Kim Joo-sung


Kim Joo-sung is a former South Korean football player. Kim is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of the 20th century. He was nominated for IFFHS Asia's Player of the Century, finishing second place. He was nicknamed the "Wild Horse" due to his pace and long mane of curly hair, for which he was also nicknamed the "Samson" due to his long hair style. Normally deployed as a winger, he was capable of playing as an attacking midfielder, and played as a sweeper after the knee injury. He played for the clubs Chosun University and Daewoo Royals, both in South Korea, and later in the German Bundesliga for VfL Bochum.

Playing career

Kim played for South Korea for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but South Korea was eliminated in the group stage. He was also selected for the national team for the 1986 Asian Games, and won a gold medal in the tournament. Joining Daewoo Royals in 1987, he won the 1987 K League with his team, and was named Young Player of the Year.
Kim participated in the 1988 AFC Asian Cup, and led South Korea to the final. They lost against Saudi Arabia at the penalty shoot-out of the final, but he was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He also led team's title in the Asia group of the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification, and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament, but he showed poor performance in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, and couldn't prevent three losses of the team. He redeemed his failure in the World Cup by winning the 1990 Dynasty Cup, an East Asian competition, after the World Cup. He was elected the Asian Footballer of the Year for three consecutive years from 1989 to 1991.
In June 1992, Kim was loaned to a Bundesliga club VfL Bochum. Bochum was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after the 1992–93 season, but they returned to the Bundesliga just one year after their relegation by winning the 1993–94 2. Bundesliga. However, he came back to Daewoo according to the failure to extend a contract with Bochum. He changed his playing position to a sweeper after the 1994 FIFA World Cup because the condition of his knee was exacerbated. Daewoo won the 1997 K League with his successful change, and he was named the K League Most Valuable Player. He announced his retirement in 1999, and his uniform number 16 was also retired by Daewoo.
In September 2003 he attended a sports management masters course at De Montfort University, Leicester until February 2004 when his studies took him to Switzerland.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
July 21, 1985Seoul, South Korea1 goal2–01986 FIFA World Cup qualification
July 30, 1985Jakarta, Indonesia1 goal4–11986 FIFA World Cup qualification
December 3, 1985Los Angeles, UDA1 goal1–2Friendly match
September 28, 1986Seoul, South Korea1 goal4–21986 Asian Games
June 14, 1987Daejeon, South Korea1 goal4–21987 President's Cup
December 6, 1988Doha, Qatar1 goal2–01988 AFC Asian Cup
December 9, 1988Doha, Qatar1 goal3–21988 AFC Asian Cup
October 20, 1989Singapore1 goal1–01990 FIFA World Cup qualification
July 28, 1990Beijing, China1 goal2–01990 Dynasty Cup
September 23, 1990Beijing, China2 goals7–01990 Asian Games
October 11, 1990Pyongyang, North Korea1 goal1–2Friendly match
June 9, 1991Seoul, South Korea1 goal3–01991 President's Cup
June 11, 1994Duncanville, United States1 goal3–0Friendly match

Honours

Daewoo Royals
VfL Bochum
South Korea Universiade
South Korea
Individual