Cha Bum-keun, the free-scoring Korean forward, is widely regarded as the best footballer ever to come out of Asia. He was selected as the "Asia's best player of the century" by the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics).
[edit] Biography
Born on May 22, 1953 in Hwaseong in the Korean province Gyeonggi, Cha began his soccer career with the Korean Air Force club in 1971, the same year he became a Korean U-19 international.
By 1972 he had been capped by the Korean national team becoming the youngest player ever called up to the squad.
[edit] Off to Europe
In December of 1978, Cha was transferred to German side SV Darmstadt, where he spent less than a year before being snapped up by Bundesliga giants Eintracht Frankfurt. He made an immediate impact with his new club, winning the UEFA Cup in the 1979/80 season.
In 1983 he made the switch to Bayer Leverkusen, with whom he was to win a second UEFA Cup in 1988.
Cha retired in 1989 after a long Bundesliga career spanning 308 games in which he scored 98 goals, then the highest total for a foreign player in the league.
[edit] Into management
Cha moved into management with K-League side Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i, coaching them from 1991-1994. His next appointment was in January 1997 as Korean national team coach and led the nation to the 1998 World Cup; however, a disastrous 5-0 defeat at the hands of The Netherlands saw Cha lose his job. He later diverted blame onto the Korea Football Association for the bad performance, citing lack of bonuses and alleging pro soccer games in Korea were fixed. The KFA promptly slapped a five-year ban on him and he soon left the country with his wife.
After an 18-month spell coaching Shenzhen Ping'an in China, Cha took up a commentator position with MBC, but was tempted back into coaching when offered the Suwon Samsung Bluewings position at the end of 2003.
Cha achieved immediate success with Suwon by lifting the 2004 K-League championship, an achievement he ranked as even better than lifting the UEFA Cup as a player in 1988.
[edit] Family
Cha's son, Cha Du-Ri, has already started to follow in his father's footsteps. He plays for Eintracht Frankfurt and is a regular Korean international player.
