FC Seoul finished in a disappointing ninth place among 12 clubs in the K League 1 in 2020, just a year after ranking in third place. And their new head coach, Park Jin-sup, is determined to take them back to the upper echelon, because that's where he thinks FC Seoul belong. "I think that is where we're supposed to be," Park told reporters Monday, before opening offseason camp at GS Champions Park, the club's training facility in Guri, just east of Seoul. "We have some veterans a

Son Heung-min has scored his 100th goal as a member of Tottenham Hotspur. The South Korean star reached the century mark in a 3-0 victory over Leeds United in a Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. The victory lifted Tottenham from seventh to third place in the league tables with 29 points. It was Tottenham's first win in five matches. Son's 43rd-minute goal, set up by Harry Kane, gave Tottenham a 2-0 lead. Son set up the third goal with a corner headed hom

CHUNCHEON -- Former World Cup star Lee Young-pyo will embark on a new career as an administrator. Gangwon FC of the K League 1 announced Tuesday that Lee, 43, will be their new CEO. He was nominated for the position on Dec. 8, and his candidacy was approved at a board meeting on Tuesday in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, 85 kilometers east of Seoul. Lee, a Gangwon native, was an integral member of the South Korean team that made a stunning run to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The for

South Korean Premier League star Son Heung-min has won a FIFA award for the best goal of the year, the world's football governing body said Friday. He became the second Asian player and the first in South Korea to win the award. At the annual Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony held online, Son's wonder goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Burnley in December last year was named the winner of the annual FIFA Puskas Award. Established in 2009 in honor of former Real Madrid striker Ferenc Puskas,

South Korean forward Son Heung-min was named the country's best football player of the year for a record fifth time, the sport's governing body said Tuesday. The Korea Football Association (KFA) announced that Son, the attacking stalwart for Tottenham Hotspur, was voted the Male Player of the Year for 2020. It is the fifth time that Son has received the honor, including those in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019, extending his lead over three-time honoree Ki Sung-yueng of FC Seoul, who earned the awar

Two South Korean football teams left standing at Asia's top club competition have avoided facing each other in the quarterfinals. The draw for the final eight at the Asian Football Confederation Champions League took place on Tuesday, with Ulsan Hyundai FC getting Beijing Guoan, and Suwon Samsung Bluewings drawing Vissel Kobe. Both of the quarterfinal matches will take place Thursday at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, just south of the Qatari capital of Doha. The first match between Ulsan and

All good things must come to an end, even a memorable two-year coaching run for Jose Morais with the K League champions Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Jeonbuk announced Sunday they have parted ways with the Portuguese coach after his two-year deal expired following the end of their 2020 campaign. In his two seasons, Morais led Jeonbuk to consecutive K League 1 championships in 2019 and 2020, and also added the Korean FA Cup title this year to complete Jeonbuk's first "double," or winning tw

Tottenham Hotspur's Korean star Son Heung-min has found the back of the net for the 12th time this season while helping his club reach the knockout stage in a continental club tournament. Son scored once in Tottenham's 3-3 draw against LASK at Linzer Stadium in Linz, Austria, on Thursday (local time) in Group J action at the UEFA Europa League. The result moved Tottenham to 10 points on three wins, one draw and one loss with one match to go, good for second place behind Antwerp (12 points), an

The current South Korean football chief Chung Mong-gyu will seek his third term at the helm. An official with the Korea Football Association (KFA) said Tuesday that Chung, its current president, submitted his letter of intent to run for another term earlier in the day, and it will be officially processed Wednesday. Under KFA rules, Chung will be suspended from duty during his campaigning period. Cho Byung-deuk, the most senior among seven vice presidents, will serve as the interim president.

Suwon FC forward An Byong-jun was named the MVP of the K League 2 on Monday, becoming the first player of North Korean descent to nab the individual award in South Korean football. An scored 21 of Suwon's 53 goals to lead all K League 2 scorers. He earned 14 votes from K League coaches and team captains, and 57 votes from the media. Those votes were converted to 72.4 points, nearly 50 more than the runner-up, Lee Chang-min of Jeju United. An, who was born in Japan and has represented North Kor

Suwon FC earned a promotion back to the top competition in South Korean football on Sunday, thanks to a last-second penalty that punctuated a dramatic finish. Suwon FC played Gyeongnam FC to a 1-1 draw in the final K League 2 promotion playoff at Suwon Sports Complex in Suwon, 45 kilometers south of Seoul. But since Suwon were the higher seed in this match after finishing the season in second place, they only needed a draw against the third-seeded Gyeongnam to return to the K League 1. And An

BUENOS AIRES (AP) -- Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer great who scored the “Hand of God” goal in 1986 and led his country to that year’s World Cup title before later struggling with cocaine use and obesity, has died. He was 60. Maradona’s spokesman, Sebastián Sanchi, said he died Wednesday of a heart attack, two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery. The office of Argentina’s president said it will decre

Gyeongnam FC advanced to South Korean football‘s final promotion playoff with a 1-1 draw against rivals Daejeon Hana Citizen on Wednesday. Ko Kyung-min scored a 70th minute equalizer for Gyeongnam, 10 minutes after Edinho put Daejeon on the board in the first stage of the promotion playoffs in the second-tier K League 2 at Changwon Football Center in Changwon, 400 kilometers southeast of Seoul. As the higher seed, Gyeongnam only needed a draw, with no extra time or penalty shootout in p

The South Korean men's national football team reported an additional positive coronavirus test from a staff member Tuesday, while a goalkeeper who was previously infected has since tested negative. The Korea Football Association (KFA) said a fourth team staff member has tested positive for COVID-19 while in Austria for a pair of friendly matches earlier this month. During the November trip, seven players were also infected: Lee Dong-jun and Kim Moon-hwan of Busan IPark, Kwon Chang-hoon of SC F

Back from international duty marred by coronavirus infections for his teammates, Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min has claimed the sole possession of the Premier League scoring lead. Son netted a fifth-minute opener for a 2-0 victory over Manchester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday (local time). It was his ninth goal in nine matches in the league this year, putting Son ahead of three players -- Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton, Mohamed Salah of Liverpool and Jamie Var