Song Chong-gug

Song Chong-gug (Korean: 송종국; born 20 February 1979) is a retired South Korean footballer who played as a defender or midfielder. Song has played abroad for football clubs in the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and China. At international level, he represented the South Korea national football team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Song Chong-gug

Song with Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2008.
Personal information
Full name	Song Chong-gug
Date of birth	(1979-02-20) 20 February 1979 (age 46)
Place of birth	Danyang, Chungbuk, South Korea
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Right-back, defensive midfielder
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1997–2000	Yonsei University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2001–2002	Busan I'Cons	34	(4)
2002–2005	Feyenoord	53	(2)
2005–2010	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	95	(2)
2010	Al-Shabab	7	(2)
2011	Ulsan Hyundai	13	(0)
2011	Tianjin Teda	14	(1)
Total		216	(11)
International career
1997–1999	South Korea U20	11	(0)
2000	South Korea U23	2	(0)
2000–2007	South Korea	60	(3)
Medal record Representing  South Korea Men's football AFC Asian Cup 2007 Indonesia/Malaysia /Thailand/Vietnam Team AFC Youth Championship 1998 Thailand Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

In this Korean name, the family name is Song.

Playing career

Early career

In June 2000, Song made his international debut against Macedonia under Huh Jung-moo when he was a university student. In 2001, Song started his professional career in a K League club Busan I'Cons after graduating from Yonsei University. He was named the K League Rookie of the Year in his first season.^[1] Guus Hiddink, the new manager of the South Korean national team, quickly chose him as a member of the World Cup team, and tested him in various midfield and defensive positions.^[2] He received the right back position after performing multiple roles.^[3]

While South Korea finished the 2002 FIFA World Cup in fourth place, Song was the only outfield player of the South Korean team to play all of 687 minutes in seven matches.^[4] He also nullified Luís Figo perfectly by blocking all twelve of his dribbles without a concession, making a memorable match against Portugal.^[5] He sometimes talks about his experience in marking Figo when appearing on South Korean TV programs.^[6]

Feyenoord

After the 2002 World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal approached Busan I'Cons to get Song, but Busan intentionally delayed the contracts in order to keep him.^[7] He strongly expressed his intention to move to a European club by moving his belongings out of the club after his deals with Premier League clubs were scuttled.^[7] He eventually joined an Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He made 56 appearances including UEFA Champions League games for Feyenoord in two seasons under Bert van Marwijk. However, his form regressed due to his ankle injuries, and he completely lost his place in the squad after Van Marwijk was replaced by Ruud Gullit.^[8]

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Song returned to South Korea to play for Suwon Samsung Bluewings after leaving Feyenoord in January 2005.^[8] In October 2005, he injured his ankle again, and eventually underwent an operation. He came back to the field after five months, but his ability was largely debased as compared with the past.^[9]

He was selected for the national team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup despite concern about his condition, and played the first group match against Togo. He successfully obstructed Emmanuel Adebayor, and assisted South Korea's winning goal.^[9][10] He showed his worth better than expected, but he was excluded from the subsequent games by the manager Dick Advocaat.

Song became Suwon's key player after the 2006 World Cup, and received the armband in 2008.^[11] He scored the winning goal in the 2008 K League Championship final, leading his team to the league title.^[12]

Retirement

Song played for Al-Shabab, Ulsan Hyundai, and Tianjin Teda after leaving Suwon in the summer of 2010.^[13] He was released by Tianjin at the end of the 2011 season, and announced his retirement in March 2012.^[14]

Personal life

In 2003, Song married Kim Jung-ah to the surprise of many of his fans after dating Kim since April 2001. Before the marriage, he had been linked with multiple celebrities including Lee Jin, a member of a Korean girl band Fin.K.L.^[15] He presented a bigger surprise three years later by getting divorced. On 17 December 2006, he married an actress and model Park Yun-soo after an 18-month relationship.^[16] The wedding was held privately in front of 100 family and friends. Song became a father six months after the wedding.^[17] In October 2015, however, Song once again divorced his wife.^[18]

In September 2021, Song signed with DH Entertainment.^[19]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Busan I'Cons	2001	K League	25	2	?	?	10	0	—		—		35	2
	2002	K League	9	2	?	?	1	0	—		—		10	2
	Total		34	4	?	?	11	0	—		—		45	4
Feyenoord	2002–03	Eredivisie	18	1	3	0	—		6	0	—		27	1
	2003–04	Eredivisie	25	1	1	0	—		3	0	—		29	1
	2004–05	Eredivisie	10	0	0	0	—		4	0	—		14	0
	Total		53	2	4	0	—		13	0	—		70	2
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	2005	K League	9	0	0	0	11	1	2	0	0	0	22	1
	2006	K League	23	0	4	0	4	0	—		—		31	0
	2007	K League	24	0	2	0	9	0	—		—		35	0
	2008	K League	23	2	1	0	6	0	—		—		30	2
	2009	K League	9	0	1	0	2	0	5	0	—		17	0
	2010	K League	7	0	1	0	3	0	6	0	—		17	0
	Total		95	2	9	0	35	1	13	0	0	0	152	3
Al-Shabab	2010–11	Saudi Pro League	7	2	?	?	?	?	3	0	—		10	2
Ulsan Hyundai	2011	K League	13	0	1	0	5	0	—		—		19	0
Tianjin Teda	2011	Chinese Super League	14	1	2	0	—		—		—		16	1
Career total			216	11	16	0	51	1	29	0	0	0	312	12

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[20][21]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	2000	2	0
	2001	14	1
	2002	22	2
	2003	3	0
	2004	8	0
	2006	8	0
	2007	3	0
Career total		60	3

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Song Chong-gug

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	11 February 2001	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	1–1	4–1	2001 Dubai Tournament
2	19 January 2002	Pasadena, United States	United States	1–1	1–2	2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3	29 June 2002	Daegu, South Korea	Turkey	2–3	2–3	2002 FIFA World Cup

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)	Ref.
2012	Dancing with the Stars Season 2	Himself
2013–2014	Dad! Where Are We Going?	Himself
2020	Let's Play Soccer	Himself	Episode 48
2022	Gundesliga	Himself		[22]

Honours

Busan I'Cons

• Korean League Cup runner-up: 2001^[23]

Feyenoord

• KNVB Cup runner-up: 2002–03^[24]

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• Pan-Pacific Championship: 2009^[25]
• A3 Champions Cup: 2005^[26]
• K League 1: 2008^[27]
• Korean FA Cup: 2009^[23]
• Korean League Cup: 2005, 2008^[23]
• Korean Super Cup: 2005^[23]

Tianjin Teda

• Chinese FA Cup: 2011^[28]

South Korea U20

• AFC Youth Championship: 1998^[29]

South Korea

• AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007^[30]

Individual

• K League All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007^{[31][32][33][34]}
• AFC Player of the Month: November 2001^[35]
• K League Rookie of the Year: 2001^[1]
• K League 1 Best XI: 2001^[1]
• AFC Opta All-time XI at the FIFA World Cup: 2020^[36]