Seol with Fulham in 2009
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1979-01-08) 8 January 1979 (age 45) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Jeongseon, Gangwon, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Gyeongnam FC (manager) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Gangneung Commercial High School [ko] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2000 | Kwangwoon University [ko] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Royal Antwerp | 25 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2004 | Anderlecht | 71 | (18) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 69 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2007 | Reading | 30 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | Fulham | 18 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009 | → Al-Hilal (loan) | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Pohang Steelers | 16 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | Ulsan Hyundai | 34 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Incheon United | 73 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 343 | (64) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | South Korea U20 | 12 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | South Korea U23 | 25[α] | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2009 | South Korea | 82 | (19) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Sungkyunkwan University (caretaker) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Sungkyunkwan University | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Gyeongnam FC | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 설기현 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 薛琦鉉 |
| Revised Romanization | Seol Gi-hyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏl Ki-hyŏn |
Seol Ki-hyeon (Korean: 설기현; Hanja: 薛琦鉉; born 8 January 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a winger, and who currently is the manager of Gyeongnam FC. He is also the first South Korean footballer to score in the history of the UEFA Champions League, during his time at Anderlecht.
In July 2000, Seol joined a Belgian club Royal Antwerp.[1] He became the second South Korean footballer to score in double figures during a season in Europe, following Cha Bum-kun.[2] After a successful season with Royal Antwerp, Seol moved to Anderlecht in the same league. He scored a hat-trick in the space of 12 minutes in the 2001 Belgian Super Cup.[3] He also became the first South Korean player to score in the qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[4] He won the 2003–04 Belgian First Division with Anderlecht.[5]
In August 2004, Seol moved to England, joining a Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers.[6] The Wolverhampton manager at the time, Glenn Hoddle, preferred Seol as one of his first-choice forwards,[6] using him in various roles such as striker, attacking midfielder and winger.[7]
Disappointed by the failure of Wolves' promotion, Seol sought Premier League clubs interested in him before the 2006 FIFA World Cup despite having two years left on his contract. He was reported as saying "At this stage, I'm frustrated not to be in the Premiership. I think there will be some good news after the World Cup."[8]
Seol eventually joined newly promoted Premier League club Reading on 12 July 2006 for a reported transfer fee of £1.5 million.[9] He was voted the Reading Player of the Month for August by fans after showing great performances early in the season.[10] On 16 September 2006, he scored his first Premiership goal in a 2–1 win over Sheffield United.[11] On 1 October 2006, he scored his second goal for Reading in a 1–0 win over West Ham United.[12] His third goal for Reading, his first at home, came on 18 November 2006 in the 2–0 win against Charlton Athletic.[13] However, his performance was not consistently kept during the rest of the season. He scored his fourth goal in the last game of the season against Blackburn Rovers.
Seol left Reading for Fulham on 31 August 2007 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, with Liam Rosenior going the other way.[9][14] Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted that strained relations between him and Seol led to the move.[15]
After his manager Lawrie Sanchez was replaced by Roy Hodgson, Seol wasn't chosen as Hodgson's player during the rest of the season. He scored his first goal for Fulham in a 2–1 defeat to Hull City on 16 August 2008,[16] but he still didn't show something special the next season. On 14 January 2009, he signed an initial six-month loan move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia with a view to moving permanently.[17] However, he stated that he desired to stay at Fulham to win his place in the squad at the end of his loan deal.[18]
Seol scored his second goal for the club in a Europa League qualifier against FK Vėtra on 30 July 2009, but he failed to made a twist for his status.[19] On 15 January 2010, It was announced that his contract with Fulham was cancelled by mutual consent.[20]
Seol played for Pohang Steelers, Ulsan Hyundai, and Incheon United in the K League after leaving Fulham. During his K League career, he was criticised for having no respect for clubs and lying to fans.[21][22] He announced his retirement on 2 March 2015 in order to become the interim manager of Sungkyunkwan University. His retirement ceremony took place in a friendly match between South Korea and Jamaica on 13 October 2015.[23]
Seol was a participant in 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the 2002 World Cup hosted by his country, he helped South Korea to reach the semi-finals as a starter. He also scored crucial equaliser in the round of 16 against Italy.[24] He was nominated for the Ballon d'Or in that year.[25]
On 26 December 2019, Seol was appointed as manager of Gyeongnam FC.[26]
Seol was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".[27][28]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Royal Antwerp | 2000–01 | Belgian First Division | 25 | 10 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 27 | 11 | |||
| Anderlecht | 2001–02 | Belgian First Division | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 1 | 1[b] | 3 | 24 | 7 | |
| 2002–03 | Belgian First Division | 31 | 12 | 3 | 0 | — | 8[c] | 1 | — | 42 | 13 | |||
| 2003–04 | Belgian First Division | 19 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 6[a] | 1 | — | 26 | 4 | |||
| 2004–05 | Belgian First Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[a] | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 71 | 18 | 4 | 0 | — | 18 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 94 | 24 | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2004–05 | Championship | 37 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 40 | 6 | ||
| 2005–06 | Championship | 32 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 4 | |||
| Total | 69 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 76 | 10 | ||||
| Reading | 2006–07 | Premier League | 27 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 4 | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Total | 30 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 4 | ||||
| Fulham | 2007–08 | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Premier League | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2009–10 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 1 | — | 5 | 1 | ||
| Total | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| Al Hilal (loan) | 2008–09 | Saudi Pro League | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7[d] | 0 | — | 24 | 1 | |
| Pohang Steelers | 2010 | K League | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | — | 18 | 7 | |
| Ulsan Hyundai | 2011 | K League | 34 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 45 | 9 | ||
| Incheon United | 2012 | K League | 40 | 7 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 41 | 8 | |||
| 2013 | K League 1 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 29 | 5 | ||||
| 2014 | K League 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 73 | 11 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | 77 | 13 | |||||
| Career total | 343 | 64 | 29 | 6 | 19 | 4 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 421 | 81 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 2000 | 16 | 6 |
| 2001 | 11 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 14 | 3 | |
| 2003 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 15 | 2 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 9 | 4 | |
| 2007 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2009 | 4 | 1 | |
| Career total | 82 | 19 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 April 2000 | Seoul, South Korea |  Laos |
4–0 | 9–0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 2 | 8–0 | |||||
| 3 | 9–0 | |||||
| 4 | 9 April 2000 | Seoul, South Korea |  Myanmar |
1–0 | 4–0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 5 | 2–0 | |||||
| 6 | 7 October 2000 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  Australia |
3–2 | 4–2 | 2000 LG Cup |
| 7 | 11 February 2001 | Dubai, United Arab Emirates |  United Arab Emirates |
3–1 | 4–1 | 2001 Dubai Tournament |
| 8 | 26 May 2002 | Suwon, South Korea |  France |
2–1 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 9 | 18 June 2002 | Daejeon, South Korea |  Italy |
1–1 | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 10 | 20 November 2002 | Seoul, South Korea |  Brazil |
1–0 | 2–3 | Friendly |
| 11 | 14 February 2004 | Ulsan, South Korea |  Oman |
2–0 | 5–0 | Friendly |
| 12 | 31 July 2004 | Jinan, China |  Iran |
1–1 | 3–4 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup |
| 13 | 26 May 2006 | Seoul, South Korea |  Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 14 | 2 September 2006 | Seoul, South Korea | Iran |
1–0 | 1–1 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 15 | 6 September 2006 | Suwon, South Korea |  Chinese Taipei |
1–0 | 8–0 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 16 | 3–0 | |||||
| 17 | 6 February 2008 | Seoul, South Korea |  Turkmenistan |
2–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 18 | 4–0 | |||||
| 19 | 5 September 2009 | Seoul, South Korea | Australia |
3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
Anderlecht
Al-Hilal
Ulsan Hyundai
South Korea U20
South Korea
Individual
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|---|---|
| KASA Best Footballer |
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| Most Valuable Player |
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| Fans' Player of the Year |
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| Player of the Year |
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