Park Chu-young


Park Chu-young is a South Korean footballer who plays as a forward for FC Seoul.

Club career

FC Seoul

In February 2005, Park joined the K League, where he signed with FC Seoul with highest salary as rookie player In Park's first season, he scored in second appearance. Eventually, he scored 18 goals and gave 4 assists in 30 appearances including matches of the Korean League Cup, receiving the K League Young Player of the Year award by common consent for the first time in K League history. However, he underperformed the next year because his weaknesses were exposed by other teams, and played only 15 games during the 2007 season due to his on-and-off foot injury. He also missed the FC Seoul's friendly match with Manchester United during the time of his injury.

Monaco

On 1 September 2008, Park completed a move to Monaco. On 13 September, he scored on his debut against Lorient in the 26th minute. In the 2nd half, he assisted his teammate Frédéric Nimani's goal before being substituted. The game ended 2–0, and Park was named as the Man of the Match. In his first season at Monaco, he went on to make 31 appearance, scoring five times.
In his second season at Monaco, Park scored three goals in the first half of the season. On 30 January 2010, Park signed a three-year contract with Monaco that would keep him until 2013. Despite having three injuries during the season, Park remained on the first team, as he scored eight goals in twenty-seven appearance.
His last season at Monaco gave him mixed results. Park scored five goals in the first half of the season. But then, after scoring against Sochaux, Park celebrated, which resulted him injuring his right knee and kept him out for four weeks. On 13 February 2011, Park scored his seventh goal of the season in a 3–1 win over Lorient. Thirteen days later, Park scored a brace in a 2–2 home draw over Caen. He made a good display in the 2010–11 season, scoring twelve league goals, the club, however, was relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing 18th place in the league. The relegation led Park to announce his desire to leave Monaco to play in a competitive league. This was followed up by the club, who stated they wouldn't stand in Park's way from leaving the club.

Arsenal

In somewhat strange circumstances on 30 August 2011, English Premier League club Arsenal signed Park. It is believed Chu-Young became aware of Arsenal's interest and departed his hotel room without finishing a medical with the Ligue 1 club Lille. He was given the number 9 shirt. On 1 November, Chu-young started his first UEFA Champions League match, a 0–0 draw against French outfit Marseille. He scored his first goal for Arsenal in the fourth round of the Football League Cup against Bolton Wanderers on 25 October 2011 giving them a 2–1 win. On 22 January 2012, he made his league debut for Arsenal as a substitute, 82 minutes into a 2–1 home defeat by Manchester United. On 6 March 2012, he made an appearance as a substitute for Theo Walcott in the Champions League, in the 3–0 win against Milan at the Emirates Stadium, though Milan won 4–3 on aggregate.
On 8 August 2012, it was confirmed that the forward had been reassigned the number 30 shirt, with new signing Lukas Podolski taking over the number 9. Following a loan spell at Celta Vigo, Park was advised by newly national coach Hong Myung-bo to leave the club if Park was to remain in the national team. Park did not play a game for Arsenal for another 14 months until 30 October 2013 when he came on as a substitute for Aaron Ramsey on the 81st minute against Chelsea in the League Cup. Arsenal lost the game 2–0. Although there was a discussion of a possible loan move to Wigan Athletic, the deal never materialized.
From that point forward, Park did not make any further appearances in the league with the first team. Park was released by the club on a free transfer on 30 June 2014. As a result of his flop at Arsenal, Daily Telegraph reporter John Duerden would compare Park move to Arsenal as "the worst call to answer since Colin Farrell picked up a New York public phone in Phone Booth and endured a few hours of misery."

Loan spells

Amidst reported interest from Blackburn Rovers and Al-Hilal and rumours of being linked to Nottingham Forest, on 31 August 2012, Park moved to Celta de Vigo on a season-long loan from Arsenal for the 2012–13 La Liga season. He was given the number 18 shirt. On 22 September 2012, he scored his first goal in his home debut in a 2–1 victory over Getafe, becoming the first South Korean player ever to score a goal in La Liga. Park would then score two more goals against Mallorca and Deportivo de La Coruña in the Galician derby. Park would injure his right foot, which put him the end to this season and went on to score three goals in twenty one appearance.
On 31 January 2014, Park was loaned to Championship side Watford for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. Park made his Watford debut as a 90th-minute substitute for Fernando Forestieri in the 2–0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion on 2 February 2014 and then made his first start for Watford in a 2–0 away loss against Bolton Wanderers on 22 February 2014 before he came off in the second half. However, Park only made two appearance for the club after sustaining injuries to his thigh and toe.

Al-Shabab

Despite his intention to stay in Europe after being released by Arsenal, Park joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab on 1 October 2014, signing a one-year contract. Park scored on his debut, in a 1–0 victory against Al-Hilal on 17 October 2014.

Return to FC Seoul

Park returned to FC Seoul on 10 March 2015. On 6 November 2016, he scored the only goal for FC Seoul in a 1–0 away victory against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the final round of the season, helping his team to win the 2016 K League 1.

International career

Youth career

Park Chu-young participated at the 2004 AFC Youth Championship, where he led the South Korean South Korea under-20 team to a record-breaking eleventh title. In the process, he won the Golden Ball Award and was chosen Most Valuable Player of the tournament. At the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, he scored a goal with a free kick against Nigeria. He also participated in the 2008 Summer Olympics with South Korea under-23 team, scoring a free kick again against Cameroon.

2010 FIFA World Cup

On 17 June 2010, Park scored an own goal in a 4–1 defeat to Argentina at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, Park redeemed himself in Korea's next match against Nigeria by scoring a crucial free kick in a 2–2 draw, allowing the South Korea to advance to the round of 16. In the round of 16, Park's free kick just before halftime struck the left goal post. A late goal from Luis Suárez put Uruguay on top. The final score was 2–1 to Uruguay who then advanced to the quarter-finals in the 2010 World Cup at the expense of South Korea.

2010 Asian Games

Park, along with Kim Jung-woo, was called to the under-23 team to participate in the 2010 Asian Games held in Guangzhou. The team was led by former national team captain Hong Myung-bo. Park did not play in the first game against North Korea, which ended in a 1–0 loss. He came off the bench in the next game against Jordan, which South Korea won 4–0. He started the last group game against Palestine, in which he scored the second goal in the 3–0 victory before being substituted. South Korea advanced to the knockout round, having finished second place in Group C with six points. In their next match against China, Park played the entire game, scoring a goal in the 50th minute to help South Korea to a 3–0 win. In the quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan, Park was once again influential in leading Korea to victory. Park scored his third goal of the tournament a few minutes into the first period of extra time, after the teams played to a 1–1 draw in normal time. South Korea eventually won the game 3–1, and Park was substituted in the 108th minute. Although Park played in the semifinal match against UAE, he was unable to find the net and South Korea lost 1–0 after UAE scored in the last minute of extra time. In the bronze medal game against Iran, Park scored his fourth goal of the tournament. With South Korea trailing 3–1, Park tapped in the ball from a cross to bring the score to 3–2. South Korea eventually won 4–3 to secure the bronze medal, with two goals from Ji Dong-won.

2011 AFC Asian Cup

Although Park had been listed on the roster for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, he was unable to participate due to an injury and was replaced on the roster by Ji Dong-won. Following the tournament, he was named captain of the national team to replace the retiring Park Ji-sung. But in 2012, newly appointed head coach Choi Kang-hee named Lee Jung-soo as captain of the national side, replacing Park Chu-young.

2012 Summer Olympics

In October 2011, Park announced that in two years time he had to leave Arsenal to do military service for his country, which may have delayed his football career. In March of the following year, however, South Korea's Military Manpower Administration announced that Park could delayed his service until 2022 because he got the qualification of long-term residency in Monaco. This means his mandatory military service is exempted according to South Korean law, which allows military service until the age of 35. When the controversy about the problem of Park's military service was becoming large, he denied the evasion of his service, and announced he would perform his obligation.
Park was selected as an over-aged player by the South Korea under-23 team's manager Hong Myung-bo for the 2012 Summer Olympics. He scored the opening goal in the second group stage match against Switzerland. In the bronze medal match against Japan, he scored the first goal in a 2–0 victory, winning a bronze medal which exempted his military service. He was honorably exempted from military service with his great performances.

2014 FIFA World Cup

Despite not playing regular first-team football for several years, Park was included in the South Korea national squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He played in the matches against Russia and Algeria. His performances were heavily criticized, particularly because he registered no shots on target in either match. He was replaced by Kim Shin-wook for the team's final match against Belgium. The other South Korean players who won a bronze medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics also did not perform well in the manager's set-up.

Personal life

Park is a Christian. Park writes Jesus Christ next to his autograph and has spoken about his faith saying, "The first and main reason why I play football is to evangelise people."

Career statistics

Club

International goals

Honours

FC Seoul
Monaco
South Korea U20
South Korea U23
South Korea
Individual