Huh Jung-moo

Huh Jung-moo (Korean: 허정무; Hanja: 許丁茂; born 13 January 1955) is a former South Korean football player and manager.

Huh Jung-moo

Huh in 2010
Personal information
Full name	Huh Jung-moo
Date of birth	(1955-01-13) 13 January 1955 (age 70)
Place of birth	Jindo, Jeonnam, South Korea
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1968–?	Mokpo Chungho Middle School
?–1971	Joongdong Middle School
1971–1974	Yongdungpo Technical High School
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1974–1977	Yonsei University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1978–1980	Korea Electric Power
1978–1980	→ ROK Navy (draft)
1980–1983	PSV Eindhoven	77	(11)
1984–1986	Hyundai Horang-i	36	(4)
Total		113	(15)
International career
1973–1974	South Korea U20
1974–1986	South Korea	104	(30)
Managerial career
1991–1992	POSCO Atoms (assistant)
1993–1995	Pohang Atoms
1993–1994	South Korea (assistant)
1995	South Korea (caretaker)
1996–1998	Jeonnam Dragons
1998–2000	South Korea
2001–2004	Yongin Football Center
2004	South Korea (assistant)
2005–2007	Jeonnam Dragons
2008–2010	South Korea
2010–2012	Incheon United
Medal record Men's football Representing  South Korea (as player) Asian Games 1978 Bangkok Team 1986 Seoul Team AFC Youth Championship 1973 Iran Team[1] 1974 Thailand Team[2] Representing  South Korea (as manager) AFC Asian Cup 2000 Lebanon Team EAFF Championship 2008 China Team 2010 Japan Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Huh Jung-moo
Hangul	허정무
Hanja	許丁茂
Revised Romanization	Heo Jeong-mu
McCune–Reischauer	Hŏ Chŏng-mu

In this Korean name, the family name is Huh.

Playing career

Huh was one of the best South Korean college footballers before starting his semi-professional career. He was often compared with Korea University's Cha Bum-kun while playing for Yonsei University. After his graduation, he joined Korea Electric Power FC, and simultaneously enlisted in Marine Corps and Navy FC to do mandatory military service.^[3]

When Huh was discharged from the military service, European clubs were interested in Asian players due to Cha Bum-kun's performance in the Bundesliga. Motivated by Cha, Huh also wanted to play for a European club,^[3] joining Eredivisie side PSV Eindhoven in August 1980.^[4] He mainly played as a defensive midfielder and showed impressive form for three years. Johan Cruyff, who was tired from Huh's active marking, broke Huh's nose with his arm, and Willem van Hanegem showed a hysteria to Huh with the racist gesture "Slant-eye".

Huh went back to South Korea after the 1982–83 season. His wife felt homesick, and he also didn't feel the need to continue his life abroad after hearing the news that a professional league was founded in his country.^[3][5] Huh joined Hyundai Horang-i as a founding member in 1984, and played for it for three years.

Huh was on the South Korea national team from 1974 to 1986, and won two gold medals in the Asian Games. He was also a member of Korean squad in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. In a group match against Argentina, he left a famous photo that he appeared to be kicking Diego Maradona whose face twisted with pain. Afterwards, he scored a goal against Italy.

Style of play

Huh was a versatile player, and could play in multiple positions. He was capable of playing as a striker, winger, attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder, or full-back. He covered great distance by utilising his competitive spirit and stamina. Because of his tough and energetic playing style, he was nicknamed "Jindogae", the hunter dog breed originated from his hometown Jindo Island. He was also adept at man marking and often duelled with Johan Cruyff in De Topper. He didn't have rapid pace, but he could dribble the ball with intelligent movement.^[3]

Managerial career

Huh won the 1993 Korean League Cup with POSCO Atoms and the 1997 Korean FA Cup with Jeonnam Dragons before becoming permanent manager of South Korea national team in 1998.

At the national team, Huh picked some nameless young players and gave them important positions instead of established stars. His team was eliminated in the Asian Games quarter-finals and the CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage. His decision was not followed by good results at major competitions, inviting harsh criticism.^[6] After finishing third at the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, he was replaced by Guus Hiddink.

Since Hiddink's incredible success in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Korea Football Association (KFA) began hiring foreign managers, including Humberto Coelho, Jo Bonfrere, Dick Advocaat, and Pim Verbeek, but they failed to match Hiddink's success. Meanwhile, the nameless players picked by Huh became key players at the national team, especially Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo who settled at the Premier League. The success of Huh's former apprentices in addition to his two victories with Jeonnam Dragons at the Korean FA Cup made him revalued as a candidate for the national team manager. Huh was appointed for the second time in December 2007 after leading candidates Mick McCarthy and Gérard Houllier both rejected the job. Huh got the team qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup without a loss at the qualifiers. In November 2009, he was named the AFC Coach of the Year after leading the national team to a 27-match unbeaten run. His team also advanced to the knockout stage at the 2010 World Cup.

In March 2013, Huh was appointed KFA's vice-president by president Chung Mong-gyu. On 10 July 2014, due to the national team's poor performance without a win at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he resigned from the association along with national team manager Hong Myung-bo.^[7]

After working as chairman of Daejeon Hana Citizen from 2020 to 2023,^[8] Huh ran for KFA president in November 2024.^[9] He was one of three candidates along with existing president Chung Mong-gyu and another challenger Shin Moon-seon, and lost to Chung in the election in February 2025.^[10]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^[11][12]

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Korea Electric Power	1978	Semipro League	?	?	—		—		—		—		?	?
ROK Navy (draft)	1978	Semipro League	?	?	?[a]	?	—		—		?[b]	?	?	?
	1979	Semipro League	?	?	?[a]	?	—		—		?[b]	?	?	?
	1980	Semipro League	?	?	?[a]	?	—		—		?[b]	?	?	?
	Total		?	?	?	?	—		—		?	?	?	?
PSV Eindhoven	1980–81	Eredivisie	28	6	?[c]	?	—		4	0	—		32	6
	1981–82	Eredivisie	30	4	?[c]	?	—		2	1	—		32	5
	1982–83	Eredivisie	19	1	?[c]	?	—		1	0	—		20	1
	Total		77	11	?	?	—		7	1	—		84	12
Hyundai Horang-i	1984	K League	23	3	—		—		—		—		23	3
	1985	K League	5	1	—		—		—		—		5	1
	1986	K League	8	0	—		3	1	—		—		11	1
	Total		36	4	—		3	1	—		—		39	5
Career total			113	15	?	?	3	1	7	1	?	?	123	17

1. Appearance(s) in Korean National Championship
2. Appearance(s) in Korean President's Cup
3. Appearance(s) in KNVB Cup

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[13]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	1974	5	1
	1975	8	1
	1976	9	1
	1977	24	11
	1978	19	4
	1979	6	5
	1980	8	2
	1984	9	0
	1985	7	4
	1986	9	1
Career total		104	30

Appearances and goals by competition

Competition	Apps	Goals
Friendlies	11	5
Minor competitions	33	14
Asian Games	12	1
AFC Asian Cup qualification	10	2
AFC Asian Cup	4	0
Summer Olympics qualification	12	2
FIFA World Cup qualification	19	5
FIFA World Cup	3	1
Total	104	30

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Huh Jung-moo

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	20 December 1974	Bangkok, Thailand	4	Thailand	3–1	3–1 (a.e.t.)	1974 King's Cup
2	22 May 1975	Seoul, South Korea	10	Burma	1–0	1–0	1975 Korea Cup
3	4 November 1976	Tokyo, Japan	20	Japan	1–1	2–1	Japan–South Korea regular match
4	14 February 1977	Singapore	23	Singapore	3–0	4–0	Friendly
5	18 February 1977	Manama, Bahrain	24	Bahrain	1–0	4–1	Friendly
6					4–1
7	20 February 1977	Manama, Bahrain	25	Bahrain	1–0	1–1	Friendly
8	17 July 1977	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	33	Libya	1–0	4–0	1977 Pestabola Merdeka
9					3–0
10					4–0
11	26 July 1977	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	36	Malaysia	1–0	1–1	1977 Pestabola Merdeka
12	3 September 1977	Seoul, South Korea	40	Thailand	4–0	5–1	1977 Korea Cup
13					5–0
14	4 December 1977	Busan, South Korea	46	Hong Kong	2–0	5–2	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
15	13 September 1978	Daegu, South Korea	55	Bahrain	1–1	3–1	1978 Korea Cup
16	12 December 1978	Bangkok, Thailand	57	Kuwait	2–0	2–0	1978 Asian Games
17	25 December 1978	Manila, Philippines	63	Macau	1–0	4–1	1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification
18	29 December 1978	Manila, Philippines	65	China	1–0	1–0	1980 AFC Asian Cup qualification
19	8 September 1979	Seoul, South Korea	68	Sudan	4–0	8–0	1979 Korea Cup
20	12 September 1979	Daegu, South Korea	69	Sri Lanka	1–0	6–0	1979 Korea Cup
21	16 September 1979	Incheon, South Korea	71	Bangladesh	1–0	9–0	1979 Korea Cup
22					5–0
23					7–0
24	22 March 1980	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	74	Japan	1–0	3–1	1980 Summer Olympics qualification
25	27 March 1980	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	76	Philippines	8–0	8–0	1980 Summer Olympics qualification
26	6 April 1985	Seoul, South Korea	91	Nepal	1–0	4–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
27					4–0
28	30 July 1985	Jakarta, Indonesia	94	Indonesia	3–0	4–1	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
29	3 November 1985	Seoul, South Korea	95	Japan	1–0	1–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
30	10 June 1986	Puebla, Mexico	99	Italy	2–3	2–3	1986 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Player

Yonsei University

• Korean National Championship runner-up: 1974^[14]

ROK Navy

• Korean President's Cup: 1979^[15]

Hyundai Horang-i

• Korean League Cup: 1986^[16]

South Korea U20

• AFC Youth Championship third place: 1973, 1974^[17]

South Korea

• Asian Games: 1978, 1986^[18]

Individual

• Korean National Championship top goalscorer: 1974^[14]
• Korean FA Best XI: 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986^{[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]}
• Korean President's Cup Best Player: 1979^[15]
• Korean FA Most Valuable Player: 1984^[23]
• K League 1 Best XI: 1984^[26]
• K League '80s All-Star Team: 2003^[27]

Manager

POSCO Atoms

• Korean League Cup: 1993^[16]

Jeonnam Dragons

• Korean FA Cup: 1997, 2006, 2007^[16]
• Korean League Cup runner-up: 1997^[16]

South Korea

• AFC Asian Cup third place: 2000^[28]
• EAFF Championship: 2008^[29]

Individual

• K League All-Star: 1995, 2005, 2006^[30][31][32]
• Korean FA Cup Best Manager: 2006, 2007^[33][34]
• AFC Coach of the Year: 2009^[35]