Song Chong-Gug
Encyclopedia
Song Chong-Gug is a Korean football player who currently plays for Tianjin Teda F.C. in the Chinese Super 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 Football World Cup, and contributed greatly to Korea's victories against Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain.
Song was a virtual unknown to most South Korea fans prior in 2001. Song had actually made his international debut against Macedonia in June 2000 under Huh Jung-Moo
, Hiddink's predecessor, but had not yet developed into the player we know today. When Guus Hiddink
arrived to take over the reins, he received mass criticism from the Korean public when he chose the inexperienced Song in Korea' starting line-up for the 2001 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 teamsheet during the 2002 World Cup.
One of the reasons Hiddink rated Song so highly was due to 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. Ironically, 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 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. 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-years contract.
On December 17, 2006, he married actress and model Park Yun-Soo after an 18-month relationship. The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding.
|-
|2001
||rowspan="2"|Busan I'cons||rowspan="2"|K-League
||25||2||||||10||0||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|2002
||9||2||||||1||0||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|2002-03
||rowspan="3"|Feyenoord||rowspan="3"|Eredivisie
||18||1||3||0||||||6||0||||
|-
|2003-04
||25||1||1||0||||||3||0||||
|-
|2004-05
||10||0||0||0||||||4||0||||
|-
|2005
||rowspan="6"|Suwon Samsung Bluewings
||rowspan="6"|K-League
||9||0||0||0||11||1||2||0||22||1
|-
|2006
||23||0||4||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||31||0
|-
|2007
||24||0||2||0||9||0||colspan="2"|-||35||0
|-
|2008
||23||2||1||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||30||2
|-
|2009
||9||0||1||0||2||0||5||0||17||0
|-
|2010
||7||0||1||0||3||0||6||0||17||0
|-
|2010-11
||rowspan="1"|Al-Shabab Riyadh||rowspan="1"|Saudi Premier League
||7||2||||||||||3||0||||
|-
|-
|2011
||rowspan="1"|Ulsan Hyundai||rowspan="1"|K-League
||13||0||1||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||19||0
|-
|-
|2011
||rowspan="1"|Tianjin Teda||rowspan="1"|Chinese Super League
||14||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||16||1
|-
142||6||10||0||51||1||13||0||||
53||2||4||0||||||13||0||||
7||2||||||||||3||0||||
14||1||2||0||0||0||0||0||16||1
216||12||||||||||29||0||||
|2000||2||0
|-
|2001||14||0
|-
|2002||22||2
|-
|2003||3||0
|-
|2004||8||0
|-
|2005||0||0
|-
|2006||8||0
|-
|2007||3||0
|-
!Total||60||2
|}
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
.
Career
From 2001 to 2002, Song played in the K-leagueK-League
The Korea Professional Football League is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.-Establishment:The...
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 Football World Cup, and contributed greatly to Korea's victories against Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain.
Song was a virtual unknown to most South Korea fans prior in 2001. Song had actually made his international debut against Macedonia in June 2000 under Huh Jung-Moo
Huh Jung-Moo
Huh Jung-Moo is a former Korean football player and currently manages Incheon United.-Football career:Huh played for PSV Eindhoven and Hyundai Horang-i as midfielder...
, Hiddink's predecessor, but had not yet developed into the player we know today. When Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
arrived to take over the reins, he received mass criticism from the Korean public when he chose the inexperienced Song in Korea' starting line-up for the 2001 Confederations Cup, to replace the popular but injured captain Hong Myung Bo for the tournament. Under Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink is a Dutch football manager and former player. He was the most recently manager of the Turkish national football team. He is considered to be one of the best managers of his generation and was the best-paid coach in international football in 2009...
's expert guidance Song developed into a key player that was always one of the first names to go on Hiddink's teamsheet during the 2002 World Cup.
One of the reasons Hiddink rated Song so highly was due to 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
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
out of the game during Korea's group match, greatly reducing the threat to Korea's defence. Ironically, Song started his professional career as a right winger and Luís Figo
Luís Figo
Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...
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
K-League
The Korea Professional Football League is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.-Establishment:The...
with Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Suwon Samsung Bluewings is a South Korean football club based in the city of Suwon, South Korea, that plays in the K-League. Founded in December 1995, they have become one of Asian football's most famous clubs with a host of domestic and continental honours...
.
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
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
.
He signed for Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab 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. 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-years contract.
Private life
In 2003, Song married Kim Jung-Ah to the surprise of many of his fans after dating Kim since April 2001. Prior to the marriage, he had been linked with multiple celebrities including Lee Jin, a member of a Korean girl band Fin.K.L.. He presented a bigger surprise three years later by getting divorced.On December 17, 2006, he married actress and model Park Yun-Soo after an 18-month relationship. The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding.
Club career statistics
As of 18 November 2011|-
|2001
K-League 2001
-League table:-Top scorers:...
||rowspan="2"|Busan I'cons||rowspan="2"|K-League
K-League
The Korea Professional Football League is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.-Establishment:The...
||25||2||||||10||0||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|2002
K-League 2002
-League table:-Top scorers:...
||9||2||||||1||0||colspan="2"|-||||
|-
|2002-03
Eredivisie 2002-03
The Dutch Eredivisie in the 2002/2003 season was contested by 18 teams. PSV won the championship.-League standings:1 Winners KNVB Cup. 2 FC Zwolle remained in the eredivisie after winning their promotion/relegation play-offs...
||rowspan="3"|Feyenoord||rowspan="3"|Eredivisie
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie is the highest football league in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956 two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is currently ranked the ninth best league in Europe by UEFA....
||18||1||3||0||||||6||0||||
|-
|2003-04
Eredivisie 2003-04
The 2003-2004 season of the Dutch Eredivisie began in August 2003 and ended in May 2004. The title was won by Ajax.- League standings :- Topscorers :- Relegation playoffs :- Match table :- References :* *...
||25||1||1||0||||||3||0||||
|-
|2004-05
Eredivisie 2004-05
The 2004-05 season of the Eredivisie started on August 13, 2004 and ended on May 22, 2005. The title was won by PSV. FC Den Bosch and De Graafschap were relegated to the Eerste Divisie at the end of the season.-Promoted teams:...
||10||0||0||0||||||4||0||||
|-
|2005
K-League 2005
The 2005 season of the K-League kicked off on May 15. The season and playoff format will be the same as the one used in the 2004 season. The playoff fixtures are set to take place in late November and early December....
||rowspan="6"|Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Suwon Samsung Bluewings is a South Korean football club based in the city of Suwon, South Korea, that plays in the K-League. Founded in December 1995, they have become one of Asian football's most famous clubs with a host of domestic and continental honours...
||rowspan="6"|K-League
K-League
The Korea Professional Football League is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.-Establishment:The...
||9||0||0||0||11||1||2||0||22||1
|-
|2006
K-League 2006
The 2006 season of the K-League kicked off on March 12. The season and playoff format will be the same as the one used in the 2005 season. The playoff fixtures are set to take place in early November, with the Final being played on two legs in late November....
||23||0||4||0||4||0||colspan="2"|-||31||0
|-
|2007
K-League 2007
The 2007 season of the K-League kicked off on March 3. The league's previous split-season format was replaced by a combined 26-game single-season schedule. Each team will play 26 matches consisting of a home and away fixture against every other team. After all games have been played, the top 6...
||24||0||2||0||9||0||colspan="2"|-||35||0
|-
|2008
K-League 2008
The 2008 season of the K-League kicked off on March 8. The season and playoff format will be the same as the one used in the 2007 season. The playoff fixtures are set to take place in late November, with the Final being played on two legs in early December....
||23||2||1||0||6||0||colspan="2"|-||30||2
|-
|2009
K-League 2009
The 2009 edition of the K-League is the twenty-seventh since its establishment in 1983. Suwon Samsung Bluewings are the defending champions, having won their fourth title. The season began on March 7, 2009...
||9||0||1||0||2||0||5||0||17||0
|-
|2010
2010 K-League
The 2010 edition of the K-League is the twenty-eighth since its establishment in 1983. The 2010 season is known as Sonata K-League 2010 due to the competition's sponsorship by Hyundai Motor Company. Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors is the defending champions, having won their first title. The season began on...
||7||0||1||0||3||0||6||0||17||0
|-
|2010-11
2010–11 Saudi Professional League
-Members clubs:-Pre-season:-During the season:-Final League table:|rowspan=1|2012 AFC Champions League group stage|rowspan=1|2012 AFC Champions League group stage|rowspan=1|2012 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off...
||rowspan="1"|Al-Shabab Riyadh||rowspan="1"|Saudi Premier League
Saudi Premier League
The Saudi Professional League, officially known as , is the main football competition in Saudi Arabia. The first competition was held in the year of 1976–77...
||7||2||||||||||3||0||||
|-
|-
|2011
2011 K-League
The 2011 edition of the K-League is the twenty-ninth since its establishment in 1983. The 2011 season is known as Hyundai Oilbank K-League 2011 due to the competition's sponsorship by Hyundai Oilbank...
||rowspan="1"|Ulsan Hyundai||rowspan="1"|K-League
K-League
The Korea Professional Football League is South Korea's only fully professional association football league. At the top of the South Korean football league system, it is the country's highest and most prestigious level of football competition currently contested by 16 clubs.-Establishment:The...
||13||0||1||0||5||0||colspan="2"|-||19||0
|-
|-
|2011
2011 Chinese Super League
The 2011 Chinese Super League was the eighth season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the eighteenth season of a professional association football league and the 50th top-tier league season in China. Guangzhou Evergrande F.C...
||rowspan="1"|Tianjin Teda||rowspan="1"|Chinese Super League
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
||14||1||2||0||colspan="2"|-||colspan="2"|-||16||1
|-
142||6||10||0||51||1||13||0||||
53||2||4||0||||||13||0||||
7||2||||||||||3||0||||
14||1||2||0||0||0||0||0||16||1
216||12||||||||||29||0||||
International career statistics
|-|2000||2||0
|-
|2001||14||0
|-
|2002||22||2
|-
|2003||3||0
|-
|2004||8||0
|-
|2005||0||0
|-
|2006||8||0
|-
|2007||3||0
|-
!Total||60||2
|}
International goals
- Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition February 11, 2001 
DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
1 goal 4-1 2001 Emarate Cup January 19, 2002 
PasadenaPasadena, CaliforniaPasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
1 goal 1-2 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup 2002 CONCACAF Gold CupThe 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the sixth edition of the Gold Cup, the football championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean ....June 29, 2002 
DaeguDaeguDaegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...
1 goal 2-3 2002 FIFA World Cup 2002 FIFA World CupThe 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...