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South Korea’s 2002 World Cup great Yoo Sang-chul dies aged 49

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Yoo made 124 appearances for South Korea, scoring 18 goals, from 1994 to 2005.PHOTO: EPA-EFE

Former South Korea international Yoo Sang-chul has died at the age of 49, the Korea Football Association announced on Monday (June 7).

Yoo, a key component in Guus Hiddink’s side that reached the World Cup semi-finals when the country co-hosted the tournament with Japan in 2002, had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in November 2019.

The midfielder scored South Korea’s second goal in their opening 2-0 win over Poland in 2002 and his performances saw him named in the tournament’s All-Star team. He made 124 appearances for his country, scoring 18 goals, from 1994 to 2005.

Yoo won the K-League title with Ulsan Hyundai in 1996 and 2005 and also helped Yokohama F Marinos claim the J-League crown in 2003 and 2004 before moving into coaching, where he most recently was head coach at South Korean club Incheon United.

-Reuters

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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