Choi Sung-kuk (born 8 February 1983) is a former South Korean footballer who played as a second striker. He was banned by FIFA from all football-related activities because of his involvement in match fixing. Early life Born in Seoul, Choi began playing football at Donggok Elementary School. While he played for Jeongmyeong High School, his talent earned him a nickname of "Korean Maradona". After graduated from high school, Choi attended Korea University for two years. Club career Choi joined K League club Ulsan Hyundai Horang-I on 27 February 2003. He adapted quickly to the professional league, scoring seven goals in his debut season. He was nominated for the K League Rookie of the Year award, but lost out to Jung Jo-gook. In his second season, Choi couldn't concentrate on his club by playing for Olympic team, and scored only one goal during 19 league appearances. He was loaned out to J1 League club Kashiwa Reysol ahead of the 2005 season, but didn't make the reversal of his flow for five months. Choi became the top goalscorer in the 2006 Korean League Cup, showing his improvement the next year. He also left a memorable game against Al-Shabab in the 2006 AFC Champions League, where he led Ulsan to a 6–0 victory by destroying opponents' defense as well as scoring two goals. He moved to Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma after the 2006 season. Choi went on a trial at Championship side Sheffield United after the end of the 2007 season, but the club decided against signing him. Choi who remained in his country participated in the 2008 Jomo Cup contested between all-star teams of K League and J.League. He led K League to a 3–1 win by having a goal and an assist in the Jomo Cup and was selected as the MVP of the match. In December 2008, Choi enlisted in military football team Gwangju Sangmu to fulfill his military duty. Choi moved to Suwon Samsung Bluewings prior to the 2011 season, signing a three–year contract. Shortly after, he was announced as the new captain for Suwon. However, Choi was implicated in match-fixing scandal while playing for Gwangju Sangmu. He denied his involvement when media reports raised the allegations about throwing matches, but soon admitted it as the scandal deepened. Consequently, he was tentatively dropped from his team and stripped of his captaincy. It was officially announced in August 2011 that he