Yoo Sang-chul

Yoo Sang-chul (; 18 October 1971 – 7 June 2021) was a South Korean football player and manager. Yoo was regarded as one of the greatest South Korean midfielders of all time. He was selected as a midfielder of the 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team and K League 30th Anniversary Best XI. and was selected as a defender of the K League Best XI right after his first season. In 1996, he won the 1996 K League with Ulsan. In 1998, he won the K League scoring title, scoring 14 goals in 20 games, and was named as a midfielder in the K League Best XI. However, confusion regarding how agents work in European football caused him to miss out on the trial;

Yoo briefly joined Kashiwa Reysol in 2001, where he played 33 games and scored 14 goals. Following his success at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, there was interest from many major European football clubs, and he nearly signed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur, to the point that he had already said farewell to Kashiwa; but the negotiation broke down.

International career Yoo scored two goals for South Korea in FIFA World Cup, one in 1998 against Belgium, and another in 2002 against Poland. He played a key part of the South Korea national team when they reached the semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and was named to the World Cup all-star team. He was also part of the South Korea under-23 team for the 2004 Summer Olympics, who finished second in Group A, making it through to the next round, before being defeated by Paraguay, the eventual silver medalists.

Style of play Yoo was one of South Korea's most versatile players in the 1990s and 2000s. He was originally a defensive player, who could perform roles of stopper and right back with excellent physical strength, but he had the ability to spark attacks with his incisive distribution after getting great positioning and wide vision in his experiences. After his retirement, he shocked Koreans by revealing that he was blind in the left eye during his career.

Managerial career Yoo Sang-chul began managing in 2009 as a high school football manager, at Chuncheon Machinery Technical High School.

On 17 July 2011, he was appointed manager of Daejeon Citizen. This was a tough appointment, because a match-fixing scandal caused Daejeon to lose nearly half of their players just before his appointment. In the 2012 season, while it was close, the Daejeon Citizens managed to avoid relegation. Following the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2012 season, negotiations to extend his contract failed, and the Daejeon Citizens appointed a different manager, a move which many fans found controversial.

In January 2014, Yoo became the manager of the Ulsan University football team, the affiliate university team of the Ulsan Hyundai football club where he had spent his entire K-League career. He remained with Ulsan University until December 2017, when he was appointed manager of the Jeonnam Dragons.

Under Yoo, the Jeonnam Dragons attempted to reorganize the team around a youth movement. However, the team struggled to score goals, and despite Yoo's request, they were unable to land a better forward. His tenure at Jeonnam Dragons ended on 16 August 2018, when he resigned after only three victories, with the team doing poorly in the 2018 K League 1 standings. Jeonnam Dragons would eventually be relegated at the end of the season.

On 14 May 2019, Yoo was appointed manager of Incheon United. He died on 7 June 2021 in Seoul at the age of 49.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list Korea Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yoo goal.

Honours Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i K League 1: 1996, 2005 Korean League Cup: 1995, 1998 Korean Super Cup: 2006

Yokohama F. Marinos J1 League: 2003, 2004

South Korea B Summer Universiade silver medal: 1993

South Korea AFC Asian Cup third place: 2000 EAFF Championship: 2003

Individual K League 1 Best XI: 1994, 1998, 2002 K League All-Star: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2005 K League 1 top goalscorer: 1998 AFC Asian All-Star: 1998 FIFA World XI: 2000 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002 FIFA World Cup Fans' All-Star Team: 2002 EAFF Championship Most Valuable Player: 2003 K League 30th Anniversary Best XI: 2013 K League Hall of Fame: 2025