Cha Bum-Kun

At 70 years old, Cha Bum-Kun has this physical status:

Cha Bum-kun (born 22 May 1953) is a South Korean football manager and former player, nicknamed Tscha Bum ("Cha Boom") in Germany because of his name and his thunderous ball striking ability.

Cha is widely regarded as one of the greatest Asian football players of all time by experts, including IFFHS and ESPN.In 1972, Cha had been capped by the South Korean national team as the youngest player in history called up to the squad.

He is the all-time leading goal scorer for the South Korean national team with 58 goals and won the 1978 Asian Games.

He is also the youngest player to ever reach 100 caps in the world.

(24 years, 139 days) After developing into the top player in his country, he left for West Germany and played for Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen.

He scored 121 goals in two Bundesliga clubs and won the UEFA Cup with each team.

He started a youth football clinic to develop South Korean football after his retirement.

He managed the national team in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and also Ulsan Hyundai and Suwon Samsung Bluewings of the K League.

Early life

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. He became a notable player of Kyungshin High School, and was selected for the South Korean under-20 team in 1970.

Personal life

Cha is a devout Christian and said the faith is one of his three biggest values along with family and football.

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

In November 2019, Cha received the Cross of Merit from the German government.

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Club career

Cha entered Korea University in 1972 and captured the Korean National Championship in 1974, the precursor to the Korean FA Cup. After his graduation, he began his senior career with Korea Trust Bank FC in 1976. He led his team to victory and was named the best player in the Korean Semi-professional League's spring season. He joined Air Force FC in October 1976 to complete his obligatory military service. Cha had intended to enlist in the Navy FC but the ROK Air Force advised him that his discharge would be delayed by six months.

Cha attracted the attention of an Eintracht Frankfurt coach Dieter Schulte, who had been given the opportunity to serve as a scout/observer at the tournament while playing for the national team in the 1978 Korea Cup. Schulte wrote a letter in November 1978 to the KFA (Korea Football Association), advising Cha's stay in West Germany, who would have been suspended from the ROK Air Force in January 1979. Cha had taken time off to leave Frankfurt after the 1978 Asian Games in December and signed a six-month contract with another Bundesliga club Darmstadt 98. Nevertheless, he was in Darmstadt for less than a month. Cha's service was not followed by the ROK Air Force, and he was ordered to return. Cha returned to South Korea after his debut match against VfL Bochum on December 30, debating the intricacy of military service on January 5th. He served for the remainder of his military service until May 31st, but he was unable to play for Darmstadt.

Cha stayed keen to play in Bundesliga after being kicked out entirely from the military service, and joined Eintracht Frankfurt in July 1979. He appeared in three games from third to fifth matchday of the Bundesliga, making an immediate difference in his new club right away. He was ranked world class in the kicker rankings of the first half of his first season in Germany, according to a well-known German football journal. He was also praised for his contributions to Frankfurt's first-ever UEFA Cup title. Sir Alex Ferguson, (Aberdeen's boss at the time) and "one of the world's best attackers" by Lothar Matthäus, he was rated as the "unstoppable player" by him. (an opponent player at the UEFA Cup Final and the Bundesliga) In addition to a UEFA Cup crown, he was voted along with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Kevin Keegan in the Bundesliga Team of the Season by kicker. Cha's spine had been cracked by Jürgen Gelsdorf, who had run behind him, but the team returned to the stadium after a month. He scored six goals in six games of the 1980-81 DFB-Pokal, leading Frankfurt to the top. For three seasons, he was Frankfurt's top goalcorer.

However, Cha went to Bayer Leverkusen due to a financial crisis in Frankfurt in 1983. 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 in 1985-86. The magazine kicker had selected him once more for the Team of the Season. He scored a dramatic equalizer against Espanyol in 1988 UEFA Cup Final, tying the game 3–3. Leverkusen eventually won the game on penalties, winning its first European title.

Cha played in 298, 308 Bundesliga games as a fair player, before retiring in 1989. He scored 98 goals without a penalty and received only one yellow card during his Bundesliga career. He scored his 93rd Bundesliga goal on October 31, 1987, becoming the best foreign goalscorer by defeating Willi Lippens. He hadn't been out for eleven years before Stéphane Chapuisat scored more goals than him. Cha is ranked seventh in the Bundesliga's foreign goalscorer standings as of 2018, alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

International career

Cha was mainly a striker in Bundesliga games, but he had been a winger in South Korea before. In 1970, he became a South Korean under-20 international, and he competed in the AFC Youth Championship in 1971 and 1972. In the 1972 AFC Asian Cup, he made his senior international debut against Iraq and scored his first international goal against the Khmer Republic. He was named in the Korean FA Best XI for seven years, and he was named as the Year of the Year in 1973.

Cha served for the national team in the Korea Cup, Pestabola Merdeka, King's Cup, which were regularly contested between Asian nations and the invited teams at the time. He received a total of ten awards as well as three championships. He scored his first international hat-trick against Japan in 1975, in the Pestabola Merdeka. He scored a hat-trick against Malaysia during five minutes from 83rd to 88th minute in the 1976 Korea Cup, guiding South Korea to a dramatic 4–4 draw.

In 1978 FIFA World Cup qualifier, he played all of South Korea's 12 games and scored five goals and two assists, but his knee broke during the game. Despite his struggles, South Korea did not qualify for the World Cup by finishing the qualification as runners-up.

In the 1978 Asian Games, he scored two goals and two assists, contributing to the team's gold medal. However, he played lethargic plays to try outs for Bundesliga clubs and was chastised. After the 1978 Asian Games, he went to the Bundesliga but not for South Korea and did not play for South Korea. The 1986 FIFA World Cup was South Korea's first World Cup since 1954. He delivered an outstanding result in intensive checks by opponents, but he was unable to prevent South Korea from being excluded from the group stage.

Managerial career

Cha moved into leadership with Hyundai Horang-i, K League's K League, where they worked from 1991 to 1994. Cha's next appointment was in January 1997, and he led the nation to the 1998 FIFA World Cup; however, after a humiliating 5–0 loss at the hands of the Netherlands in Korea's second group match, Cha was dismissed. Later, he blamed the KFA for the poor showing, blaming a lack of compensation and implying that pro soccer games in Korea were fixed. He and his wife were arrested quickly and served with a five-year suspension, and soon after left the country.

Cha took up a commentary role with MBC in Korea after an 18-month stint coaching Shenzhen Ping'an in China. He returned to teaching after being given the Suwon Samsung Bluewings job in late 2003. Cha won the 2004 K League championship with a degree that was even better than the 1988 UEFA Cup in which he first appeared as a player. In June 2010, he resigned as Suwon's boss, but he resigned in June 2010.

Career statistics

In its official website, the KFA has compiled a list of Cha's 136 international appearances. The RSSSF is also boasting 136 appearances about Cha's international career, but Cha's specifics are lacking. FIFA has credited him with 130 appearances in the FIFA Century Club, excluding six games in the Summer Olympics qualification.

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