Ahn Jung-hwan

Ahn was selected for the South Korea under-20 team for the 1994 AFC Youth Championship, but South Korea failed to advance to the semi-finals. Three years later, he was selected for the South Korea Universiade team for the 1997 Summer Universiade and won a silver medal in the tournament.[1] In 1998, Ahn started his professional career with K League's Busan Daewoo Royals. He showed great performance in his club and he was selected as one of the 1998 K League Best XI.[4] The next year, in 1999, he was named the K League Most Valuable Player by leading Busan's runners-up in the K League.[5] In 2000, Ahn joined Perugia on loan, becoming the first South Korean player who played in Italian Serie A. However, he was ostracized at the club, and bullied by his captain, Marco Materazzi.[6] He scored five goals in 30 appearances including 13 starts for two Serie A seasons,[7] and then was named in South Korean squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted by his country.

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup on home soil, Ahn tied the game against the United States, and during his goal celebration he imitated a speed skater in reference to the controversial disqualification of Korean short track speed skater Kim Dong-sung in the 1500 metres at the 2002 Winter Olympics, allowing American Apolo Ohno to win the gold medal. Ahn missed a penalty, but later scored a golden goal in extra-time from a header in the round of 16 against Italy that sent the South Koreans through to the quarter-finals.[8]

The next day, Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci cancelled his contract and was quoted as saying, "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football." Gaucci stated that his decision was not due to the goal, alleging comments by Ahn about the Italian nation.[9] However, Gaucci later took back what he had said, and approved the £1.2 million option to sign Ahn on a permanent basis. Ahn rejected the offer of a three-year contract and refused to turn up for pre-season training despite Perugia claiming ownership of his registration, saying "I will no longer discuss my transfer to Perugia, who attacked my character instead of congratulating me for a goal in the World Cup." Busan also claimed that they had not been paid by Perugia.[10] A number of European clubs were interested in Ahn, but withdrew due to their conflict, and FIFA raised Perugia's hand by delivering a judgment that Ahn has to pay Perugia $3.5 million to compensate for their damage in the transfer market, so he contracted with a Japanese entertainment company, the Professional Management (PM), to pay off his debts. He spent his career as a J1 League player and an entertainer for three years.[11]

Ahn with MSV Duisburg in 2006

After successful spell in Japan, Ahn returned to Europe to play for a French Ligue 1 team Metz in July 2005, and scored two goals in 16 outings. On 16 January 2006, Ahn was invited to train with Blackburn Rovers but twice failed to show up, one of the dates being on his birthday. In February, he secured a 17-month deal with a Bundesliga club MSV Duisburg to adapt to the environment of Germany, the host of the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[12] He scored two goals in 12 outings, and his club was relegated from the Bundesliga. Ahn showed a move to Heart of Midlothian of the Scottish Premier League, but it fell through.[13] Ahn was selected for the South Korean squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. He scored the winner, after coming off the bench during second half in South Korean opening match, where they won Togo 2–1. Thus, he became the Asian all-time scoring leader at the World Cup with three goals. He was released by Duisburg on 31 August 2006, and returned to South Korea by joining Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a one-year deal in January 2007.

On 14 March 2007, Ahn scored a hat-trick in a game of the Korean League Cup against Daejeon Citizen, but his poor performance became longer, and he was left out of the national team for the 2007 AFC Asian Cup.[14] In 2008, he returned to Busan IPark, formerly Busan Daewoo Royals. He steadily improved his game and overall performances and, for the first time in 22 months, was recalled to the national team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifications match against Jordan.[15] In March 2009, he signed a three-month contract with Chinese Super League side Dalian Shide. He became the key player in the club and extended his contract to December 2010 with Dalian Shide in June, though J2 League club Oita Trinita had an intention to sign him. He was promoted to Dalian's captain in the 2010 season. Ahn officially announced his retirement on 30 January 2012.[16][17]

Source:[21]

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 June 1999	Seoul	Mexico	1 goal	1–1	1999 Korea Cup
2	20 December 2000	Tokyo	Japan	1 goal	1–1	Friendly match
4	16 May 2002	Busan	Scotland	2 goals	4–1	Friendly match
5	10 June 2002	Daegu	United States	1 goal	1–1	2002 FIFA World Cup
6	18 June 2002	Daejeon	Italy	1 goal	2–1 (a.e.t.)	2002 FIFA World Cup
7	20 November 2002	Seoul	Brazil	1 goal	2–3	Friendly match
8	31 May 2003	Tokyo	Japan	1 goal	1–0	Friendly match
9	4 December 2003	Tokyo	Hong Kong	1 goal	3–1	2003 East Asian Cup
11	14 February 2004	Ulsan	Oman	2 goals	5–0	Friendly match
12	9 June 2004	Daejeon	Vietnam	1 goal	2–0	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	23 July 2004	Jinan	United Arab Emirates	1 goal	2–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup
14	27 July 2004	Jinan	Kuwait	1 goal	4–0	2004 AFC Asian Cup
15	12 November 2005	Seoul	Sweden	1 goal	2–2	Friendly match
16	13 June 2006	Frankfurt	Togo	1 goal	2–1	2006 FIFA World Cup
17	16 August 2006	Taipei	Chinese Taipei	1 goal	3–0	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification

Busan Daewoo Royals

• Korean League Cup: 1998[22]

Yokohama F. Marinos

• J1 League: 2004[23]

South Korea Universiade

• Summer Universiade silver medal: 1997[1]
• East Asian Games: 1997[2][24]

South Korea

• FIFA World Cup fourth place: 2002[25]
• EAFF Championship: 2003[26]

Individual

• K League 1 Best XI: 1998, 1999[4][5]
• K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 1999[5]
• Korean Fans' Footballer of the Year: 2003[27]