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Hwang Hee-chan

Hwang Hee-chan (Korean: 황희찬; born 26 January 1996) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the South Korea national team.

Hwang is nicknamed "Hwangso", the Korean word for bull, in South Korea due to his aggressive playing style and surname.

Youth career

Hwang Hee-chan was born in Chuncheon, but his family moved to Bucheon right after his birth. They lived there until he was eleven years old.

Hwang started to play football at Singok Elementary School in Uijeongbu. In 2008, he scored the most goals in both Hwarangdaegi Tournament and Dongwon Youth Cup, which were South Korean national youth competitions. His strong performance continued in the South Korean national under-12 team. Hwang scored 22 goals in the Kanga Cup, setting a new record of the tournament. With outstanding performances in these competitions, he was awarded the grand prize of the Cha Bum-kun Football Award, given to the best youth footballers in South Korea.

After graduating from Singok Elementary School, he entered Pohang Jecheol Middle School and started to play in Pohang Steelers under-15 team, the school's affiliated football club. In 2011, his team won the middle school division of the Korean National School League, hosted by Korea Football Association, and Hwang received the MVP award of the competition.

Subsequently, he joined Pohang Jecheol High School and Pohang Steelers under-18 team. In the 2013 K League Junior, contested between youth teams of K League clubs, he scored 12 goals in 12 games for his team, helping his high school to win the league. Afterwards, in the high school division of the National School League, he once again led Pohang to the title, becoming the MVP in addition to the top scorer.

Club career

Red Bull Salzburg

In December 2014, Pohang Steelers intended to sign forward Hwang Hee-chan as a homegrown player, but he opted to sign with Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg. On 3 November 2016, Hwang came off the bench and scored a brace in a Europa League match for Salzburg against Ligue 1 side Nice, contributing to his team's first Europa win of the campaign. He failed to score in his first Austrian Bundesliga season.

During the 2017–18 season Salzburg had their best ever European campaign. They finished top of their UEFA Europa League group for a record fourth time before beating Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund, thus making their first-ever appearance in the competition's quarter-finals. On 12 April, Hwang scored a goal against Lazio, leading a 4–1 victory to proceed to the semi-finals. On 3 May 2018, Hwang played in the second away match of the semi-final, when Salzburg defeated Marseille by 1–2 but lost on aggregate 3–2. On 31 August 2018, Hwang joined Hamburger SV on a loan deal until the end of the 2018–19 season.

During the 2019–20 season, Hwang drew plaudits alongside Salzburg's attacking players Erling Haaland and Takumi Minamino. The trio were particularly praised for their exploits in the Champions League, where Hwang was involved in eight goals by recording three goals and three assists, and winning two penalty kicks. His playing style was described as energetic with accurate passing and an eye for dribbling. In all competitions, Hwang had a remarkable season, scoring 16 goals and providing 22 assists in 40 appearances.

RB Leipzig

On 8 July 2020, Hwang signed for RB Leipzig on a five-year contract. On 12 September, he scored a goal and created an assist against Nürnberg in the first round of the 2020–21 DFB-Pokal, where he made his debut. He helped Leipzig to reach the 2021 DFB-Pokal Final by scoring against VfL Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen, though he was a substitute. However, he failed to score in his first German Bundesliga season.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On 29 August 2021, Hwang joined Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season long loan. On 11 September, Hwang scored Wolves' second goal away to Watford on his debut as a second-half substitute in a 2–0 win. He then got his first goals at Molineux on 2 October, as he scored both goals in Wolves' 2–1 win against Newcastle United, both strikes coming from similarly tight angles. On 26 January 2022, the club announced that they had activated a clause in his loan deal that would see him join the club on a permanent deal on 1 July 2022, upon the expiration of his loan, signing a contract until 2026. He scored five goals in his debut campaign in the Premier League.

Hwang scored his first FA Cup goal away to Liverpool in the third round of the competition on 7 January 2023, his strike tying the game at 2–2. Wolves then had a third goal disallowed in controversial circumstances, the game ultimately finishing all square.

On 30 September 2023, Hwang scored the decisive goal against Manchester City to win the match 2–1 at home to give the 2022–23 Premier League champions their first loss in the 2023–24 season.

On 28 October 2023, Hwang scored Wolves's second goal in a 2–2 home draw with Newcastle United, meaning he became the first Wolves player since Derek Dougan, fifty years previously, to score six goals in the first ten games of a top-flight season. On 21 December 2023, Hwang signed a new long-term contract with Wolves, keeping him at the club until 2028 with an option for a further year. On 27 December, he scored a brace in a 4–1 away win over Brentford, becoming the third Wolves player to score at least 10 Premier League goals in one season, following Raúl Jiménez and Steven Fletcher.

International career

In the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship, South Korea was eliminated in the quarter-finals, but Hwang became the top scorer of the tournament with five goals including a hat-trick against North Korea.

Hwang participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics and scored a goal in a group match against Germany, which finished in a 3–3 draw.

In a friendly on 28 March 2018, Hwang scored South Korea's second goal against Poland, with the match ending in a 2–3 loss.

Hwang represented South Korea in the under-23 team at the 2018 Asian Games where he scored the second and winning goal for South Korea in the 2–1 final against Japan, a goal assisted by Son Heung-min. The tournament win guaranteed Hwang and his teammates exemption from mandatory military service.

In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Hwang started in South Korea's first two matches against Sweden and Mexico. He was criticized for not converting a scoring chance against Sweden. He was substituted in for Koo Ja-cheol in the 2–0 victory against Germany, but was brought off after only 20 minutes for Go Yo-han. After the tournament, manager Shin Tae-yong expressed remorse for taking off Hwang and explained that it was a tactical decision as Hwang was struggling to help the team on defense.

In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Hwang scored the winning goal in stoppage time against Portugal to secure a 2–1 win, which helped South Korea advance to the Round of 16, where they were eliminated by Brazil following a 4–1 defeat on 5 December.

Hwang was called up for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, but suffered a hip injury just before the competition. He could not participate in South Korea's first two matches, and played as a substitute in the last group stage match and round of 16. In a 2–1 quarter-final win over Australia, he scored a penalty equaliser and won a crucial free-kick, which was followed by Son Heung-min's winning goal. He came back to the club after a 2–0 semi-final loss to Jordan.