Suwon FC’s Park Joo-ho, a defender for the South Korean national soccer team, has ended his playing career.
Suwon FC lost 1-3 to Ulsan Hyundai in the 17th round of the Hana One Q K League 2023 at Suwon Sports Complex on June 6.
The match was highlighted by Park’s retirement. Suwon head coach Kim Do-gyun put Park into the starting lineup, and in the sixth minute, fans clapped for 60 seconds to honor Park’s number. Park showed some promise in the first half, sending in a sharp cross in the 14th minute, but left the field in the 91st minute. The Suwon fans honored him with a standing ovation as he left the field.
Park held a retirement press conference after the game. He said, “I’ve been setting goals and challenging myself, and I have no regrets. When I was a player, I always gave myself 60 to 70 points, but today I want to give myself 100 points because I finished well without regrets.”
“I had a strong feeling that I wanted to retire on the field with a body that could continue to play,” Park said, “I’ve been thinking about retiring 메이저놀이터 since last year, but I didn’t want to be seen as retiring because of my sick wife. I thought about retiring last year, but I didn’t want to be seen as retiring because of my wife, who was sick,” he said, adding that he decided to retire because of his passion for soccer and whether he would be able to play in the future.
Park cited winning the 2020 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League with Ulsan as his happiest moment in the K League and the 5-2 win over Ulsan on July 25, 2021, as his most memorable moment with Suwon FC.
“Shinji Kagawa (Japan), a former teammate of mine at Dortmund (Germany), contacted me,” Park said, “and we talked about retirement because we are the same age and he is also a player who is about to retire. Coach Sergio, who coached the national team at the World Cup in Qatar, also said, ‘Congratulations, I have a lot of good memories of you,'” he said.
He also shared the reactions of Park Joo-ho’s daughter Park Na-eun and brother Park Geon-hoo, who gained fame through the TV entertainment program ‘Superman is Back’.
Park Joo-ho said, “Na-eun was sad at first, but then she asked me, ‘How are you going to make money in the future? ‘ Then she hugged me and said, ‘I’m sorry for the trouble,'” and laughed, saying, “I said, ‘I’ll try something else,’ but she said, ‘But don’t cook. “He was sad because he’s really into soccer these days, and he was about to cry, saying, ‘Why are you going to quit,’ but I said, ‘I can spend more time playing soccer with you,’ and he was happy.”
“I don’t have any definite plans yet. This month, I’m going to spend time with my family, organize my schedule, and think about what I can do.”
Park made his professional debut in 2008 with Mito Holyhawk in Japan’s J2 League, followed by Kashima Antlers and Jubilo Iwata (both in Japan), before playing in Europe with FC Basel (Switzerland), Mainz and Dortmund (Germany) since 2011, and Ulsan in the K League since 2018.
He competed at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and joined South Korea as a wild card at the Incheon Asian Games in the same year, where he helped the team win gold.
He went on to represent his country at the 2015 Asian Cup and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he anchored the back line.
Park received a plaque of appreciation from Suwon FC President Lee Jae-joon and Suwon FC supporters in a pre-match retirement ceremony, and after the match, he received a rinse from the Suwon FC squad.
