Who is Choe Ganghui?

The new head coach for the senior team was announced past week. This article is a must read for anyone who are unfamiliar with Choe Ganghui.

Choe Ganghui was the manager that led Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors to the club's first ever AFC Champions League title back in 2006 in just his second season at helm. This year, he reached the final yet again, losing to Al-Sadd of Qatar in penalties.

Outside of their success at the Asian competition, most of you will know Jeonbuk as the dominant force in Korea that has won two of the last three K-League championships. The club collected league leading 18 wins this season and comfortably defeated Ulsan in the Championship final to achieve their title. But they were not always the powerhouse they look to have become.

The name 'Hyundai Motors', termed after its owner Hyundai Motor Group and a major player in the world's automobile industry, may provide the impression that Jeonbuk can top the Forbes Soccer Valuation chart, but the truth is a far cry.

It is persevered as one of the main reasons why Choe Ganghui--then completely new to managing--was considered for the position, but when he took over as the club's head coach back in July of 2005, Jeonbuk was a mid-to-bottom table club under serious financial constraints. Players were living off instant noodles and microwaveable foods because the club could not afford a professional chef and the club of 12 year history was still missing a proper training facility. Success, as expected, were not on their side either as they were in 11th place out of 13 K-League clubs at the time of the new hiring.

Between year 2004 and 2006, just five of the club's players were called up to Korea's senior national team, and all, but captain Choe Jincheol, were sold to other clubs within a year of their national team debut. Only when Choe Ganghui discovered young talents such as Yeom Gihoon and Gim Hyeongbeom, and led the squad to a Champions League title, Hyundai Motor Group's eyes were opened to the marketing opportunity and raised the club's budget.

The increased budget meant the club no longer had to sell their players to balance the books, but it still was not enough for Jeonbuk to become a buying club. To this day, Ha Daeseong, who quietly moved to Jeonbuk after a good-but-far-from-excellent season in 2008, remains the only player Choe Ganghui purchased strictly with cash.

However, the deficient transfer funds did not stop Choe Ganghui from signing unwanted, believed-to-be-declining veterans and reviving their forms of yester-years. Under Choe Ganghui, Choe Taeuk--a forgotten figure by year 2007--returned to his prime and made a way back into the national team after four years of exclusion. Since signing with Jeonbuk back in 2009, 32 years old I Donggug and 35 years old Gim Sangsik have been playing the best football of their careers.

Manager Choe also displayed an aptitude in developing younger talent during this time when he took Choe Cheolsun, 173 cm, and Seo Jeongjin, 176 cm--physically small players who could have easily been ignored by others--and turned them into K-League stars and eventual national team members. Jeonbuk became K-League's principal force when manager Choe successfully combined his young talents with his veterans.

In 2011, Choe Ganghui swept the league with a phenomenon known as 닥공 ('dak gong', literally translated into 'shut up and attack'). Before the start of the season, he promised Jeonbuk's supporters that the team would seek to attack throughout the entire match regardless of the score. Choe Ganghui kept the promise and the routine came to be known as 'dakgong' later in the year.

As of a result of the strategy, Jeonbuk amassed league leading 67 goals in regular season, but dakgong was not to be short lived. Dakgong received a sensational response from both the media and football fans during the championship final when Choi Ganghui substituted Jeong Seonghun, a striker, in for Jeong Hun, a defensive midfielder, while Jeonbuk was leading the aggregate score.

Not too long after the final, coach Jo Gwangrae was relieved of national team duty and the name Choe Ganghui surfaced all over the web. Choe Ganghui had just won a K-League title, displayed--using dakgong--what kind of offensive prowess Korean players were capable of, and had the experience of being part of a national team set up during Humberto Coelho's tenure in Korea. However, coach Choi was keen on staying at a club setting, and more importantly, at Jeonbuk, and declined the offer when it was made.

It is rumoured that the Hyundai Motor Group had a big part in the decision making process that led Choe Ganghui to change his mind and take the job. Hyundai Motor Company, as well as being the owner of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, is a leading sponsor of the Korean Football Federation. How the influence was made and exactly how much he wants the job is open to anyone's guess, but one thing that is clear is that Choe Ganghui, unlike Jo Gwangrae, earned his shot through repetition of success and displays of excellence on a variety of coaching criterias. Choe Ganghui may not have been your first choice, but there is no doubt that he deserves a chance from you.