Pak Kwang-ryong


Pak Kwang-Ryong is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a striker for SKN St. Pölten in the Austrian Football Bundesliga.

Club career

Born in Pyongyang, Pak originally played for Kigwanch'a SC of Sinŭiju, before joining FC Wil 1900 in Switzerland. He joined FC Basel on 27 June 2011 from Wil. He played for the club in the Uhrencup during July 2011 and scored a goal in the 2–1 win against West Ham United on 13 July 2011. Pak made his first team league debut as a substitute on 16 July 2011 in the 1–1 away draw against BSC Young Boys.
Because he was born in 1992 he was eligible to play for the newly formed Basel Under-19 team in the 2011–12 NextGen series. He scored his first goal for them during the team's first game against Tottenham Hotspur F.C. on 17 August 2011.
On 14 September 2011 Pak became the first North Korean to play in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League campaign, coming on the field in the 92nd minute. On his 19th birthday, 27 September 2011, Pak came on as a substitute in the 81st minute of FC Basel's 3–3 away draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford in another UEFA Champions League match. At the end of the 2011–12 season he won the Double, the League Championship title and the Swiss Cup, with Basel.
Pak could not gain a place in the first team during the 2012–13 season but played regularly in their U-21 side, scoring six goals in twelve matches. On 11 January 2013, Basel announced that some of their youngsters would be loaned out to lower league clubs and Pak signed a deal with Bellinzona, so that he could gain playing experience in the Challenge League.
On 20 June 2013, Basel announced that they would loan Pak to the Liechtensteiner club Vaduz in the Swiss Challenge League to gain more playing experience. Following the transfer of Raúl Bobadilla to Augsburg in the Bundesliga, and the injury to Marco Streller, Basel decided to recall the striker to their squad. Pak played just one more game for Basel before he was again loaned to Vaduz from January 2014 until the end of the season. Playing in all 18 games, he scored 9 goals and Vaduz finished the 2013–14 Swiss Challenge League season as winners and were promoted. Pak's loan was renewed for the following Swiss Super League season.
In February 2014, he was named North Korea's Male Footballer of the Year for 2013.
At the end of the 2014–15 season, Basel did not renew Pak's contract. On 1 July 2015, he joined Biel-Bienne as a free agent. On 4 January 2016, Biel-Bienne annulled their contract with Pak who then signed with Lausanne.

Career statistics

Club

International

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.19 February 2010Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka2–04–02010 AFC Challenge Cup
2.16 March 2012Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal1–02–02012 AFC Challenge Cup
3.16 March 2012Dasarath Rangasala Stadium, Kathmandu, Nepal2–02–02012 AFC Challenge Cup
4.16 June 2015Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea1–04–22018 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.17 November 2015Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea1–02–02018 FIFA World Cup qualification
6.6 October 2016Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam1–02–5Friendly
7.6 October 2016Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam2–22–5Friendly
8.10 October 2016Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila, Philippines1–03–1Friendly
9.9 November 2016Mong Kok Stadium, Mong Kok, Hong Kong2–02–02017 EAFF E-1 Football Championship qualification
10.6 June 2017Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar1–22–2Friendly
11.10 November 2017New I-Mobile Stadium, Buriram, Thailand1–04–12019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
12.13 November 2017New I-Mobile Stadium, Buriram, Thailand4-04–12019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
13.27 March 2018Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea2–02–02019 AFC Asian Cup qualification
14.17 January 2019Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates1–01–42019 AFC Asian Cup

Honours

North Korea
Basel
Vaduz