Cho Won-Hee

Cho Won-Hee

Personal information
Full name	Cho Won-Hee
Date of birth	17 April 1983 (1983-04-17) (age 28)
Place of birth	Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Guangzhou Evergrande
Number	16
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002	Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	1	(0)
2003–2004	Gwangju Sangmu (Army)	33	(2)
2005–2008	Suwon Bluewings	82	(1)
2009–2011	Wigan Athletic	5	(0)
2010	→ Suwon Bluewings (Loan)	20	(1)
2011–	Guangzhou Evergrande	30	(0)
National team‡
2002–2003	South Korea U-20	9	(1)
2005–	South Korea	36	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 November 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2009

Cho Won-Hee
Hangul	조원희
Hanja	趙源熙
Revised Romanization	Jo Won-hui
McCune–Reischauer	Cho Wŏn-hŭi

This is a Korean name; the family name is Cho.

Cho Won-Hee (Hangul: 조원희, born 17 April 1983) is a South Korean footballer who plays for Guangzhou Evergrande as a midfielder.

Club career

As a child, Cho often played as a forward. Later, when he was picked for South Korean U20 squad, he also played as a left winger. In 2001, Cho was planning to play football at university as many other Korean footballers do, but he failed to do so, so he signed with Ulsan Hyundai, one of the most successful clubs in the K-League . In 2003, Cho decided to join Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix, the army team to finish his army duty and to play first team football. There, he was quite impressive, and after his 2-year-duty at Gwanju, he moved to Suwon Samsung Bluewings, a team that was nicknamed "Real Suwon" for its cash-splashing signings. He originally played as a right wingback or right fullback at the Big Bird Stadium, competing for regular with Song Chong-Gug, but in 2007, after a long-term injury of defensive midfielder Kim Nam-Il, he changed his position to defensive midfielder. Throughout the 2007 season, he was not very impressive, and many fans were especially concerned with his rough passing. However, next season, he showed his quality with improved passing and sight, and became a first team regular. After lifting the league trophy with Suwon, he became free agent.

Wigan Athletic

Cho was linked with several European clubs, including German giant Schalke 04 and French side AS Monaco. After trialing with AS Monaco in January 2009,^[1] Cho sought another trial with Wigan Athletic after it was revealed that AS Monaco had all of their non-EU player slots filled. He impressed during a trial with the club,^[2] and after being granted a work permit, Cho was allowed to join Wigan Athletic on 6 March. Cho played his first reserve game in a 2–2 draw against Liverpool reserves, notching an assist.^[3] Cho received a calf injury in a friendly against Iraq where he was kicked in the leg. ^[4] He nearly missed the remainder of the season, but managed to fully recover so as to make his Premier League debut for Wigan in the final match of the 2008–09 season against Stoke City.^[5] So far, Cho has made one appearance as a starter and four as a substitute. He scored a beautiful goal against Norwich City in a pre-season friendly at Carrow Road.

Suwon Bluewings (loan)

He joined Suwon Bluewings on a one-year loan in January 2010.^[6]

Guangzhou Evergrande

On 13 February 2011, Cho joined Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande on a free transfer,^[7] which made him the second Korean player to play for Guangzhou F.C. after Park Ji-Ho.

International career

Cho scored his first international goal in his debut game against Iran on 12 October 2005. His shot deflected off an opposing defender and became one of the few goals scored within a minute. This goal is guessed to be the fastest goal South Korean National Team has ever scored, if the unrecorded games in the 50s and the 60s are not counted. Although Cho impressed as a right-back in his first game, he did not make an appearance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

International goals

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
October 12, 2005	Seoul	Iran	1 goal	2–0	Friendly match

Club career statistics

As of 2 November 2011

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2002	Ulsan Hyundai FC	K-League	1	0			0	0	-		1	0
2003	Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix	K-League	23	2	0	0	-		-		23	2
2004			10	0	0	0	11	0	-		21	0
2005	Suwon Bluewings	K-League	20	0	2	0	9	0			31	0
2006			23	0	2	0	4	0	-		29	0
2007			14	0	2	0	5	0	-		21	0
2008			25	1	1	0	10	0	-		36	1
England			League		FA Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2008–09	Wigan Athletic	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0	0	-		1	0
2009–10			4	0	0	0	0	0	-		4	0
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2010	Suwon Bluewings	K-League	20	1			6	0	-		26	1
China PR			League		FA Cup		CSL Cup		Asia		Total
2011	Guangzhou Evergrande	Chinese Super League	30	0	2	0	-		-		32	0
Total	South Korea		136	4	7	0	45	0			188	4
	England		5	0	0	0	0	0	-		5	0
	China PR		30	0	2	0	0	0	-		32	0
Career total			171	4	9	0	45	0			225	4

Honours

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• K-League: 2008
• FA Cup: 2010
• Hauzen Cup: 2008

Guangzhou Evergrande

• Chinese Super League: 2011

Individual

• 2008 K-League Best 11

References

1. ^ Korea's Cho In Monaco Trial
2. ^ "Cho Won-hee impresses Wigan". Sky Sports. 2009-02-18. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_4935897,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-06. 
3. ^ "Cho gets Wigan green light". Sky Sports. 2009-03-06. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5012637,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-06. 
4. ^ Wigan's Cho out for season
5. ^ "Britannia given Potters treat". Sky Sports. 2009-05-16. http://www.skysports.com/football/match_report/0,19764,11065_3005626,00.html. Retrieved 2009-05-16. 
6. ^ "Cho agrees Korea return". Sky Sports. 2010-01-04. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11996_5831760,00.html. Retrieved 2010-01-14. 
7. ^ "恒大官方宣布签强力亚洲外援 前韩国国脚曾踢英超" (in Chinese). sina. 2011-02-13. http://sports.sina.com.cn/j/2011-02-13/10545448533.shtml. Retrieved 2011-01-13. 

External links

• Cho Won-Hee profile at the Wigan Athletic website
• (Korean) Cho Won-Hee at kleague.com
• Player Statistics at FIFA
• Cho Won-Hee at National-Football-Teams.com
• Cho Won-Hee career stats at Soccerbase

Persondata
Name	Cho Won-Hee
Alternative names
Short description	Footballer
Date of birth	17 April 1983
Place of birth	Seoul, South Korea
Date of death
Place of death