Cha Du-ri and Cha Boom were attracted to Hwaseong FC's first coach entering the K League 2 and their hometown + European experience + star

Dec 25, 2024

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Cha Du-ri (42) will take the helm of the K-League.

The destination is Hwaseong FC. Hwaseong announced that Cha Du-ri will be the first coach of Hwaseong FC who dreams of becoming a special soccer city. He then explained that Cha, who has been a soccer player for a long time in Europe and has an advanced leadership philosophy, was evaluated as a suitable person for Hwaseong, which will advance to the K League 2.

Founded in 2013, Hwaseong passed the fourth and third divisions and pushed to enter the K-League from last year. Hwaseong, which submitted an application for membership to the Korea Professional Football Federation last month, received approval for its K League 2 membership agenda in 2025 through the 5th board of directors. The K League 2 advance will be finally approved at the general meeting of delegates to be held after the payment of the K League membership in January 2025.

Hwaseong, which is working on forming the team, has even completed the appointment of a key coach. He chose Cha as the first coach. Hwaseong held a personnel committee to select candidates. About 10 people, from stars to veterans, made the list. It was compressed to three players, and coach Cha was finally selected.

Coach Cha is a legend of Korean soccer that does not need an explanation. Starting as Cha Bum-geun's son, he created his own firm territory. Coach Cha, who was the main player in the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup semifinal, played in Germany and Scotland. In 2013, he moved to FC Seoul in a surprise move and played in the K-League. He retired in 2015. He also played 76 games for the A team, including two World Cups. With his bright image at the forefront, Cha was a national star.

After retirement, Cha joined the A team as a power analyst at the request of then-coach Uli Stielike in 2016 and began his leadership career. After that, he obtained an A-level certificate and served as a coach for the A national team. Coach Cha, who became the coach for the first time when he took the helm of Osan High School in 2019, was recognized for his ability to lead the national sports competition to the high school championship in 2021, and served as the head of the Seoul Youth Reinforcement Office. He then served as a technical advisor and coach for the A national team from 2023 to 2024 with Jurgen Klinsmann's love call.

Coach Cha, who was teaching while receiving P-level licensing training from the Korea Football Association, was shaken by Hwaseong's strong love call. The reason why director Cha was shaken is because Cha Bum-keun's hometown is Hwaseong. As a professional director takes his first step away from his father's hometown, it is inevitably meaningful. Coach Cha was also the best card for Hwaseong, which has to catch the attention of fans as a new club in the K League 2. Hwaseong plans to build a solid system by actively utilizing Cha, who has lived in Europe for a long time and is familiar with advanced soccer.

Coach Cha has already set up a coaching staff and is stepping up efforts to reinforce the team. Cha said, `I want to entertain soccer fans with a good system and good performance. Please look forward to soccer, where viewers can feel the fun and passionate energy, he said.

vanbasten@sportschosun.com

Cha Du-ri and Cha Boom were attracted to Hwaseong FC's first coach entering the K League 2 and their hometown + European experience + star

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