Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Family name hatnote Template:Infobox football biography Template:Infobox Korean name

Cha Bum-kun (Template:Korean; {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 22 May 1953) is a South Korean former football manager and player. A forward, he was nicknamed Tscha Bum or "Cha Boom" in Germany because of his name and thunderous ball striking ability.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He showed explosive pace and powerful shots with his thick thighs.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers of all time.<ref name="IFFHS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="ESPN">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1972, Cha had been capped for the South Korea national team as the youngest player of the time at the age of 18. He is the youngest player to ever reach 100 international caps in the world at 24 years and 35 days,Template:Refn and the all-time leading goalscorer of the South Korean national team with 58 goals. After dominating Asian competitions including the 1978 Asian Games, he left for West Germany and played for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen. He scored a total of 121 goals in two Bundesliga clubs, and won the UEFA Cup with each team.<ref name="Statistics">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

After his retirement, he opened a football academy to develop youth players in South Korea, and managed the national team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Early lifeEdit

Cha was born in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi. He originally joined Yeongdo Middle School to learn football, but the school's football club was dissolved as soon as he joined there. He started his football career by transferring to Kyungshin Middle School after playing field hockey for Yeongdo for one and a half years. In his high school days, he tried to leave school due to older students' violence, but continued to play football with the manager Chang Woon-soo's help.<ref name="Youth"/> He became a notable player of Kyungshin High School, and was selected for the South Korean under-20 team in 1970.

Club careerEdit

Career in South KoreaEdit

Cha entered Korea University in 1972, and won the Korean National Championship in 1974, the predecessor of the Korean FA Cup.<ref name="1974Cha">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After his graduation, he started his senior career with Korea Trust Bank FC in 1976. He led his team to the title and was named the best player in the spring season of the Korean Semi-professional League.<ref name="1976Cha">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In October 1976, he joined Air Force FC to serve his mandatory military service.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Cha originally had a plan to enlist in the Navy FC, but the ROK Air Force persuaded him that it would move his discharge up by six months.<ref name="Entry">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Darmstadt 98Edit

While playing for the national team in the 1978 Korea Cup, Cha attracted the attention of an Eintracht Frankfurt coach Template:Ill, who had received an invitation to serve as an scout/observer at that tournament. In November 1978, Schulte sent a letter to the KFA (Korea Football Association), suggesting Cha's tryout in West Germany, who would be discharged from the ROK Air Force in January 1979.<ref name="Entry"/> Cha had taken time off to leave for Frankfurt after the 1978 Asian Games in December and succeeded to contract with another Bundesliga club Darmstadt 98 by signing a six-month deal.<ref name="Entry"/> However, he spent just less than a month in Darmstadt. The ROK Air Force didn't follow the contract with Cha, and ordered his return. After his debut match against VfL Bochum on 30 December, Cha returned to South Korea due to his complicated issue about military service on 5 January. He eventually spent the remainder of the duration of his military service until 31 May, and so could not play for Darmstadt.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Eintracht FrankfurtEdit

After being discharged from the military service completely, Cha still wanted to play in Bundesliga, and joined Eintracht Frankfurt at age 26 in July 1979. He scored in three consecutive games from third to fifth matchday of the Bundesliga, making an immediate impact early in his new club.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the first half of his first season in Germany, he was classified as world class in the Template:Ill.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was also acclaimed by showing great performances helping Eintracht to win its first-ever UEFA Cup title. He was evaluated as the "unstoppable player" by Sir Alex Ferguson (Aberdeen's manager at the time),<ref name="ESPN"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="MBC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:CbignoreTemplate:Dead YouTube link</ref> and "one of the best attackers in the world" by Lothar Matthäus (an opponent player at the UEFA Cup final and the Bundesliga).<ref name="ESPN"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In addition to a UEFA Cup title, he was named along with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Kevin Keegan in the Bundesliga Team of the Season by kicker.<ref name="kicker80">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 23 August 1980, Cha's spine had been cracked by Jürgen Gelsdorf, who had tackled behind him, but came back to the stadium after a month.<ref name="MBC"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Afterwards, he scored six goals in six matches of the 1980–81 DFB-Pokal, leading Eintracht to the title. He became Eintracht's top goalscorer for three consecutive seasons.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Bayer LeverkusenEdit

However, Cha transferred to Bayer Leverkusen due to a financial difficulty of Frankfurt in 1983.<ref name="MBC"/> In the 1985–86 Bundesliga, he scored his most goals in a single Bundesliga season with 17 goals, and Leverkusen qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time as the sixth-placed team.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The magazine kicker once again selected him for the Team of the Season,<ref name="kicker86">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Template:Ill gave him the Player of the Season award.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the 1988 UEFA Cup final, he scored a dramatic equaliser against Espanyol to tie the game 3–3. Leverkusen eventually went on to win the game on penalties, holding its first European title.<ref name="MBC"/>

Cha retired in 1989 after playing 308 Bundesliga games as a fair player. During his Bundesliga career, he scored 98 goals without a penalty, and received only one yellow card.<ref name="Statistics"/> On 31 October 1987, he scored his 93rd Bundesliga goal, becoming the top foreign goalscorer by surpassing Willi Lippens.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His scoring record wasn't broken for eleven years until Stéphane Chapuisat scored more goals than him.<ref name="Foreigners">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of 2024, Cha is ranked ninth along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the Bundesliga's foreign goalscorer standings.<ref name="Foreigners"/>

International careerEdit

File:Corea del Sur 1970.jpg
Cha with Park Lee-chun and Kim Jae-han playing for South Korea in the early 1970s.

Cha generally played the Bundesliga games as a striker, but he had originally been a winger in South Korea.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He became a South Korean under-20 international in 1970, and took part in the AFC Youth Championship in 1971 and 1972.<ref name="1971Youth"/><ref name="1972Youth"/> In the 1972 AFC Asian Cup, he made his senior international debut against Iraq, and scored his first international goal against Khmer Republic.<ref name="KFA"/> He was named in the Korean FA Best XI for seven consecutive years, and was selected as the Korean FA Player of the Year in 1973.<ref name="MVPCha">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cha usually played for the national team in the Korea Cup, Pestabola Merdeka and King's Cup, which were annually contested between Asian nations and the invited clubs at the time. He won a total of ten trophies and also left memorable games in three competitions.<ref name="KFA"/> In the 1975 Pestabola Merdeka, he scored his first international hat-trick against Japan.<ref name="KFA"/> In the 1976 Korea Cup, he scored a hat-trick against Malaysia during five minutes from 83rd to 88th minute, leading South Korea to a dramatic 4–4 draw.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In the 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification, he played all of South Korea's twelve matches, and recorded five goals and two assists,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> although his knee got a boil during the competition.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, South Korea failed to qualify for the World Cup by finishing the qualification as runners-up despite his struggle.

In the 1978 Asian Games, he scored two goals and provided two assists, contributing to team's gold medal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, he showed lethargic plays to prepare tryouts for Bundesliga clubs, and received criticisms.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the 1978 Asian Games, he left for the Bundesliga and didn't play for South Korea. His last international tournament was the 1986 FIFA World Cup, South Korea's first World Cup since 1954. He showed exemplary performance in intensive checks by opponents,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but failed to prevent South Korea's elimination in the group stage.

Managerial careerEdit

Cha moved into management with K League side Hyundai Horang-i, coaching them from 1991–94. His next appointment in January 1997 was Korean national team coach and he led the nation to the 1998 FIFA World Cup; however, a disastrous 5–0 defeat at the hands of the Netherlands in Korea's second group game got Cha fired. He later blamed the KFA for the bad performance, citing lack of bonuses and alleging pro soccer games in Korea were fixed. The association promptly slapped a five-year ban on him and he soon left the country with his wife.

After an 18-month spell coaching Shenzhen Ping'an in China, Cha took up a commentator position with MBC in Korea. He returned to coaching in late 2003 when offered the Suwon Samsung Bluewings position. Cha achieved immediate success with Suwon by lifting the 2004 K League championship, an achievement he ranked as even better than the UEFA Cup he won as a player in 1988. He later resigned in June 2010 as Suwon manager.

Personal lifeEdit

Cha is a devout Christian and said the faith is one of his three biggest values along with family and football.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Cha's second child, Cha Du-ri, also played for the South Korean national team and Bundesliga clubs, among them Eintracht, following in his father's footsteps.

In November 2019, Cha received the Cross of Merit from the German government.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statisticsEdit

ClubEdit

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref name="Statistics"/>
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Korea Trust Bank 1976 Semipro League ? ? ?Template:Efn ? ?Template:Efn ? ? ?
ROK Air Force (draft) 1976 Semipro League ? ? ?Template:Efn ? ?Template:Efn ? ? ?
1977 Semipro League ? ? ?Template:Efn ? ?Template:Efn ? ? ?
1978 Semipro League ? ? ?Template:Efn ? ?Template:Efn ? ? ?
1979 Semipro League ? ? ?Template:Efn ? ?Template:Efn ? ? ?
Total ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Darmstadt 98 1978–79 Bundesliga 1 0 1 0
Eintracht Frankfurt 1979–80 Bundesliga 31 12 4 0 11Template:Efn 3 46 15
1980–81 Bundesliga 27 8 6 6 5Template:Efn 2 38 16
1981–82 Bundesliga 31 11 1 0 6Template:Efn 1 38 12
1982–83 Bundesliga 33 15 1 0 34 15
Total 122 46 12 6 22 6 156 58
Bayer Leverkusen 1983–84 Bundesliga 34 12 1 0 35 12
1984–85 Bundesliga 29 10 3 4 32 14
1985–86 Bundesliga 34 17 4 2 38 19
1986–87 Bundesliga 33 6 2 1 3Template:Efn 2 38 9
1987–88 Bundesliga 25 4 0 0 10Template:Efn 2 35 6
1988–89 Bundesliga 30 3 5 0 2Template:Efn 0 37 3
Total 185 52 15 7 15 4 215 63
Career total 308 98 27 13 37 10 ? ? 372 121

Template:Notelist

InternationalEdit

Template:Updated The KFA is showing the list of Cha's 136 international appearances in its official website.<ref name="KFA"/> The RSSSF is also claiming 136 appearances about Cha's international career, but its details have some discrepancies.<ref name="RSSSF"/> FIFA registered him with 130 appearances in the FIFA Century Club by excluding six matches in the Summer Olympics qualification.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Appearances and goals by national team and year
    National team Year Apps Goals
    South Korea 1972 23 6
    1973 17 8
    1974 13 2
    1975 18 9
    1976 14 11
    1977 26 15
    1978 16 5
    1986 3 0
    Career total 130 56
  • Appearances and goals by competition
    Competition Apps Goals
    Friendlies 10 2
    Minor competitions 76 44
    Asian Games 12 2
    AFC Asian Cup qualification 4 0
    AFC Asian Cup 5 1
    Summer Olympics qualification 6 2
    FIFA World Cup qualification 20 7
    FIFA World Cup 3 0
    Total 136 58
  • Scores list South Korea's goal tally first.<ref name="KFA"/><ref name="RSSSF"/>
    No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
    List of international goals scored by Cha Bum-kun
    1 10 May 1972 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 2 Template:Fb 3–0 4–1 1972 AFC Asian Cup
    2 19 July 1972 Perak Stadium, Ipoh, Malaysia 8 Template:Fb 2–0 4–1 1972 Pestabola Merdeka
    3 23 July 1972 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 9 Template:Fb 2–0 2–0 1972 Pestabola Merdeka
    4 29 July 1972 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 11 Template:Fb 2–0 2–1 1972 Pestabola Merdeka
    5 20 September 1972 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 13 Template:Fb 3–0 3–0 1972 Korea Cup
    6 22 November 1972 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 21 Template:Fb 1–1 1–1 1972 King's Cup
    7 19 May 1973 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 24 Template:Fb 2–0 4–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
    8 28 May 1973 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 28 Template:Fb 1–0 1–0 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
    9 22 September 1973 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 30 Template:Fb 2–0 6–0 1973 Korea Cup
    10 4–0
    11 30 September 1973 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 33 Template:Fb 1–0 2–0 1973 Korea Cup
    12 16 December 1973 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 37 Template:Fb 4–0 5–0 1973 King's Cup
    13 22 December 1973 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 39 Template:Fb 2–0 2–0 1973 King's Cup
    14 25 December 1973 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 40 Template:Fb 2–0 2–1 1973 King's Cup
    15 18 May 1974 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 43 Template:Fb 2–0 3–0 1974 Korea Cup
    16 25 December 1974 Hong Kong 54 Template:Fb 2–0 3–1 Hong Kong Tournament
    17 29 July 1975 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 58 Template:Fb 2–0 3–1 Template:Ill
    18 7 August 1975 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 61 Template:Fb 3–0 6–0 1975 Pestabola Merdeka
    19 9 August 1975 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 62 Template:Fb 1–0 3–1 1975 Pestabola Merdeka
    20 2–1
    21 3–1
    22 11 August 1975 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 63 Template:Fb 1–0 5–1 1975 Pestabola Merdeka
    23 15 August 1975 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 64 Template:Fb 4–0 4–0 1975 Pestabola Merdeka
    24 21 December 1975 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 68 Template:Fb 1–0 3–1 1975 King's Cup
    25 2–0
    26 6 March 1976 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 73 Template:Fb 1–0 3–0 1976 Summer Olympics qualification
    27 27 March 1976 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 75 Template:Fb 2–1 2–2 1976 Summer Olympics qualification
    28 10 August 1976 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 79 Template:Fb 1–0 8–0 Template:Ill
    29 5–0
    30 8–0
    31 15 August 1976 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 81 Template:Fb 2–2 2–2 1976 Pestabola Merdeka
    32 11 September 1976 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 84 Template:Fb 2–4 4–4 1976 Korea Cup
    33 3–4
    34 4–4
    35 13 September 1976 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 85 Template:Fb 4–0 4–0 1976 Korea Cup
    36 17 September 1976 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 86 Template:Fb 1–0 7–0 1976 Korea Cup
    37 7–0
    38 22 December 1976 National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 91 Template:Fb 1–1 1–1 1976 King's Cup
    39 14 February 1977 Singapore 92 Template:Fb 1–0 4–0 Friendly
    40 18 February 1977 Al Ahli Stadium, Manama, Bahrain 93 Template:Fb 2–0 4–1 Friendly
    41 20 March 1977 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 96 Template:Fb 1–0 3–1 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
    42 3 April 1977 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 98 Template:Fb 1–0 1–0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
    43 26 June 1977 Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong 100 Template:Fb 1–0 1–0 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
    44 17 July 1977 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 102 Template:Fb 2–0 4–0 Template:Ill
    45 22 July 1977 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 104 Template:Fb 3–1 5–1 1977 Pestabola Merdeka
    46 24 July 1977 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 105 Template:Fb 2–0 4–0 1977 Pestabola Merdeka
    47 31 July 1977 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 108 Template:Fb 1–0 1–0 1977 Pestabola Merdeka
    48 27 August 1977 Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney, Australia 109 Template:Fb 1–0 1–2 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
    49 3 September 1977 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 110 Template:Fb 3–0 5–1 1977 Korea Cup
    50 5 September 1977 Daegu Civic Stadium, Daegu, South Korea 111 Template:Fb 1–0 3–0 1977 Korea Cup
    51 3–0
    52 13 September 1977 Dongdaemun Stadium, Seoul, South Korea 112 Template:Fb 2–0 3–0 1977 Korea Cup
    53 5 November 1977 Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation CitationClass=web

    }}</ref> Kuwait City, Kuwait

    115 Template:Fb 1–0 2–2 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
    54 19 July 1978 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 121 Template:Fb 2–0 4–0 Template:Ill
    55 22 July 1978 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 122 Template:Fb 2–0 2–0 1978 Pestabola Merdeka
    56 25 July 1978 Stadium Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 123 Template:Fb 1–0 2–0 1978 Pestabola Merdeka
    57 11 December 1978 Chulalongkorn University Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand 127 Template:Fb 3–0 5–1 1978 Asian Games
    58 17 December 1978 Bangkok, Thailand 130 Template:Fb 1–0 1–0 1978 Asian Games

    HonoursEdit

    PlayerEdit

    Korea University

    Korea Trust Bank

    ROK Air Force

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    Eintracht Frankfurt

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    Bayer Leverkusen

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    South Korea U20

    South Korea

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    Individual

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    • ESPN Best Asian Footballer of All Time: 2015<ref name="ESPN"/>
    • Korean FA Best XI: 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978<ref name="MVPCha"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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    Records

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    ManagerEdit

    Hyundai Horang-i

    Suwon Samsung Bluewings

    Individual

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    • AFC Coach of the Month: February 1997, May 1997, September 1997<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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    See alsoEdit

    NotesEdit

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    ReferencesEdit

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    External linksEdit

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