In July of last year, the match between Coupang Play Series team K-League All-Stars and Tottenham Hotspur (England) was held at Sangam World Cup Stadium in Seoul. At the start of the second half, a 17-year-old defender substitutes and plays in front of 60,000 spectators.
This player made a fatal mistake against Son Heung-min (Tottenham), which led to a loss and the team lost. It was a highly eventful game, but a fatal mistake in front of a large crowd and conceding a goal could have been fatal to the young player. However, even after making his mistake, he persevered and confidently played his own game and finished the game. National team captain Son Heung-min left this comment towards this player after the match. “Even though he was young, it was cool to play without panicking after making a mistake.” Veteran Son Heung-min also made a fatal mistake, but he promised a future by leaving favorable reviews for the young player’s play.
It was surprising that he was included in the list representing the K-League at the age of 17 and a semi-professional contract at the time, but the part that this player was receiving love calls from Bayern Munich (Germany) and Brentford (England) the following year was also surprising. That part is surprising.
The main character of this amazing story is Seongnam FC defender Kim Ji-soo. Kim Ji-soo was born in 2004 and is a new adult player who turned 20 in Korean age this year. Kim Ji-soo, who entered the professional stage as the first semi-professional contract player for the Seongnam club last year, attracted the attention of many soccer fans by making a big success on the K-League stage as a senior in high school.
Did they say that heroes appear in troubled times? The story of Kim Ji-soo’s appearance is like this. Last year, Seongnam recruited Kwon Wan-kyu (Seoul) from Pohang Steelers and Kim Min-hyeok (Buri-ram), a key defender from Jeonbuk Hyundai, as free agents. Seongnam, who successfully felt the effect of national team defender Kwon Kyung-won (Gamba Osaka) in the 2021 season and succeeded in staying, expected the so-called “Kwon Gyeong-won effect” from Kwon Wan-gyu and Kim Min-hyuk.
However, this effect could not be seen in the 2022 season. Kim Min-hyeok, who had high expectations, only played 4 league games due to the aftermath of an injury, and Kwon Wan-gyu did his part, but the force did not come out in Seongnam as much as he did in Pohang. Suffering from injuries and sluggishness, Seongnam fell to the bottom of the league and was on the brink of relegation. Former Seongnam coach Nam-Il Kim, who could not find a defensive solution in the existing squad, took an adventure by placing 17-year-old Kim Ji-soo on the starting list in the 12th round of the league.
Match between Seongnam and Suwon Samsung in round 12 of the league. Kim Ji-soo started and digested the first 45 minutes without difficulty. He might be nervous, but Kim Ji-soo blocked Suwon’s attack with his whole body and digested his first debut match on the professional stage. Round 13 match against Suwon FC. Kim Ji-soo played full-time as a starter following the previous game. the game that follows. Kim Ji-soo started 9 consecutive games until the 21st round and played a full-time role.
Since then, Kim Ji-soo has drawn attention as a defender representing the K-League in just 10 league games and was selected as a member of the Team K-League All-Star. This happened in just 10 games. There was a big mistake in the All-Star game, but Kim Ji-soo was not shaken. Kim Ji-soo, who played an active role as Seongnam’s key defender at the age of 3 in high school, failed to prevent the second relegation in the team’s history. 스포츠토토
high school age. In other words, at the age of a minor, Kim Ji-soo in the 2022 season jumped into the K-League 1 Seongnam’s main defender and finished the season with 1 help in 19 league appearances. Based on this performance, Kim Ji-soo was also selected for the U-20 national team led by coach Kim Eun-joong, and later served as the team’s main defender, and the team advanced to the U-20 World Cup finals at the AFC U-20 Asian Cup held in Uzbekistan in February and March. He also made a big contribution to securing tickets.