This is a Korean name; the family name is Cho.

Cho Won-Hee (born 17 April 1983) is a South Korean footballer who plays for Wigan Athletic as a midfielder. He is famous for his physical strength and fighting spirit.

[edit] Club career

As a child, Cho often played as a forward. Later, when he was picked for South Korean U20 squad, he also played as a left winger. In 2001, Cho was planning to play football at university as many other Korean footballers do, but he failed to do so, so he signed with Ulsan Hyundai, one of the most successful clubs in the K-League . In 2003, Cho decided to join Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix, the army team to finish his army duty and to play first team football. There, he was quite impressive, and after his 2-year-duty at Gwanju, he moved to Suwon Samsung Bluewings, a team that was nicknamed "Real Suwon" for its cash-splashing signings. He originally played as a right wingback or right fullback at the Big Bird Stadium, competing for regular with Song Chong-Gug, but in 2007, after a long-term injury of defensive midfielder Kim Nam-Il, he changed his position to defensive midfielder. Throughout the 2007 season, he was not very impressive, and many fans were especially concerned with his rough passing. However, next season, he showed his quality with improved passing and sight, and became a first team regular. After lifting the league trophy with Suwon, he became free agent. Cho was linked with several European clubs, including German giant Schalke 04 and French side AS Monaco. After trialing with AS Monaco in January 2009,^[1] Cho sought another trial with Wigan Athletic after it was revealed that AS Monaco had all of their non-EU player slots filled. He impressed during a trial with the club,^[2] and after being granted a work permit, Cho was allowed to join Wigan Athletic on March 6. Cho played his first reserve game in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool Reserves, notching an assist.^[3] Cho received a calf injury in a friendly against Iraq where he was kicked in the leg. ^[4] He nearly missed the remainder of the season, but managed to fully recover so as to make his Premiership debut for Wigan in the final match of the 2008-09 season against Stoke City.^[5]

[edit] International career

Cho scored his first international goal in his debut game against Iran on 12 October 2005. His shot deflected off an opposing defender and became one of the few goals scored within a minute. This goal is guessed to be the fastest goal South Korean National Team has ever scored, if the unrecorded games in the 50s and the 60s are not counted. Although Cho impressed as a right-back in his first game, he did not make an appearance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

[edit] Club career statistics

As of 30 August 2009.

[edit] International goals

Results list Korea Republic's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
October 12, 2005	Seoul	Iran	1 goal	2-0	Friendly match

[edit] Honours

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• K-League: 2008
• Hauzen Cup: 2008

Individual

• 2008 K-League Best 11

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Wigan Athletic Team 1st Team Won-Hee Cho
• K-League Player Record (Korean)
• National Team Player Record (Korean)
• FIFA Player Statistics
• Club & Country Statistics
• Cho Won-Hee career stats at Soccerbase

South Korea Squads v • d • e South Korea squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Lee Woon‑Jae • 2 Kim Young‑Chul • 3 Kim Dong‑Jin • 4 Choi Jin‑Cheul • 5 Kim Nam‑Il • 6 Kim Jin-Kyu • 7 Park Ji‑Sung • 8 Kim Do‑Heon • 9 Ahn Jung‑Hwan • 10 Park Chu‑Young • 11 Seol Ki‑Hyeon • 12 Lee Young‑Pyo • 13 Lee Eul‑Yong • 14 Lee Chun‑Soo • 15 Baek Ji‑Hoon • 16 Chung Kyung‑Ho • 17 Lee Ho • 18 Kim Sang‑Sik • 19 Cho Jae‑Jin • 20 Kim Yong‑Dae • 21 Kim Young‑Kwang • 22 Song Chong‑Gug • 23 Cho Won‑Hee • Coach: Advocaat