Hwang Sun-hong

Hwang Sun-hong (born 14 July 1968) is a South Korean former football player and current manager of the South Korea national under-23 football team.

An unknown college player, Hwang was suddenly selected for the South Korea national football team for the 1988 AFC Asian Cup by the manager Lee Hoe-taik.

He scored his first and second goal against Japan and Iran respectively in the tournament.

He was the most notable South Korean striker in the 1990s and early 2000s.

After graduating from Konkuk University, Hwang decided not to enter the K League and left for Germany to begin his professional career.

During a season, he played for the reserve team of Bayer Leverkusen, scoring 16 goals in the Oberliga Nordrhein, Germany's third division at the time.

Next season, Hwang joined 2. Bundesliga side Wuppertaler SV, but he appeared only nine games due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Hwang was included in the national team for the 1990 FIFA World Cup after his outstanding performances including seven goals in qualifying campaign.

In the competition, however, he had difficulty in showing teamwork, and couldn't prevent South Korea's three defeats.

Hwang joined POSCO Atoms (currently Pohang Steelers) after returning to South Korea in June 1993.

He won two Asian Club Championships with Pohang, although he failed to win the K League title.

Hwang showed poor performance by scoring only one goal in qualifiers of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but his form was regained in the friendly matches just before the World Cup.

However, his left knee was injured in the last friendly against Honduras before the tournament, worrying his manager Kim Ho.

In the first game against Spain, he had two chances to score, but missed both.

He apologized to his teammates after the first game, but his poor performance was continued by missing several opportunities against Bolivia.

He scored a goal in the last group game against the defending champions Germany, but the game ended in a 3–2 defeat.

He was severely blamed for his inexact shots against Bolivia by South Korean fans, and suffered from social anxiety disorder after South Korea was eliminated in the group stage.

In contrast with fans' criticism, Hwang was consistently chosen as a striker of the national team by managers.

In the 1994 Asian Games, he scored eleven goals in five games, becoming the top goalscorer of the tournament.

He also scored in eight consecutive matches in 1995, setting a record in the K League.

Hwang spent much of his career in the J1 League and enjoyed his most prolific season with Cerezo Osaka.

Hwang also played for the South Korean under-23 team as an over-aged player in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

He contributed to a victory by winning a crucial penalty in the first game against Ghana, but he quit the tournament due to his injury during the first half of the second game.

Hwang looked forward to the 1998 FIFA World Cup to make up for his failure in the 1994 World Cup, but he was injured by a Chinese goalkeeper Jiang Jin in a friendly just before the World Cup.

He was disappointed to be excluded from the line-up during the tournament.

In the 1999 J1 League, he scored 24 goals during 25 appearances, becoming the top goalscorer.

He is the first South Korean footballer to become the top scorer in a foreign league.

He was also nominated for the Asian Footballer of the Year award in that year.

In the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, Hwang won the Bronze Shoe award after scoring in two victories against Mexico and Australia.

Hwang was still an important part of South Korea even at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although he approached his mid-30s.

He scored the winning goal in the first match against Poland, helping South Korea to achieve their first-ever victory in the FIFA World Cup.

In the second match against the United States, his head was injured, but he won a penalty after wrapping a bandage around his head.

In the penalty shoot-out of the quarter-final match against Spain, he came forward as South Korea's first kicker, and succeeded in scoring.

Hwang made 103 appearances and 50 goals for South Korea alongside six operations due to injuries.

He ended his international career after the 2002 World Cup.

In late 2003, having finally retired, Hwang has now turned his attention to coaching.

In 2005, Hwang was appointed as assistant coach of Jeonnam Dragons and started his coaching career.

He received Best Coach Award from the 2006 Korean FA Cup.

On 4 December 2007, he signed a three-year contract with Busan IPark and became manager of Busan.

On 9 November 2010, Hwang returned to his former team Pohang Steelers as new manager.