Park Joo-young: I Don’t Feel Tired at All

“I will now do my best for the national youth team,” said “soccer prodigy” Park Joo-young (20, FC Seoul), who lead the Korean national soccer team to its sixth consecutive advance to the World Cup.

On June 10, Park, who played fully in the matches against Uzbekistan and Kuwait in Group A of Asia’s final preliminary rounds for the 2006 Germany World Cup after being selected as a member of the national team of adult players on May 24, has arrived in Emmen, Netherlands where the 2005 World Youth (under the age 20) Soccer Championships will take place.

Park, who had performed brilliantly by scoring two goals in a row in deadly away matches, joined the training camp of the national youth team without showing any signs of distraction, despite his tough schedule.

Park noted, “I have no problem with my physical strength, and have no injuries at all. As I have long trained and played with members of the national youth team, I expect there won’t be any problem in our organizing ability, either.”

It took as many as 16 hours and four different flights for Park to get to the Netherlands. In spite of repeated training and matches in a country with a hot climate, no exhausted look was found on his face. Rather, he looked full of confidence with his consecutive goals as a member of the national team of adult players.

Park flew to the Netherlands from Kuwait with his fellow teammate on the national youth team, Kim Jin-kyu (20, Jubilo Iwata), and will again challenge the national youth team’s milestone semi-final finish in the World Youth Championships (this year to be held on June 10), which was accomplished 22 years ago.

Park said, “In fact, I thought there would be a big difference in the national adult team and the national youth team, but I actually found no major problems as senior players on the national team help me in many ways. I also gained some scoring confidence. I’ll continue performing well for my fans back in Korea.”

As a matter of fact, Park Joo-young has become Korea’s best striker following preliminary matches for the World Cup as he scored goals in a series while competing against his senior players on the national adult team in which the best players in Korea joined forces.

Park’s dream is to advance to the Premier League in England. Park’s participation in the World Youth Championships is a preliminary stage for achieving his dream.

Meanwhile, Park Joo-young expressed his gratitude to the readers of Dong-A Ilbo and fans for their support throughout his games. Park pledged a victory to his fans saying, “I appreciate your all-giving support.”

Jong-KooYang yjongk@donga.com