Choi Tae-uk (; born 13 March 1981) is a South Korean

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and former player who is assistant coach of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Club career

Choi is a natural winger well known for his great speed. He was identified as a very promising talent in his childhood, and was selected by

Anyang LG Cheetahs FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...

in the 2000 draft following his graduation from Bupyeong High School. Despite his early promise, his professional career at Anyang was particularly successful, playing as a wing-back together with then-teammate

Lee Young-pyo Lee Young-pyo (; ; born 23 April 1977) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a right-footed left back. Lee was recognized for his speed and dribbling skills. His former manager Martin Jol once called him "the best left ...

. After short spells playing for

Incheon United Incheon United FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the ...

and

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

side

Shimizu S-Pulse is a Japanese professional association football, football club located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka (city), Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. S-Pulse is going to compete in the J1 League for the 2025 Season, after winning promotio ...

, Choi joined

Pohang Steelers The Pohang Steelers (Hangul: 포항 스틸러스) are a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province that compete in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Ko ...

. Although one of the better paid players at Pohang, Choi was not given much of a chance under Brazilian coach Sergio Farias. This was largely because the Steelers concentrated on midfield play rather than the sidelines, with playmaker Andrezinho (known as Tavares in South Korea) playing a significant role. Choi was usually fielded as a substitute. Following the conclusion of the 2007 season, he transferred to

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Jeonbuk have won the K League a record nine times, including ...

. Choi retired from football in 2015 due to an injury.

International career

At international level, Choi was part of the South Korean Olympic football team in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

. At the Olympics, South Korea finished second in Group A, making it through to the next round, but was defeated by eventual silver medal winners

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. Choi was also a member of the South Korean World Cup team in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, but spent most of the tournament on the bench.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Results list South Korea's goal tally first.''

Honours

FC Seoul *

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Korean FA Cup The Korea Cup (), formerly the Korean FA Cup, is a national Association football, football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the competition was established in 1996, two simil ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Results Finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statistics is tha ...

Korean Super Cup The Korean Super Cup was the annual curtain-raiser to the South Korean football season from 1999 to 2006, and was contested between the champions of K League and Korean FA Cup. It was dropped from the South Korean football calendar in 2007. After ...

: 2001 *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

runner-up: 2001–02,

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Shimizu S-Pulse *

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

runner-up:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Pohang Steelers *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

runner-up:

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors *

South Korea U23 *

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

bronze medal:

Individual * K League All-Star: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009 * K League 1 Best XI:

Notes

References

External links

*
Choi Tae-uk
at KFA * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Tae-Uk 1981 births Living people Men's association football wingers South Korean men's footballers South Korean expatriate men's footballers South Korea men's international footballers FC Seoul players Incheon United FC players Ulsan HD FC players Shimizu S-Pulse players Pohang Steelers players Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors players K League 1 players J1 League players Expatriate men's footballers in Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers for South Korea Footballers from Incheon South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Japan Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games 21st-century South Korean sportsmen