27 January 1976 - "Ruined" May Have Been Overstating Things A Bit

On 27 January 1976, South Korean World Cup hero Ahn Jung-Hwan was born in Paju. He was once described as "the man who ruined Italian football."

He started his professional career in 1998 with Pusan Daewoo Royals, but moved to Italy in 2000 to play for Perugia, where he made a total of 33 appearances in two seasons and scored five goals. But it was the summer of 2002 that made him an international name, as he scored the golden goal for South Korea that eliminated Italy in the World Cup Round of 16. The day after the match, Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci cancelled Ahn's contract, reportedly saying "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football."

Gaucci later had a change of heart, but Ahn was so offended by the slight that he refused to consider a return. He moved instead to Shimizu S-Pulse for a season, starting a series of short stays that included spells at Yokohama (2004-05), Metz (2005-06), and Duisburg (2006), before returning to South Korea with Suwon Bluewings in 2006. Most recently, he played for Chinese side Dalian Shide from 2009 to 2011.

In the meantime, he continued to play for the South Korean national team, scoring 17 goals in 77 appearances before retiring in 2010.

27 January 1976 - "Ruined" May Have Been Overstating Things A Bit

On 27 January 1976, South Korean World Cup hero Ahn Jung-Hwan was born in Paju. He was once described as "the man who ruined Italian football."

He started his professional career in 1998 with Pusan Daewoo Royals, but moved to Italy in 2000 to play for Perugia, where he made a total of 33 appearances in two seasons and scored five goals. But it was the summer of 2002 that made him an international name, as he scored the golden goal for South Korea that eliminated Italy in the World Cup Round of 16. The day after the match, Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci cancelled Ahn's contract, reportedly saying "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football."

Gaucci later had a change of heart, but Ahn was so offended by the slight that he refused to consider a return. He moved instead to Shimizu S-Pulse for a season, starting a series of short stays that included spells at Yokohama (2004-05), Metz (2005-06), and Duisburg (2006), before returning to South Korea with Suwon Bluewings in 2006. Most recently, he played for Chinese side Dalian Shide from 2009 to 2011.

In the meantime, he continues to play for the South Korean national team, scoring 17 goals in 77 appearances.

18 June 2002 - Ahn Top Of The World

On 18 June 2002, World Cup co-hosts South Korea upset Italy 2-1 in a Round of 16 match before a crowd of 38,588 at South Korea's Daejeon World Cup Stadium.

With three minutes of regulation time remaining, Italy looked certain to advance, holding a 1-0 lead earned with an 18th minute goal from veteran striker Christian Vieri. In the 88th minute, however, Italian defender Christian Panucci mishandled a pass, opening the door for Korean winger Seol Ki-Hyeon, who scored the equalizer.

The late goal shocked the Azzurri and sent the match to extra time. The situation worsened for Italy in the first period of added time, as midfielder Francesco Totti received a second yellow card for an apparent dive and was sent off in the 105th minute.

As the match entered the final minutes of extra time and appeared to be headed for penalties, Korean midfielder Ahn Jung-Hwan scored a header in the 117th minute to give the Korean side the victory. The goal was redemptive for Ahn, whose penalty kick in the 5th minute was saved by Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Ahn was also the only member of the Korean side to play his club football in Italy, at the time on loan with AC Perugia. The day after the match, Perugia canceled Ahn's contract, with Perugia owner Luciano Gaucci reportedly saying "I have no intention of paying a salary to someone who has ruined Italian football." The club quickly apologized and offered to purchase Ahn's contract, but he declined and moved to Japanese side Shimizu S-Pulse.

South Korea followed their epic win with an equally-historic victory over Spain on penalties. They then lost to Germany, but finished the tournament in fourth place.