Jeonbuk Hyundai coach Choi wins AFC top honor

Choi Kang-hee, right, coach of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors football club, receives a trophy after being named the AFC Men’s Coach of the Year during the Asian Football Confederation’s annual awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Friday (KST). / Xinhua-Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Choi Kang-hee, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors coach, was named Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Coach of the Year, Friday.

At the annual AFC awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Choi, 57, who led the Jeonbuk team in clinching the Asian club championship title, won the award after beating two Japanese coaches ― Makoto Teguramori, coach of Japan’s 2016 AFC U-23 Championship winning team and Atsushi Uchiyama, coach of Japan’s AFC U-19 Championship winning team.

“I really believe that it would not have been possible to win this Coach of the Year award without the support of the Jeonbuk fans, especially those who came to the AFC Champions League second leg in Al Ain,” Choi was quoted as saying by the-afc.com. “I was extremely happy to win the ACL title and I really appreciate the support. I also greatly appreciate the players who worked very hard to reach the final. This truly has been a very memorable and special year for me.”

The K-League Classic team Jeonbuk won their second Asian Champions League title last week, defeating Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate games after tying the away leg 1-1. In the domestic football league, Jeonbuk remained second as the team lost to FC Seoul 1-0 on the final day of the season.

With the award, Choi became the eighth Korean to win the AFC coaching award and first since Choi Yong-soo in 2013. Previous winners include Cha Bum-kun (1997), Huh Jung-moo (2009) and Choi Yong-soo (2013).

During his football career, Choi won the K-League MVP title in 1986 when he played for the Hyundai Horang-i, now the Ulsan Hyundai. He also represented Korea at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, playing three preliminary matches as a defender.

Choi has achieved greater fame as a coach. Beginning his head coaching career at Jeonbuk in 2005, Choi led the team to claim two K-League titles in 2009 and 2011, Korean FA Cup title in 2005 and the AFC Champions League title in 2006.

Leaving Jeonbuk in 2011, Choi headed the Korean national football team, helping the team qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Returning to Jeonbuk in 2013, he led the team to win two more K-League titles in 2014 and 2015.

Meanwhile, Issa Hayatou, president of the Confederation of African Football won the prestigious Diamond of Asia award in recognition of more than 42 years of outstanding contributions to the development of football.