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Song Chong-Gug
Hangul	송종국
Hanja	宋鐘國
Revised Romanization	Song Jong-guk
McCune–Reischauer	Song Chongguk

Song Chong-Gug
	Song Chong-Gug
Personal information
Full name	Song Chong-Gug
Date of birth	February 20, 1979 (age 30)
Place of birth	Danyang, Chungbuk, Republic of Korea
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Midfielder / Defender
Club information
Current club	Suwon Samsung Bluewings
Number	8
Youth career
1997–2000	Yonsei University
Senior career1
National team2
	1 Senior club appearances and goals; counted for the domestic league only and; correct as of 5 November 2009.; 2 National team caps and goals correct; as of 25 March 2007.; * Appearances (Goals)

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

Song Chong-Gug (born February 20, 1979 in Busan) is a Korean football player and midfielder for Suwon Samsung Bluewings and the Korean national team.

[edit] Career

From 2001 to 2002, Song played in the K-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.

Song Chong-Gug has recently been linked with a move to English Premier League club Fulham FC.

[edit] 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..^[1] 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.^[2] The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding.^[3]

[edit] Club career statistics

As of 19 May 2009

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Korea Republic			League		Korean FA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2001	Busan I'cons	K-League	25	2			10	0	-
2002	Busan I'cons	K-League	9	2			1	0	-
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2002-03	Feyenoord	Eredivisie	18	1					6	0
2003-04			25	1					3	0
2004-05			10	0					4	0
Korea Republic			League		Korean FA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2005	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	K-League	9	0	0	0	11	1	2	0	22	1
2006			23	0	4	0	4	0	-		31	0
2007			24	0	2	0	9	0	-		35	0
2008			23	2	1	0	6	0	-		30	2
2009			9	0	1	0			5	0	15	0
Total	Korea Republic		122	6	8	0	41	1	7	0	178	7
Total	Netherlands		53	2					13	0
Career Total			175	8					20	0

[edit] International goals

Results list Korea Republic's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
February 11, 2001	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	1 goal	4-1	2001 Emarate Cup
January 19, 2002	Pasadena	United States	1 goal	1-2	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
June 29, 2002	Daegu	Turkey	1 goal	2-3	2002 FIFA World Cup

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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[0] 삐걱거리던 결혼, 2년여만에 종지부 찍은 월드컵스타 송종국

[1] 송종국-탤런트 박연수, 백여명 축하속 조촐한 웨딩!

[2] 수원 송종국 득녀 "아빠 됐어요"

[1]

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