Seol Ki-hyeon

Seol Ki-Hyeon
Personal information
Date of birth (1979-01-08) 8 January 1979
Place of birth Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Winger / Striker
Club information
Current team
 Sungkyunkwan
Number Manager (Interim)
Youth career
1997–2000 Kwangwoon University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2001 Royal Antwerp 25 (10)
2001–2004 Anderlecht 72 (18)
2004–2006 Wolverhampton Wanderers 69 (8)
2006–2007 Reading 30 (4)
2007–2010 Fulham 18 (1)
2009 → Al Hilal (loan) 7 (1)
2010 Pohang Steelers 16 (7)
2011 Ulsan Hyundai 29 (3)
2012–2014 Incheon United 73 (11)
Total 339 (63)
National team
1999 South Korea U-20 12 (7)
1999–2000 South Korea U-23 27 (10)
2000–2009 South Korea 82 (19)
Teams managed
2015– Sungkyunkwan
2017 South Korea (interim assistant coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only
Korean name
Hangul 설기현
Hanja 薛琦鉉
Revised Romanization Seol Gi-hyeon
McCune–Reischauer Sŏl Ki-hyŏn

Seol Ki-Hyeon (born 8 January 1979), also known as Seol Ki-Hyun, is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a forward, and who currently is the interim manager of Sungkyunkwan University. He is also the first South Korean footballer to score in the history of the UEFA Champions League, during his time at R.S.C. Anderlecht.

Club career

Early career

At the end of his time as a college player in Korea, the young striker was advised to join the J League in Japan, but chose instead to try and establish his career in Europe.

After one successful season with Royal Antwerp (2000–01), he moved to Anderlecht. He played in the UEFA Champions League, and in the Belgian Super Cup, he scored a hat-trick in the space of 12 minutes.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

In 2004, Seol moved to England, joining Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers. He made over 30 appearances by the end of the 2004–05 season, scoring a few goals too. The Wolverhampton coach at the time, Glenn Hoddle, preferred Seol as one of his first-choice strikers, using him in a wide, supporting role to the main strikers.

Disappointed with the failure of Wolves to win promotion from The Championship, Seol sought a move to the Premier League following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, despite having two years of his contract left. He was reported as saying "At this stage, I'm frustrated not to be in the Premiership. I think there will be some good news after the World Cup."[1]

Reading

Seol eventually joined newly promoted Premier League club Reading on 12 July 2006 for a fee of £1 million (rising to £1.5 million based on certain criteria).[2] He scored his first Premiership goal as Reading won 2–1 at Sheffield United on 16 September 2006.[3] He scored his second goal for Reading against West Ham United, proving to be only goal of the match.[4] His third goal for Reading, his first at home, came on 18 November 2006 in the 2–0 win against Charlton Athletic.[5] He scored his fourth goal against Blackburn, the last game of the season.

Fulham

Seol Ki-Hyeon training for Fulham F.C.

Seol left Reading for Fulham on 31 August 2007 for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract, with Liam Rosenior going the other way.[6] Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted that strained relations between him and Seol led to the move.[7] At the time of his Fulham career, Seol wrote on his blog on the club's official website, where he has "been living in Sutton in Surrey for a few months now with his family. There's actually a big Korean community nearby".[8] He did not score his first goal for Fulham until 16 August 2008 against Hull City, despite Fulham eventually losing 2–1.[9] Seol signed an initial 6-month loan move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia with a view to a permanent move on 14 January 2009[10] Seol stated he desired to stay at Fulham to win his place in the squad,[11] and he went on to score his second goal for the club against FK Vetra in the Europa League.[12] In January 2010, to increase first-team football playing time and to improve his chance to be included in the Korean last-23 in 2010 FIFA World Cup, Seol engaged in loan talks with the Hong Kong First Division Club South China[13] but no deal was agreed. It was announced on 15 January that Seol Ki-Hyeon's contract with Fulham had been cancelled by mutual consent.[14]

K-League Stint

Pohang Steelers

On 17 January 2010, he completed a move to Pohang Steelers. His first tournament for Pohang Steelers was the 2010 Lunar New Year Cup in Hong Kong. He got 7 goals in K-League and He was top goalscorer of regular league in Pohang.

Ulsan Hyundai

On 16 February 2011, he agreed a one-year contract with K-League side Ulsan Hyundai FC to be a regular in the starting lineup. He fired Ulsan to victory in the 2011 K-League Cup by scoring in the final against Busan I'Park.

Incheon United

On 24 January 2012, Seol joined Incheon United after refusing a contract extension with Ulsan.

Retirement

Seol announced retirement on 2 March 2015 in order to become interim manager of Sungkyunkwan University. A retirement ceremony took place in Korea Republic–Jamaica match on 13 October 2015.[15]

International career

Seol played in his first World Cup in front of his home crowd, South Korea being co-hosts with Japan for the 2002 finals. He was a key member of the squad during the tournament, memorably scoring the equalizer against Italy in the knock-out stage.[16]

Personal life

He married Yoon Mi in 2002. Their son, In-Woong (Luke)was born in that same year. In 2005, daughter Soo-A was born.

Media

Seol was sponsored by sportswear company Nike and appeared in Nike commercials. In a global Nike advertising campaign in the run-up to the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, he starred in a "Secret Tournament" commercial (branded "Scopion KO") directed by Terry Gilliam, appearing alongside football players such as Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Edgar Davids, Fabio Cannavaro, Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Luís Figo, and Hidetoshi Nakata, with former player Eric Cantona the tournament "referee".[17][18]

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 August 2015
Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Belgium League Belgian Cup League Cup Europe Total
2000–01Royal AntwerpFirst Division251021--2711
2001–02AnderlechtFirst Division20300-31234
2002–03321230-814313
2003–0419310-61264
2004–051000-1020
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2004–05Wolverhampton WanderersChampionship3742111-406
2005–063242020-364
2006–07ReadingPremier League2744000-314
2007–08300000-30
2007–08FulhamPremier League1202010-150
2008–09410020-61
Saudi Arabia League Crown Prince Cup League Cup Asia Total
2008–09Al HilalPremier League70505170241
England League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
2009–10FulhamPremier League2000102151
South Korea League KFA Cup League Cup Asia Total
2010Pohang SteelersK League 1167000020187
2011Ulsan Hyundai3454272-459
2012Incheon United40711---418
201326431---295
20147000---70
Total Belgium 972861-18312132
England 11713101712113616
Saudi Arabia 70505170241
South Korea 1232384722014029
Career total 3446429619429442178

International goals

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
5 April 2000Seoul Laos3 goals9–02000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
9 April 2000Seoul Myanmar2 goals4–02000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
7 October 2000Dubai Australia1 goal4–22000 LG Cup
11 February 2001Dubai United Arab Emirates1 goal4–12001 Dubai Tournament
26 May 2002Suwon France1 goal2–3Friendly match
18 June 2002Daejeon Italy1 goal1–1 (2–1 a.e.t.)2002 FIFA World Cup
20 November 2002Seoul Brazil1 goal2–3Friendly match
14 February 2004Ulsan Oman1 goal5–0Friendly match
31 July 2004Jinan Iran1 goal3–42004 AFC Asian Cup
26 May 2006Seoul Bosnia and Herzegovina1 goal2–0Friendly match
2 September 2006Seoul Iran1 goal1–12007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
6 September 2006Suwon Chinese Taipei2 goals8–02007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
6 February 2008Seoul Turkmenistan2 goals4–02010 FIFA World Cup qualification
5 September 2009Seoul Australia1 goal3–1Friendly match

Honours

Seol was voted by Reading fans as the official Player of the Month for August[19] and September 2006. Seol played in all three of the Royals' Premiership games in August when he helped to create three of the four goals scored.

Club

Anderlecht

Al Hilal

Ulsan Hyundai

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Seol Ki-hyun looking to Premier League". Korea Herald. 20 July 2006. Archived from the original on 22 June 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Seol signs but Reading insist Sidwell stays". Daily Mail. 6 July 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  3. ↑ Holt, Sarah (16 September 2006). "Sheff Utd 1–2 Reading". BBC Sport. London. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  4. ↑ Warren, Dan (1 October 2006). "West Ham 0–1 Reading". BBC Sport. London. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  5. ↑ "Reading 2–0 Charlton". BBC Sport. London. 18 November 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2007.
  6. ↑ "Rosenior signs as Seol departs". readingfc.co.uk. 1 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Coppell reveals Seol exit reason". BBC Sport. London. 11 September 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "Seol's Blog". Fulham Official Website. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
  9. ↑ May, John (16 August 2008). "Hull City 2–1 Fulham". London: BBC. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  10. ↑ Seol Moves to Saudi Club
  11. ↑ "Seol to return to Fulham". Sky Sports.
  12. ↑ "FK Vetra 0–3 Fulham". BBC. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  13. ↑ "續斟薛琦鉉 – 南華足球隊 – 南華足球隊blog" (in Chinese). Yahoo! Blog. 11 January 2010. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  14. ↑ "Best Of Luck". Fulham F.C. 15 January 2010. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  15. ↑ "은퇴' 설기현 "모든 분들께 감사하다, 좋은 지도자 되겠다"". www.xportsnews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  16. ↑ "Korea's golden moment". BBC Sport. London. 18 June 2002. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  17. ↑ "A lighter shoe, cooler kits, a faster ball, a Secret Tournament – every touch counts". NikeBiz. Nike. Archived from the original on 2 June 2002. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  18. ↑ Cozens, Claire (3 April 2002). "Cantona hosts World Cup with a difference". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  19. ↑ "Seol voted as Reading player of the month". Asian Football Conference. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  20. ↑ "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 2002". Retrieved 26 April 2011.
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