in the K League. Ahn’s impressive performance in South Korea had caught the attention from Perugia and he joined them on loan in 2000. However, his time in Italy wasn’t as smooth as he thought. He later claimed that he had been ostracised at the club and bullied by his club captain, Marco Materazzi in an interview in 2013.

Fortunately, Ahn Jung Hwan had seen his football career rise to the peak in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in his home nation. He scored the equaliser against the United States in the Group Stage and the infamous Golden Goal that eliminated Italy from the tournament. Ahn was one of the key figures that led this South Korean team to a historic fourth-place finish in this tournament. However, Perugia owner at that time, Luciano Gaucci had cancelled his contract and stated that he had no intention of paying a salary to someone who ruined Italian football. Although Gaucci later took back what he had said and attempted to sign Ahn Jung Hwan on a permanent basis, Ahn rejected the offer as he refused to discuss his transfer with a person who attacked him.

Ahn’s next stop of his footballing career is in Japan as he signed for Shimizu S-Pulse at first and Yokohama F.Marinos one year later. His contribution to both clubs are very impressive, especially he helped Yokohama F.Marinos to win the J League in the 2004 season with his 12 goals in 25 league games in that season. After two impressive seasons in Japan, Ahn Jung Hwan signed for Metz in July 2005. He was then invited to train with the Premier League side, Blackburn Rovers but twice failed to show up. In February, Ahn secured a 17-month deal with MSV Duisburg. He scored two goals in 12 outings in that season. However, it was too little to rescue MSV Duisburg from relegation to the 2.Bundesliga. Ahn was subsequently released on August 2006.

Even his club was relegated from top-flight football, Ahn Jung Hwan was selected for South Korea’s 2006 FIFA World Cup campaign. He scored the winner against Togo and become the Asian football career leader in goals scored in the World Cup at that time. He remained as the free agent for five months and signed for Suwon Samsung Bluewings in January 2007 on a one year deal. He went on to score a hat trick in only his third game of the season. However, his poor form in his new club had cost him left out of the national team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. In order to regain his form, Ahn returned to the renamed Busan IPark. Ahn Jung Hwan 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.

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 extended his contract to December 2010 with Dalian Shide in June, despite that J2 League club Oita Trinita had an intention to sign him. Ahn was promoted to team captain in the 2010 season. Ahn officially announced his retirement on 30 January 2012.

Post Retirement

After his retirement as a football player, Ahn Jung Hwan became a television show host and a football commentator. He had appeared in several TV shows in South Korea such as Law of Jungle in Himalayas, The Human Condition and most recently Cool Kids. Ahn also won several awards as the entertainers too. He had won the Best Challenge Award in the 2013 edition SBS Entertainment Awards and Special Award (Variety Category) in the 2014 edition MBC Entertainment Award.