South Korean · Seoul, South Korea · Born 22 May 1953South Korea's first football superstar, a fearless and prolific goal-poacher who took Europe by storm during a dazzling career in the Bundesliga.
Cha Bum-kun was born on 22 May 1953 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, and initially took up field hockey before switching to football in his early teens, transferring between middle schools to pursue the sport after his original school's football club was disbanded. He earned his first cap for South Korea in 1972 and quickly became the country's brightest footballing talent, eventually moving to West Germany's Bundesliga in 1978 — a bold step for an Asian player at a time when few from the continent competed at Europe's top level. Cha spent a decade in the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen, scoring 121 goals across the two clubs and winning the UEFA Cup with each of them — Frankfurt in 1980 and Leverkusen in 1988, the latter coming from two goals down in the final against Español to complete one of the competition's great comebacks. His combination of blistering pace and thunderous shooting power earned him the German nickname "Tscha Bum," or "Cha Boom," a tribute to both his name and his ferocious strikes. Cha's sustained excellence in one of Europe's toughest leagues, at a time when Asian footballers rarely ventured beyond their home continent, established him as the benchmark by which subsequent generations of Asian players were measured, and he is widely regarded as the greatest Asian footballer of the 20th century. He earned dozens of caps for South Korea across his international career. After retiring as a player, Cha opened a football academy in South Korea dedicated to developing young talent and managed the South Korean national team at the 1998 World Cup in France. His son, Cha Du-ri, went on to have his own successful career as a professional footballer, continuing the family's footballing legacy.
First Asian player to achieve major success in European football
He won the UEFA Cup with two different clubs — Eintracht Frankfurt in 1980 and Bayer Leverkusen in 1988 — and was voted the AFC Player of the Century for his trailblazing impact on Asian football.
Did You Know?How They Played
Clinical striker with excellent positioning, strong in the air, and deadly finishing ability
Lasting Impact
Pioneered the path for Asian players in European football and is considered South Korea's greatest footballer
Career Honours
- UEFA Cup 1980 (Frankfurt), 1988 (Leverkusen)
- AFC Player of the Century
- Bundesliga 1983
| Club | Period | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea Trust Bank | 1976–1976 | — | — |
| ROK Air Force | 1976–1979 | — | — |
| Darmstadt 98 | 1978–1979 | 1 | 0 |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 1979–1983 | 122 | 46 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 1983–1989 | 185 | 52 |
 South Korea | — | 136 | 58 |
South Korean Athletes