In the summer of 2002, Ahn Jung-Hwan was one of the biggest names in world football. He provoked questions in the House of Commons, bile in parts of Italy and adulation in Korea and headlines talking of a shift in the balance of power in the world of football. Ahn is a South Korean football player who made world headlines by scoring the winning golden goal for Korea against Italy in the 2002 World Cup 2nd round and sending Korea into the quarterfinals. At the time Ahn was playing for Italian league side Perugia but had his contract terminated for eliminating the Italians from the competition. Ahn attempted to get himself a new European club but failed, and returned to Yokohama F Marinos.

Ahn Jung-Hwan rose to fame in the 2002 World Cup when Perugia Chairman, Luciano Gaucci promised that Ahn “would never set foot in Perugia again” after Ahn scored the ‘Golden Goal’ in South Korea’s 2-1 win over Italy in the second round of the World Cup which knocked Italy out of that tournament. Gaucci later denied he made the above remarks but Ahn had already refused to go back to Serie A side, Perugia, which he had been on loan with for the previous two years from Korean league team, Busan I’cons.

Ahn was hoping to secure a contract with a top European club after South Korea reached the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup and he nearly moved to English premier league side, Blackburn Rovers but the immigration office denied him a work permit. He was also linked with a number of other European clubs but was unable to tie up a suitable move. Ahn was then offered a move to Japanese league side Shimizu S-Pulse and on September 16 2002 the South Korean World Cup hero joined S-Pulse on a one-year contract with an estimated annual salary of $491,800 dollars.

His “meterosexual” image has helped to make him wildly popular in Korea but it is a double-edged sword, drawing criticism that he is more concerned with commercials than footballs. A well-known face on the billboards and newspapers in Korea, the fact remains that Ahn is one of the few Korean players who can do something out of the ordinary. His recent wonder goal against Vietnam in the WC Qualifiers is proof of that. Despite the difficult time he was going through on the pitch, Ahn’s attitude on the occasions he returned to Korea did little to dispel doubts that he hadn’t allowed his good looks, famous club, former Miss Korea girlfriend (now wife) and star status in Korea to go to his well-groomed head.

(Compiled by Yasmin Taj)