| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1946-02-03) 3 February 1946 (age 78) | ||
| Place of birth | North Korea | ||
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| February 8 | |||
| International career | |||
| c. 1962–after 1966 | North Korea | 16+ | (1+) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
| Im Shung-hwi | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 임성휘 |
|---|---|
| Revised Romanization | Im Seong-hwi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Im Sŏng-hwi |
Im Shung-hwi (Korean: 임성휘; born 3 February 1946), also spelled Im Song Hwi, is a North Korean former football midfielder who played for the national team in the 1966 FIFA World Cup. He also played for February 8 Sports Club.
Early life
Im was born on 3 February 1946 in North Korea. A midfielder, he played for February 8 Sports Club in the DPR Korea Premier Football League, North Korea's top football league. He had a height of 1.64 metres (5 ft 5 in) during his playing career.
International career
In 1957, the North Korea national football team was re-organized with the goal of competing at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. In c. 1962, Im was chosen as one of the best 40 players from the North Korean leagues, whose membership reportedly consisted of over 250,000, to be considered for the national team. The 40 players were enlisted into the Army as military officers, under the leadership of colonel and coach Myung Rye-hyun, and went under strict training for the next four years in preparation for the cup. Im and the others trained twice a day starting at 6:00 a.m. and were under other restrictions which included being unmarried, no smoking, no drinking, and (for the last six months) being in bed by 10:00 p.m.
In early 1965, the North Korean leagues were suspended to allow the roster to focus solely on the task of making the World Cup. Im and the rest of the players gained experience by playing a number of international matches against nations including North Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and China. The team competed at that year's Games of Emerging New Forces (GANEFO) and went undefeated, with a 3–1 win over China in the finals. Later in 1965, they played at the 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification and defeated Australia to become the sole qualifier from the African, Asian and Oceanic zone. Im scored a goal in one of the two games against Australia.
Im was ultimately chosen as one of 22 players for the World Cup team. By that time, he had been capped for the national team a total of 12 times, according to the Evening Telegraph, although the Sunday Mirror reported it to be 18 caps. At the World Cup, the North Korean team played their home games at Ayresome Park in Middlesbrough, England, as part of Group 4 in the tournament which included the Soviet Union, Chile and Italy. Im was considered one of the team's top players in the midfield, and The Guardian described the team's playing style as "basically 4-2-4, with Pak Seung Zin, who must have one of the hardest shots of any of the World Cup finalists, and Im Seung Hwi feeding the wings and creating openings down the middle for Pak Doo Ik." The North Koreans, projected as having little chance of success, lost their first match, 3–0 against the Soviet Union, before tying Chile 1–1. After Chile, the team then played against heavily-favored Italy to determine the qualifier to the next round. In a massive upset, North Korea won 1–0 on a goal by Pak Doo-ik. Im recorded an assist on Pak's goal, having headed the ball to him before he made the winning shot. The team eventually lost 5–3 in the quarterfinals to Portugal; the North Koreans had opened the scoring with a goal by Pak Seung-zin in the first minute, with Im having made the assist. Im ended the World Cup having appeared in all four matches, playing all 360 minutes.
Later life
For the team's performance at the World Cup, all the players who appeared in a match were given the title of Merited Athlete, the second-highest honor for sportspeople in North Korea. After the World Cup, it was rumored that the North Korean squad was imprisoned for celebrating the win over Italy in a bar; however, when interviewed in 2002, several players denied this. In 2002, Im was interviewed as one of the seven surviving members of the 1966 North Korean team in the documentary The Game of Their Lives and visited Middlesbrough with his former teammates.
References
- ^ The Game of Their Lives on YouTube
- ^ "Seung-Hwi Im". National-Football-Teams.com.
- ^ Barham, Albert (January 6, 1966). "England are hosts to the elite". The Guardian. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No squad better prepared than North Korea". Evening Telegraph. May 21, 1966. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wizard dribbler with strong shot". Evening Chronicle. June 23, 1966. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Han Bong Jin–he dribbles like Garrincha, shoots like Charlton". Liverpool Daily Post. July 8, 1966. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- "World Cup 1966 qualifications". rssf.org.
- "1966 Korea DPR Men Stats". FBref.com.
- ^ "Meet The Twenty-Two Football Wizards From Pyongyang". Sunday Mirror. May 8, 1966. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "When Middlesbrough hosted the 1966 World Cup Koreans". BBC. 15 June 2010.
- Lacey, David (July 22, 1966). "North Korea". The Guardian. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ White, Jim (18 October 2002). "North Korea in town to relive game of their lives". The Guardian.
- Lowe, Dennis (July 20, 1966). "10-man Italy bow to North Korea". The Daily Telegraph. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- "N. Korea shoot into shock 3-0 lead". Birmingham Evening Mail. July 23, 1966. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Im Seung-hwi 1966 Match Logs". FBref.com.
- Chol-hwan, Kang (4 March 2001). "수용소에서 만난 축구영웅". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean).
- Macleod, Calum (12 November 2001). "Korea boys of '66 are alive and kicking". The Independent.
- Demic, Barbara (22 June 2002). "1966 World Cup Upstarts Absent but Not Forgotten". Los Angeles Times.
| North Korea squad – 1966 FIFA World Cup | ||
|---|---|---|
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