Yoo Sang-Chul encyclopedia topics

Profile

Weight: 78 kg
First Int'l Cap: USA (March 5, 1994)

Yoo was one of Korea's most influential players over the last decade. He was known as a powerful and versatile midfielder with strong aerial ability, even though his versatility actually allowed him to shine in just about any area of the field, from defence to attack, but his coaches believed his all-round ability was best deployed in the center of the midfield, where he could patrol the middle of the park with presence and authority.

Yoo had the ability to spark an attack with his incisive distribution and was also strong defensively as well as physically. The highly-rated midfielder was offered a trial with Barcelona in 1998 for his impressive performances during the 1998 World Cup group stages. However, he missed out on that possible move to Europe because his club Ulsan Hyundai had already agreed a contract-binding deal to sell Yoo to Yokohama Marinos. He moved briefly to join Kashiwa Reysol 's Korean trio in 2001 but Marinos brought the versatile Korean back to Yokohama in 2003.

He was part of the South Korean 2004 Olympic football team, who finished second in Group A, making it through to the next round, before being defeated by silver medal winners Paraguay.

He scored a goal for Korea in FIFA World Cup 1998, and was a key part of the Korean National Football Team when Korea reached the semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.