Choi Seong-Kuk, 2 Goals

“Who is that short guy with yellow hair?” “It’s Choi Seong-Kuk.” “He’s really small.” “He’s small, but is fast.”

It is at Daegu’s Suseong stadium, where the Korean national soccer team began its training on the 13th. 300 spectators gathered on the day, and their center of focus was definitely Choi Seong-Kuk (19. Korea Univ.)

For the soccer fans, who gathered to watch the World Cup national players training, Choi was the main attention-holder as the team’s `rising star`, and for residents, who just saw him on their way for picnics, Choi’s short height was especially interesting. Choi is 1 meter 70 tall, being the shortest player among the 20 national players, who participated in the training.

Choi left no regret in the 9-to-9 mini game that went on for 40 minutes. He wore a yellow vest, which is for the team’s top players, and made 2 goals to receive all the applause from the audience. In the 5th minute first half, he dribbled past Lee Min-Sung and made the first goal with a left-footed distance shot, and in the second half, he added another goal after receiving Cha Doo-Ri’s pass.

Although it was a practice match, the goals were quite `meaningful`. It was a good opportunity for Choi, who said in an interview that “I’m worried if I’ll shrink before the good players”, to gain confidence.

Also, the goals certainly made his presence known to coach Guus Hiddink. Ahn Jung-Hwan and Sul Gi-Hyun, whose joining were uncertain once, are to join the team on the 16th, making the start-up competition for the Costa Rican match more fierce. Choi, however, now is in better advantage than other players.

“Scoring in a practice match may not mean much, but it still feels good. I got confidence too,” said Choi.

buddy@donga.com