Cha Bum-kun


Cha Bum-kun is a South Korean football manager and former player, nicknamed Tscha Bum or "Cha Boom" in Germany because of his name and his thunderous ball striking ability. Cha was known for his thick thighs which showed explosive pace and powerful shots. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Asian football players of all time by experts, including IFFHS and ESPN.
In 1972, Cha had been capped by the South Korean national team as the youngest player in history called up to the squad. He is the all-time leading goal scorer for the South Korean national team with 58 goals and won the 1978 Asian Games. He is also the youngest player to ever reach 100 caps in the world with 24 years and 139 days. After developing into the top player in his country, he left for West Germany and played for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. He scored 121 goals in two Bundesliga clubs and won the UEFA Cup with each team. He started a youth football clinic to develop South Korean football after his retirement. He managed the national team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and also Ulsan Hyundai and Suwon Samsung Bluewings of the K League.

Club career

Career in South Korea

Cha was born in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi and became famous when he was a player of Kyungshin High School and South Korean under-20 team in 1970. Cha entered Korea University in 1972 and won the Korean National Championship in 1974 which was the Korean FA Cup at that time. After graduation, he started senior career with Korea Trust Bank FC in 1976. He led team's title and was named the best player at the Korean Semi-professional League in spring. In October 1976, he joined South Korean Air Force FC due to mandatory military service. Cha had a plan to enlist in the Navy FC but the ROK Air Force persuaded Cha that they will move up Cha's discharge six months.

Darmstadt 98

Cha attracted the attention of an Eintracht Frankfurt coach :de:Dieter Schulte |Dieter Schulte who received an invitation to South Korea while playing for the national team at the 1978 Korea Cup. In November 1978, Schulte sent a letter to the KFA suggesting Cha's tryout in West Germany who will discharge from the air force in January 1979. In December, he left for Frankfurt by taking time off after the 1978 Asian Games and contracted with another Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 by signing a six-month deal but he spent just less than a month in Darmstadt. The ROK Air Force didn't follow the contract with Cha and required his return. Due to Cha's complicated military service problem, after his debut match with VfL Bochum on 30 December, Cha returned to South Korea on 5 January and he spent his spare military service duration until 31 May so didn't play for Darmstadt.

Eintracht Frankfurt

After being discharged from the military service completely, Cha still wanted to play in Bundesliga and joined Eintracht Frankfurt at age 26 in July 1979. He made an immediate impact early with his new club, scoring in three consecutive games from third round to fifth round of the Bundesliga. He was also acclaimed by showing outstanding performances which led Frankfurt to win the UEFA Cup for the first time. He was evaluated as the unstoppable player by Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Aberdeen at that time, and one of the best attackers in the world by Lothar Matthäus who met him as an opponent player in the final of UEFA Cup and the Bundesliga. At the first season in Germany, he was selected as a world class in the :de:Rangliste des deutschen Fußballs|player rankings of :de:Rangliste des deutschen Fußballs/1970er#Winter 1979/80|winter, and was named one of three forwards in the Bundesliga Team of the Season with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Kevin Keegan by the German sports magazine kicker. On 23 August 1980, Cha's spine was cracked by Jürgen Gelsdorf who tackled behind him but came back to the stadium after a month. He led team's title at the 1980–81 DFB-Pokal by scoring six goals in six matches. He became the top goalscorer of Frankfurt in three consecutive seasons.

Bayer Leverkusen

However, Cha transferred to Bayer Leverkusen in 1983 due to a financial difficulty of Frankfurt. In the 1985–86 season, he scored 17 goals at the Bundesliga which are his most goals in a season and Leverkusen qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time with sixth place. The magazine kicker selected him again in the Team of the Season. At the 1987–88 UEFA Cup, Leverkusen reached to the final and he scored a dramatic equaliser against Espanyol to tie the game 3–3. Leverkusen eventually went on to win the game on penalties and held the European title for the first time. In 1989, Cha retired after the Bundesliga career spanning 308 games in which he scored 98 goals without a penalty goal and received only one yellow card. He scored his 93rd goal in the Bundesliga on 31 October 1987 and became the top foreign goalscorer by surpassing predecessor Willi Lippens's 92 goals. His record wasn't broken for eleven years until Swiss striker Stéphane Chapuisat scored the 99th goal on 4 October 1998. As of 2018, Cha is ranked seventh with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the foreign goalscorer standings of Bundesliga history.

International career

Cha played as a striker in the Bundesliga but originally played as a winger in South Korea. He became a South Korean under-20 international in 1970 and participated in the 1971 and 1972 AFC Youth Championship. In the 1972 AFC Asian Cup, he made his senior international debut at age 18 against Iraq and scored his first international goal against Khmer Republic. He was named in the Korean Football Best XI for seven consecutive years and was selected as the Korean Footballer of the Year in 1973.
Cha usually played for the national team in the Korea Cup, Malay Pestabola Merdeka and Thai King's Cup which were annually contested by Asian nations at the time. In the :ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1975|Pestabola Merdeka 1975, he scored his first international hat-trick against Japan. In the 1976 Korea Cup, he scored a dramatic hat-trick during five minutes against Malaysia and led team's 4–4 draw. He won ten trophies with 75 appearances and 43 goals in three competitions. In the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification he appeared all twelve matches and recorded five goals and two assists, although his knee got a boil during the competition. However, South Korea failed to qualify for the World Cup by finishing as runners-up in the qualification despite his struggle. In the 1978 Asian Games, he contributed to team's gold medal by recording two goals and two assists, but received criticism due to his diffident play. After the 1978 Asian Games, he left for the Bundesliga and didn't play for South Korea. His last international tournament was the 1986 FIFA World Cup finals in Mexico, South Korea's first appearance since 1954. He showed exemplary performance in intensive containment but didn't prevent team's elimination in the tournament.

Managerial career

Cha moved into management with K League side Hyundai Horang-i, coaching them from 1991–94. His next appointment in January 1997 was Korean national team coach and he led the nation to the 1998 FIFA World Cup; however, a disastrous 5–0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in Korea's second group game got Cha fired. He later blamed the KFA for the bad performance, citing lack of bonuses and alleging pro soccer games in Korea were fixed. The association promptly slapped a five-year ban on him and he soon left the country with his wife.
After an 18-month spell coaching Shenzhen Ping'an in China, Cha took up a commentator position with MBC in Korea. He returned to coaching in late 2003 when offered the Suwon Samsung Bluewings position. Cha achieved immediate success with Suwon by lifting the 2004 K League championship, an achievement he ranked as even better than the UEFA Cup he won as a player in 1988. He later resigned in June 2010 as Suwon manager.

Personal life

Cha is a devout Christian and said the three most important things in his life are "family, religion and football". Bum-Kun's second child, Cha Du-ri, followed in his father's footsteps. Du-ri played in Germany and switched positions from forward to defender. He retired in 2015 after three seasons with FC Seoul.

Career statistics

Club

Source:

International

The KFA is showing the list of Cha's 136 international appearances in its official website.
The RSSSF is also claiming 136 appearances about Cha's international career, but its details have some discrepancies.
FIFA registered him with 130 appearances in the FIFA Century Club by excluding six matches of the Summer Olympics qualification.
CompetitionAppsGoals
Friendlies113
Korea Cup2015
King's Cup217
Pestabola Merdeka3421
AFC Asian Cup qualification40
AFC Asian Cup51
Asian Games122
Summer Olympics qualification62
FIFA World Cup qualification207
FIFA World Cup30
Total13658

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
110 May 1972National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand3–04–11972 AFC Asian Cup
219 July 1972Perak Stadium, Ipoh, Malaysia2–04–1Pestabola Merdeka 1972
323 July 1972Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–02–0Pestabola Merdeka 1972
429 July 1972Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–02–1Pestabola Merdeka 1972
520 September 1972Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea3–03–01972 Korea Cup
622 November 1972National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1–11–11972 King's Cup
719 May 1973Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–04–01974 FIFA World Cup qualification
828 May 1973Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–01–01974 FIFA World Cup qualification
922 September 1973Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea2–06–01973 Korea Cup
1022 September 1973Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea4–06–01973 Korea Cup
1130 September 1973Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–02–01973 Korea Cup
1216 December 1973National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand4–05–01973 King's Cup
1322 December 1973National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand2–02–01973 King's Cup
1425 December 1973National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand2–02–11973 King's Cup
1518 May 1974Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea2–03–01974 Korea Cup
1625 December 1974Hong Kong3–1Friendly
1729 July 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–03–1:ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1975|Pestabola Merdeka 1975
187 August 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3–06–0Pestabola Merdeka 1975
199 August 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1–03–1Pestabola Merdeka 1975
209 August 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–13–1Pestabola Merdeka 1975
219 August 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3–13–1Pestabola Merdeka 1975
2211 August 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1–05–1Pestabola Merdeka 1975
2315 August 1975Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia4–04–0Pestabola Merdeka 1975
2421 December 1975National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1–03–11975 King's Cup
2521 December 1975National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand2–03–11975 King's Cup
266 March 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–03–01976 Summer Olympics qualification
2727 March 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea2–12–21976 Summer Olympics qualification
2810 August 1976Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1–08–0:ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1976|Pestabola Merdeka 1976
2910 August 1976Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia5–08–0:ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1976|Pestabola Merdeka 1976
3010 August 1976Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia8–08–0:ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1976|Pestabola Merdeka 1976
3115 August 1976Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–22–2Pestabola Merdeka 1976
3211 September 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea2–44–41976 Korea Cup
3311 September 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea3–44–41976 Korea Cup
3411 September 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea4–44–41976 Korea Cup
3513 September 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea4–04–01976 Korea Cup
3617 September 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–07–01976 Korea Cup
3717 September 1976Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea7–07–01976 Korea Cup
3822 December 1976National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand1–11–11976 King's Cup
3914 February 1977Singapore1–04–0Friendly
4018 February 1977Al Ahli Stadium, Manama, Bahrain4–1Friendly
4120 March 1977Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–03–11978 FIFA World Cup qualification
423 April 1977Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea1–01–01978 FIFA World Cup qualification
4326 June 1977Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong1–01–01978 FIFA World Cup qualification
4417 July 1977Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia4–0:ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1977|Pestabola Merdeka 1977
4522 July 1977Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia3–15–1Pestabola Merdeka 1977
4624 July 1977Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–04–0Pestabola Merdeka 1977
4731 July 1977Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1–01–0Pestabola Merdeka 1977
4827 August 1977Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, Australia1–01–21978 FIFA World Cup qualification
493 September 1977Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea3–05–11977 Korea Cup
505 September 1977Daegu Civic Stadium, Daegu, South Korea1–03–01977 Korea Cup
515 September 1977Daegu Civic Stadium, Daegu, South Korea3–03–01977 Korea Cup
5213 September 1977Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea2–03–01977 Korea Cup
535 November 1977Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait1–02–21978 FIFA World Cup qualification
5419 July 1978Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–04–0:ms:Pestabola Merdeka 1978|Pestabola Merdeka 1978
5522 July 1978Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia2–02–0Pestabola Merdeka 1978
5625 July 1978Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1–02–0Pestabola Merdeka 1978
5711 December 1978Chulalongkorn University Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand3–05–11978 Asian Games
5817 December 1978Bangkok, Thailand1–01–01978 Asian Games

Honours

Player

Korea University
Korea Trust Bank
ROK Air Force
Eintracht Frankfurt
Bayer Leverkusen
South Korea U20
South Korea
Individual
Records
Orders
Hyundai Horang-i
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Individual