Contents

Kim Joo-sung

Kim Joo-sung

Personal information
Full name	Kim Joo-sung
Date of birth	(1964-01-17) 17 January 1964 (age 60)
Place of birth	Yangyang, Gangwon, South Korea
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Winger, sweeper
Youth career
1977–1979[1]	Seongsu Middle School
1980–1982[1]	Choongang High School
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1983–1986[1]	Chosun University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987–1999	Busan Daewoo Royals	203	(34)
1992–1994	→ VfL Bochum (loan)	34	(4)
Total		237	(38)
International career
1984	South Korea U20
1984–1987	South Korea B
1985–1996	South Korea	76	(14)
Medal record Men's football Representing  South Korea Summer Universiade 1987 Zagreb Team[2] Asian Games 1986 Seoul Team 1990 Beijing Team AFC Asian Cup 1988 Qatar Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kim Joo-sung (born 17 January 1964) is a former South Korean football player. Kim is regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of the 20th century. He was nominated for the IFFHS Asia's Player of the Century, finishing second place.^[3]

Kim joined Daewoo Royals in 1987. In his first professional season, he won the K League and was named the K League Young Player of the Year.^[4]

In June 1992, Kim was loaned to Bundesliga club VfL Bochum. Having a red card and no goals, he struggled with competing in the big league, while Bochum was in danger of being relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.^[5] After Bochum was eventually relegated, he tried to return to the Bundesliga, helping Bochum to win a 2. Bundesliga title in the 1993–94 season. However, he came back to South Korea at the request of Daewoo.^[6]

Originally deployed as a winger or an attacking midfielder, Kim played as a sweeper after the 1994 FIFA World Cup because the condition of his knee was exacerbated.^[7] In the 1997 season, Daewoo Royals once again won the K League with his successful change, and he received the K League MVP Award.^[8] Kim announced his retirement in 1999, and his uniform number 16 was also retired by Daewoo.^[9]

Kim was selected for the South Korea national team for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, playing in a major competition for the first time. He also played for South Korea in the 1986 Asian Games, winning a gold medal.

Afterwards, Kim became the greatest footballer in Asia and South Korea. In the 1988 AFC Asian Cup, he performed a key role with great dribbles, leading South Korea to the final. He became the Most Valuable Player of the tournament,^[10] although South Korea lost to Saudi Arabia after the penalty shoot-out in the final. He was also named the Most Outstanding Player in the Asian qualification of the 1990 FIFA World Cup after South Korea won the competition without a defeat.^[11] He was voted Asian Footballer of the Year for three consecutive years from 1989 to 1991.^[12]

Kim's domination over Asia interested European clubs at the time. However, he showed poor performance in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, failing to live up to their expectations.^[13] He could go to Europe two years after the end of the World Cup.

On 8 October 1991, he played for official World XI against Germany in a charity match of FIFA.

He was nicknamed the "Wild Horse" or the "Samson" due to his pace and long curly hair.^[14] He normally played as a winger, but he was capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or a sweeper. Kim possessed as well an exceptional level of stamina and good dribbling skills.

In September 2003 he attended a sports management masters course at De Montfort University, Leicester until February 2004 when his studies took him to Switzerland.

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

List of international goals scored by Kim Joo-sung

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	21 July 1985	Seoul, South Korea	1	Indonesia	2–0	2–0	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
2	30 July 1985	Jakarta, Indonesia	2	Indonesia	4–0	4–1	1986 FIFA World Cup qualification
3	3 December 1985	Los Angeles, United States	5	Mexico	1–0	1–2	Friendly
4	28 September 1986	Seoul, South Korea	15	China	2–1	4–2	1986 Asian Games
5	14 June 1987	Daejeon, South Korea	21	Thailand	2–0	4–2	1987 Korea Cup
6	6 December 1988	Doha, Qatar	26	Japan	2–0	2–0	1988 AFC Asian Cup
7	9 December 1988	Doha, Qatar	27	Qatar	2–0	3–2	1988 AFC Asian Cup
8	20 October 1989	Singapore	35	China	1–0	1–0	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	28 July 1990	Beijing, China	44	Japan	2–0	2–0	1990 Dynasty Cup
10	23 September 1990	Beijing, China	49	Singapore	2–0	7–0	1990 Asian Games
11					5–0
12	11 October 1990	Pyongyang, North Korea	54	North Korea	1–0	1–2	Friendly
13	9 June 1991	Seoul, South Korea	57	Indonesia	2–0	3–0	1991 Korea Cup
14	11 June 1994	Duncanville, United States	66	Honduras	3–0	3–0	Friendly

Busan Daewoo Royals

• K League 1: 1987, 1991, 1997^[15]
• Korean National Championship: 1989^[15]
• Korean League Cup: 1997, 1997+, 1998+^[16]

VfL Bochum

• 2. Bundesliga: 1993–94^[17]

South Korea B

• Summer Universiade silver medal: 1987^[18]

South Korea

• Asian Games: 1986^[19]
• AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1988^[20]
• Dynasty Cup: 1990^[21]

Individual

• World XI: 1991^[22]
• AFC Asian Cup Most Valuable Player: 1988^[10]
• AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 1988^[10]
• FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC) Most Outstanding Player: 1990^[11]
• IFFHS Asian Men's Player of the Year: 1989, 1990, 1991^[12]
• IFFHS Asia's Player of the 20th Century runner-up: 1999^[3]
• IFFHS Asian Men's Team of the 20th Century: 2021^[23]
• MasterCard Asian/Oceanian Team of the 20th Century: 1998^[24]
• Dynasty Cup Most Valuable Player: 1990^[25]
• Korean FA Best XI: 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988^{[26][27][28][29]}
• Korean FA Most Valuable Player: 1991^[30]
• K League Rookie of the Year: 1987^[4]
• K League 1 Best XI: 1987, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1999^{[31][32][33][8][34]}
• K League All-Star: 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998^{[35][36][37][38]}
• K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 1997^[8]
• K League '90s All-Star Team: 2003^[39]
• K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013^[40]

• Kim Joo-sung – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
• Kim Joo-sung – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Kim Joo-sung at National-Football-Teams.com