Lee Jang-soo

Lee Jang-soo (Korean: 이장수; born October 15, 1956) is a South Korean association football manager and a former player. As a player, he had the distinction of being one of the first fully professional footballers to play in the newly formed Korean Super League in the inaugural 1983 league season, however it has been as a manager where he has distinguished himself particularly within China where he has gone on to twice win the Chinese FA Cup with Chongqing Lifan and Qingdao Beilaite. He has also achieved a successful spell back home within South Korea with FC Seoul when he won the K-League Cup, however he has continued to return to China where he was the manager of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande whose appointment also makes him the longest serving foreign coach within Chinese football.

For the South Korean television director and producer, see Lee Jang-soo (television director).
In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
Lee Jang-soo
Personal information
Date of birth (1956-10-15) October 15, 1956
Place of birth Haman, Gyeongnam, South Korea
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1976–1979 Yonsei University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1981 Saehan Motors / Daewoo (Semi-professional)
1981–1983 Sangmu FC (Military service)
1983–1986 Yukong Elephants 53 (8)
International career
1978 South Korea B
1979–1980 South Korea 10 (1)
Managerial career
1987 Honam University (Coach)
1988–1991 Ilhwa Chunma (Junior Coach)
1992–1995 Ilhwa Chunma (Coach)
1996 Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma
1998–2001 Chongqing Lifan
2001–2003 Qingdao Etsone Hainiu
2003–2004 Chunnam Dragons
2005–2006 FC Seoul
2007–2009 Beijing Guoan
2010–2012 Guangzhou Evergrande
2014 Chengdu Tiancheng
2016–2017 Changchun Yatai
2022 Shenzhen
Korean name
Hangul
이장수
Hanja
李章洙
Revised RomanizationI Jang-su
McCune–ReischauerRi Chang-su
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Lee Jang-soo was one of the first players to play professional football in South Korea when he started his professional football career at Yukong Elephants in 1983 with the formation of the K-League. Despite already being in his late twenties he would eventually play in 53 league games in his professional career which ended in 1986.

Coaching career

After his football career he became a coach at Honam University before being offered the chance to become a trainer with the newly formed Ilhwa Chunma team in the K-League. He was offered a promotion as a coaching in 1992 where he was part of the team that took them second in the league.[1] The next few seasons saw him as part of the coaching team that would establish Ilhwa Chunma as a successful team within the K-League by winning the league for three consecutive seasons.[2] In the 1996 league season when Ilhwa Chunma decided to rename themselves as Cheonan Ilhwa Chunma, Lee Jang-soo was again promoted to the Head coach position after the previous manager Park Jong-hwan left, however after a disappointing season where they were never in the title challenge Lee Jang-soo left.[3]

Throughout 1997 Lee Jang-soo went to Brazil to study coaching abroad until 1998 when Lee Jang-soo would move to China and manage Chongqing Lifan for four seasons.[4] While he was there he managed to twice take Chongqing Lifan to fourth in the league in the 1999 and 2000 league season.[5] However it wasn't until 2002 when Lee Jang-soo had moved to Qingdao Beilaite that he rose to prominace within China and won the Chinese FA Cup with them. The following season though Qingdao Beilaite were to have a disappointing season when they finished the league in eleventh and Lee Jang-soo would return to Korea. Back in South Korea Lee Jang-soo would quickly find a team to coach with Chunnam Dragons and subsequently FC Seoul where he led them both to a Championship playoffs spot.

At the beginning of the 2006 league season Lee Jang-soo returned to China with Beijing Guoan who required a manager after Shen Xiangfu left after a disappointing season. Under Lee Jang-soo, Beijing Guoan immediately improved by coming third in the league.[6] Despite the team's continued improvement within the league and a successful start in the 2009 Chinese Super League season where the club were currently leading the table on September 16, 2009, Lee was fired by Beijing Guoan for not using particular players that were favored by the club directors.[7]

On 25 March 2010, Lee was hired by Guangzhou Evergrande, who was newly relegated to China League One for match-fixing scandal, as the team's new manager. He led Guangzhou to finish first place in the 2010 League One season and won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt. In his second season, Guangzhou Evergrande won the Super League title for the first time in the club's history. He also set the club's record for longest unbeaten streak in the league with 32 wins and 12 draws, which was ended on 18 September after losing to Changchun Yatai 2–1.[8]

Lee achieved the Chinese FA Super Cup winner in 2012 for his third time to pursue this trophy. He led the team to beat Tianjin Teda 2–1 at Guangzhou University City Stadium. On 16 May 2012, after sealing a place in the 2012 AFC Champions League knockout stage for Guangzhou by beating Buriram United on the previous day, it was reported that Guangzhou Evergrande held several talks with Lee and announced Lee's dismissal within the club.[9] On 17 May 2012, Guangzhou Evergrande officially announced Marcello Lippi replacing Lee as the new manager of club.[10][11]

On 12 February 2022, Lee was appointed as the head coach of Chinese Super League club Shenzhen F.C.[12]

On 1 September 2022, Lee was sacked by Shenzhen.[13]

Club career

Honours

Managerial

Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

Chongqing Lifan

Qingdao Hademen

FC Seoul

Guangzhou Evergrande

References
  1. "South Korea 1992".
  2. "South Korea 1993".
  3. "South Korea 1996".
  4. "李章洙_体坛明星_竞技风暴_新浪网".
  5. "China 1999".
  6. "China 2006". Archived from the original on 2012-09-29. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  7. "Yahoo!". Archived from the original on 2017-07-12. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
  8. 广州恒大终于输球了 连续44场联赛不败纪录作古
  9. 恒大将正式宣布李章洙下课 球员教练微博深情告别
  10. 关于李章洙指导不再担任广州恒大足球队主教练的公告
  11. 关于聘任马塞洛•里皮担任广州恒大足球队主教练的公告
  12. "公告·李章洙任深圳队主教练". Dongqiudi (in Chinese). 12 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  13. "公告｜李章洙先生不再担任深圳队主教练__深圳市足球俱乐部·深圳队·深足·深圳佳兆业队".


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