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.

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". His talent received attention early from South Korea's senior professional clubs, and he joined Suwon Samsung Bluewings just before his graduation.

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.

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.

Ko was evaluated as the best Korean technician at the time, and his left foot is considered one of the greatest feet of all time in South Korea. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Suwon Samsung Bluewings1996K League111??30—141
1997K League71??82??153
1998K League193??10??203
1999K League142??72??214
2000K League84??53??137
2001K League125??85??2010
2002K League204??00??204
2004K League510000—51
Total9621??3212??12833
Kyoto Purple Sanga (loan)2003J1 League1310031—162
Jeonnam Dragons2005K League1110051—162
Daejeon Citizen2007K League1111000—121
2008K League1300031—161
Total2411031—282
Career total14424104315??18839

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
South Korea1997101
1998161
199941
200030
200153
Career total386

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Ko Jong-soo
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
125 January 1997Sydney, AustraliaNew Zealand2–13–11997 Opus Tournament
229 January 1998Bangkok, ThailandThailand1–02–01998 King's Cup
35 June 1999Seoul, South KoreaBelgium1–21–2Friendly
424 January 2001Hong KongNorway1–02–32001 Lunar New Year Cup
527 January 2001Hong KongParaguay1–01–1 (a.e.t.) (6–5 p)2001 Lunar New Year Cup
611 February 2001Dubai, United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates4–14–12001 Dubai Tournament

Honours

Player

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Individual

Manager

Individual

  • K League Manager of the Month: August 2018, September 2018

Notes

External links

  • – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean and English)
  • – FIFA competition record (archived)
  • at National-Football-Teams.com
  • at J.League () (in Japanese)
Sporting positions
Preceded byKang Jung-HoonDaejeon Citizen captain 2008Succeeded byKim Gil-Sik