Woo Hee-young (born 13 November 1963), also known as Mr. Woo, is a South Korean former

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 ...

er and freestyle footballer.

Career

Born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea, at a very early age, Woo realized he had football talent. Inspired by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

and his unique ball control ability, Woo practiced and practiced to emulate the skill. Woo won a national football skills competition in Korea and decided he wanted to become a professional footballer. Woo achieved this in Korea and then went on to play professionally in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

for

Stuttgart Kickers Stuttgarter Kickers is a German association football club that plays in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, founded on 21 September 1899 as FC Stuttgarter Cickers. The club currently plays in the Regionalliga Südwest, the fourth tier of German footb ...

. Still practising his ball skills, Woo realized he wanted to become famous worldwide as the "Greatest Football Entertainer in the World". Woo broke the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for football head tricks in 1989 by heading a ball for 5 hours, 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Whilst in Germany, Woo performed at the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

final and then back in Korea, Woo did his skills routine at the opening ceremony of the Seoul

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. During the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

, Woo performed for

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

at this 50th birthday celebration event. Woo then moved to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in the United States and began coaching as well performing at various events in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He performed again for fans in

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

and on numerous occasions performed in front of big audiences for the Outrigger Hotels group in Hawaii. Woo again became involved in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

when the tournament was held in his native South Korea. As an ambassador for the World Cup 2002 in Korea, Woo promoted the event at many games. Woo then decided to perform his skills in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the 'home of football', and has performed on television, for

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

in recent freestyle commercials and events across the UK, at football matches, corporate events, coaching and even impromptu public appearances whilst he practices his skills. During the film shoot for the Nike Stickman TV commercial,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian World Cup winner

Ronaldinho Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or left winger. Widely reg ...

was so impressed he even asked Woo to sign his football.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woo, Hee-Young 1963 births Living people Footballers from Seoul South Korean men's footballers Stuttgarter Kickers players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Freestyle footballers South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Danyang Woo clan South Korean expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany 20th-century South Korean sportsmen

Career

See also

References

External links