Ko Jong-soo

In this Korean name, the family name is Ko.

Ko Jong-soo

Ko in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	(1978-10-30) 30 October 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth	Yeosu, Jeonnam, South Korea
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
1993–1995	Kumho High School
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–2004	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	96	(21)
2003	→ Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan)	13	(1)
2005	Jeonnam Dragons	11	(1)
2007–2008	Daejeon Citizen	24	(1)
Total		144	(24)
International career
1996–2000	South Korea U23	10[α]	(0)
1997–2001	South Korea	38	(6)
Managerial career
2018–2019	Daejeon Citizen
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ko Jong-soo
Hangul	고종수
Hanja	高宗秀
Revised Romanization	Go Jongsu
McCune–Reischauer	Ko Chongsu

Ko Jong-soo (Korean: 고종수, born 30 October 1978) is a South Korean football coach and former player.

Early life

Born in Yeosu, Jeonnam, Ko graduated from Yeosu West Elementary School, Yeosu Gubong Middle School and Kumho High School.^[2]

While playing as a youth footballer for Kumho High School, Ko led his team to the title in the Baeklokgi Football Tournament [ko], one of national high school football competitions in South Korea, and was nicknamed the "Enfant terrible".^[3] His talent received attention early from South Korea's senior professional clubs, and he joined Suwon Samsung Bluewings just before his graduation.^[4]

Playing career

After joining Suwon Samsung Bluewings as a founding member in December 1995, Ko showed remarkable dribbles, passes and shots which led Suwon's prime. During his era, Suwon won 13 titles including two Asian Club Championships and two K Leagues. Especially, he was named the K League Most Valuable Player after contributing to his club's first-ever league title in 1998.^[4]

Ko was also noted for his free kicks and the front and right of the penalty arc were called "Ko Jong-soo Zones" in South Korea. He scored with a memorable free kick against José Luis Chilavert when he participated in FIFA's all-star game before the 2002 FIFA World Cup.^[5]

Ko was evaluated as the best Korean technician at the time,^[6] and his left foot is considered one of the greatest feet of all time in South Korea.^[7] He was expected to play for the national team in the 2002 World Cup, hosted by his country. However, he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in the 2001 season, and failed to recover his condition before the World Cup.^[8] This injury was also fatal to his playing career, and he could not show his former talent.

Managerial career

Ko spent his coaching career in Suwon Samsung Bluewings from 2011 to 2017.^[9] In November 2017, Ko was appointed Daejeon Citizen manager by Kim Ho, the Daejeon Citizen president at the time and his manager during his playing career.^[10] However, he was convicted of corruption for improperly selecting an acquaintance's son for the team after the 2018 season. He received a suspended six-month prison sentence.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		League cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Suwon Samsung Bluewings	1996	K League	11	1	?	?	3	0	—		14	1
	1997	K League	7	1	?	?	8	2	?	?	15	3
	1998	K League	19	3	?	?	1	0	?	?	20	3
	1999	K League	14	2	?	?	7	2	?	?	21	4
	2000	K League	8	4	?	?	5	3	?	?	13	7
	2001	K League	12	5	?	?	8	5	?	?	20	10
	2002	K League	20	4	?	?	0	0	?	?	20	4
	2004	K League	5	1	0	0	0	0	—		5	1
	Total		96	21	?	?	32	12	?	?	128	33
Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan)	2003	J1 League	13	1	0	0	3	1	—		16	2
Jeonnam Dragons	2005	K League	11	1	0	0	5	1	—		16	2
Daejeon Citizen	2007	K League	11	1	1	0	0	0	—		12	1
	2008	K League	13	0	0	0	3	1	—		16	1
	Total		24	1	1	0	3	1	—		28	2
Career total			144	24	1	0	43	15	?	?	188	39

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year^[1]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
South Korea	1997	10	1
	1998	16	1
	1999	4	1
	2000	3	0
	2001	5	3
Career total		38	6

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Ko Jong-soo

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	25 January 1997	Sydney, Australia	New Zealand	2–1	3–1	1997 Opus Tournament
2	29 January 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	Thailand	1–0	2–0	1998 King's Cup
3	5 June 1999	Seoul, South Korea	Belgium	1–2	1–2	Friendly
4	24 January 2001	Hong Kong	Norway	1–0	2–3	2001 Lunar New Year Cup
5	27 January 2001	Hong Kong	Paraguay	1–0	1–1 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)	2001 Lunar New Year Cup
6	11 February 2001	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	4–1	4–1	2001 Dubai Tournament

Honours

Player

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• K League 1: 1998, 1999, 2004
• Korean FA Cup: 2002
• Korean League Cup: 1999, 1999+, 2000, 2001
• Korean Super Cup: 1999, 2000
• Asian Club Championship: 2000–01, 2001–02
• Asian Super Cup: 2001, 2002

Individual

• Korean League Cup top assist provider: 1997^[4]
• K League All-Star: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005^{[12][13][14][15][16][17]}
• K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 1998^[18]
• K League 1 Best XI: 1998, 1999^[18][19]
• Korean League Cup top goalscorer: 2000^[20]
• AFC Goal of the Month: February 2001^[21]
• AFC Player of the Month: March 2001^[22]

Manager

Individual

• K League Manager of the Month: August 2018, September 2018^[23]

Notes

1. Includes one appearance considered non-international.^[1]

References

1. "Ko Jong-soo at Korea Football Association" (in Korean). Retrieved 13 April 2023.
2. 월드컵 전사 5명 배출 … 금호고는 ‘축구 명문’ (in Korean). Kwangju Ilbo. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
3. ‘앙팡테리블’ 고종수 (in Korean). Jemin Ilbo. 12 July 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
4. 뜨거운 감자, 고종수 (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 4 November 1999. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
5. 고종수, 마법의 왼발 (in Korean). Korean Broadcasting System. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
6. 김병지 "고종수·이관우… 안타까운 내동생들아". Daum (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2006.
7. [TF라이브폴] 한국 축구 역대 최고 '왼발의 달인'은? 고종수 '압도적 1위' (in Korean). The Fact. 5 August 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
8. 히딩크 감독, "고종수 주어진 재능 키워라" 충고 (in Korean). Suwon Samsung Bluewings. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
9. 고종수, 수원 유소년팀 코치로 새출발 (in Korean). Jeonbuk Domin Ilbo. 4 January 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
10. 프로축구 대전, 신임 감독에 고종수 전 수원 코치 선임 (in Korean). Newsis. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
11. '대전시티즌 선수선발 비리혐의' 고종수·김종천 징역형 확정 (in Korean). Daejon Ilbo. 30 June 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
12. 프로축구 올스타전. Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 8 August 1998. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
13. 신세대 축구스타 잠실벌서 뜬다. Naver (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. 21 July 1999. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
14. '00 나이키 올스타 출전 선수 보기 (in Korean). '00 Nike All-Star Game. Archived from the original on 17 January 2001. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
15. 고종수 프로축구 올스타 최다득표 (in Korean). SBS. 1 August 2001. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
16. 홍명보 ’영원한 왕별’ (in Korean). Kyeonggi Ilbo. 3 August 2002. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
17. 차범근 감독, 수원 선수들과 함께 K리그 올스타전 참가! (in Korean). Suwon Samsung Bluewings. 10 August 2005. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
18. 고종수 MVP 베스트11 뽑혀'겹경사'이동국은 신인왕. Naver (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 8 January 1999.
19. 안정환 시즌 MVP. Naver (in Korean). The Dong-a Ilbo. 10 November 1999.
20. 앙팡테리블 고종수-새 천년 올해의 인기선수 등극 (in Korean). Suwon Samsung Bluewings. 8 December 2000. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
21. [월드컵] 고종수 AFC '2월의 골' 수상 (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 25 February 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
22. 앙팡테리블 고종수, AFC 의 이달의 선수에 선정 (in Korean). Suwon Samsung Bluewings. 5 April 2001. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
23. 대전 고종수 감독, 2회 연속 '인터파크 이달의 감독' 선정 (in Korean). News1. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2023.

External links

• Ko Jong-soo – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
• Ko Jong-soo – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Ko Jong-soo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Ko Jong-soo at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Kang Jung-Hoon	Daejeon Citizen captain 2008	Succeeded by Kim Gil-Sik