Jeonbuk Hyundai coach Choi wins AFC top honor
Choi Kang-hee, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors coach, was named Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Coach of the Year, Friday.
At the annual AFC awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Choi, 57, who led the Jeonbuk team in clinching the Asian club championship title, won the award after beating two Japanese coaches — Makoto Teguramori, coach of Japan’s 2016 AFC U-23 Championship winning team and Atsushi Uchiyama, coach of Japan’s AFC U-19 Championship winning team.
“I really believe that it would not have been possible to win this Coach of the Year award without the support of the Jeonbuk fans, especially those who came to the AFC Champions League second leg in Al Ain,” Choi was quoted as saying by the-afc.com. “I was extremely happy to win the ACL title and I really appreciate the support. I also greatly appreciate the players who worked very hard to reach the final. This truly has been a very memorable and special year for me.”
The K-League Classic team Jeonbuk won their second Asian Champions League title last week, defeating Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates 3-2 on aggregate games after tying the away leg 1-1. In the domestic football league, Jeonbuk remained second as the team lost to FC Seoul 1-0 on the final day of the season.
With the award, Choi became the eighth Korean to win the AFC coaching award and first since Choi Yong-soo in 2013. Previous winners include Cha Bum-kun (1997), Huh Jung-moo (2009) and Choi Yong-soo (2013).
During his football career, Choi won the K-League MVP title in 1986 when he played for the Hyundai Horang-i, now the Ulsan Hyundai. He also represented Korea at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, playing three preliminary matches as a defender.