Choi Dae-sik, a former member of the U.S. national team who participated in the 1994 World Cup and played an active part in the Hiroshima Asian Games, passed away late at night on March 27. The deceased, who had a chronic disease for a long time, sadly passed away at the relatively early age of 59 due to rapid deterioration of his health from early this year. The funeral home is Hamyang Jeil Hospital in Hamyang County, South Gyeongsang Province, and the coffin will be delivered at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
Born as the youngest of three brothers in Hamyang, South Gyeongsang Province in 1965, Choi started his career at Anui Elementary School in Hamyang County, passed through Anuijung and made his name on the national stage as a midfielder at Changsin Technical High School in Masan. Boasting his sharp kick and passing skills as a left-footed player, Choi began his career as a first grader at Korea University in 1984. After graduating, he moved to Daewoo Royals and moved to Lucky Geumseong (now FC Seoul) in 1990 to help his team win the K-League title in the first year. He also became the “Help King” in the same year while playing with goaltender Yoon Sang-chul.
He was selected as a member of the Korean national team in 1991, and has displayed stellar performance at international soccer competitions under the presidential team, and has started to gain spotlight as a next-generation star. After a two-year hiatus, he was included in the final entry list for the 1994 U.S. World Cup, but unfortunately failed to make it to the roster.
However, he displayed outstanding performance at the Hiroshima Asian Games held in fall of that year. Notably, many fans remember the scene where he gave assist to Hwang’s header goal with a accurate cross to 2-1 in the quarterfinal match against Japan. Hwang also scored the finisher for the penalty kick, as Japanese defender Ihara made Choi Dae-sik’s cross for a foul.
He retired from the Brazil national team in 1995 after a friendly match invited by the Brazilian national team. He had two assists in 15 A matches and 28 assists in 189 matches in the K-League.
In 1996, he moved to Oita Trinita of the J-League in Japan, where he played for five years, and served as captain for the team for the last year.
After ending his career in 2001, he served as the coach for 10 years at the Gyeongmin Settlement High School (currently Gyeongmin IT High School) in Uijeongbu City from 2004. After coaching Korea National University of Education players following the Gangjin FC U-18 team, his last career football career took place last year when he served as the manager of Goyang Happiness in the K4 league.
Among the South Korean national team players who participated in the 1994 U.S. World Cup, three members left us until Choi Dae-sik, following the death of Cho Jin-ho and Park Jung-bae in 2017.