Suwon Samsung Bluewings

Football club infobox
clubname = Suwon Bluewings
수원 블루윙즈

| fullname = Suwon Bluewings F.C
수원 블루윙즈 축구단
nickname = Bluewings
founded = 1995
ground = Big Bird Stadium Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea
capacity = 43,288
chairman = flagicon|South Korea Lee Yoon-Woo
manager = flagicon|South Korea Cha Bum-Kun
league = K-League
season = K-League 2008
position = 3rd
pattern_la1=_whiteshoulders|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=_whiteshoulders
leftarm1=003478|body1=003478|rightarm1=003478|shorts1=003478|socks1=003478
pattern_la2=_shouldersonwhite|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=_shouldersonwhite
leftarm2=c89433|body2=c89433|rightarm2=c89433|shorts2=000000|socks2=FFFFFF

Suwon Bluewings is a Korean football team based in Suwon. Founded in December 1995, they have become one of the Asian football's best clubs, with a host of domestic and continental honours.

Former national team manager Kim Ho took charge of the side from their first season in the K-League, and the team finished runners-up in the championship play-off that season. The championship was secured in 1998 and retained in 1999 as Suwon started to dominate Korean football.

Suwon lifted the AFC Champions League twice in succession (2001 and 2002), also adding twice the Asian Super Cup.

The club has been home to some of the best Korean football players; Seo Jung-Won, Lee Woon-Jae, Ahn Jung-Hwan, Ko Jong-Soo, Choi Sung-Yong, Kim Dae-Eui, Kim Nam-Il, Cho Jae-Jin, Song Chong-Gug, and Lee Chun-Soo have all worn the blue shirt. Some of the best imports to the league, such as Mato Neretljak, Nadson, Denis Laktionov, Saša Drakulić, Zoran Urumov and Gabriel Popescu, have all proved to be hugely influential for the club throughout the years.

The departure of Kim Ho in 2003 saw Korean football legend Cha Bum-keun appointed the manager and won the league title again in the same year Cha was appointed.

Cha kept up the good results of the club by leading the club to victory in the second stage of the 2004 K-League season, and guaranteeing the club a place in the end-of-season Championship playoffs. The club emerged victorious after a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout win over Pohang Steelers and lifted the 2004 Championship.

Suwon finished runners-up in both major domestic competitions in 2006 as Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma claimed victory in the K-League championship playoff final and Chunnam Dragons won in the FA Cup final, thwarting Suwon's attempts to win the first ever domestic double in Korean football.

However, the results after 2005 were disappointing compared to Kim Ho's. Suwon did well in the early 2005, but they could not proceed to the playoffs. This continued until 2006 summer, and the supporter GRAND BLEU boycotted supporting for some games. After the 2006 World Cup, Suwon brought some new players like Lee Kwan-Woo and Baek Ji-Hoon, and they continued to show good results until the K-League championship playoff final. Suwon also had to stop at the playoffs in 2007. Suwon did not win any titles since 2006, but they are still showing a good result.

Suwon had a match with FC Barcelona in July 29th, 2008 in Big Bird Stadium, and won the game 1-0. However, Suwon lost to Chelsea FC 1-0 in both May 20th, 2005 and July 18th, 2007.

Club Honours

Domestic

*K-League
**Champions (3) : 1998, 1999, 2004
**Runners-up (2) : 1996, 2006
*FA Cup
**Winners (1) : 2002
**Runners-up (2) : 1996, 2006
*Super Cup
**Winners (3) : 1999, 2000, 2005
*Adidas Cup
**Winners (3) : 1999, 2000, 2001
*Hauzen Cup
**Winners (1) : 2005

Continental

*AFC Champions League
**Winners (2) : 2001, 2002
*Asian Super Cup
**Winners (2) : 2001, 2002
*Asian Cup Winners Cup
**Runners-up (1) : 1998
*A3 Champions Cup
**Winners (1) : 2005

Current Squad

"As of October 2 2008"

2008 Season transfers

;In

;Out

Managers

"As of November 31, 2007. Only competitive matches are counted."

Asian Cup Winners Cup Records

A3 Champions Cup Records

Records of assists

Club Sponsor

*1996- : Samsung Electronics

Kit Suppliers

*1996-2001 : Rapido
*2002- : Adidas

External links

*en icon [http://www.fcbluewings.com/ Suwon Bluewings Official Website]
* [http://www.bluewings.net/ Suwon Bluewings Supporters Club 'GRAND BLEU' Official Website]