Ki Sung-yueng, Son Heung-min as promising Korean soccer players

There were players in overseas pro leagues that helped save Korean soccer in 2014, which was slumping. Ki Sung-yueng (26, Swansea City), and Son Heung-min (23, Bayern Leverkusen) are surely expected to serve as pillars buttressing self-confidence of Korean soccer again in 2015.

Ki Sung-yueng is enjoying unconditional trust of his team’s coach. As Ki was recruited to the Korean national team to participate in the Asian Cup Championship, manager Garry Monk of Swansea City AFC said, "I told him that he would be a big part of my plans and he has been a big player for us. We will miss him when he goes away (to the Asian Cup).” No other players threaten his stature in his pro team. He started in 19 of the 20 games played in this season’s Premier League, and played full-time in as many as 18 games of them. SBS TV soccer commentator Park Moon-seong said, “Ki is a midfielder who is enjoying attention from the entire League beyond Swansea City AFC. His stature and value will further elevate again this year.”

Son Heung-min has surely shown his best performance in the German Bundesliga. Son has scored a total of 11 goals (three assists) in this season. Six of the goals he scored were finishers. KBS TV soccer commentator Han Joon-hee said, “Even considering the performance he has displayed thus far, he is one of the best among the players who moved to Europe from Asia.” Experts predict chances are high that he will move to a more prestigious team for even better pay within this year.

Apart from the two, other Korean players overseas who are drawing attention include Kim Jin-soo (23, Hoffenheim). Commentator Han commented on Kim Jin-soo, saying, “He has skills and capacity strong enough to live up to his nickname `second Lee Young-pyo.’ Kim is excellent not only in speed, agility, but also ball crossing capability. I have high expectation for him going forward.” Park Joo-ho (28, Mainz), who Coach Ulrich Uli Stielike pays attention, also deserves high expectations this year. However, Han said, “Strictly speaking, Kim Jin-soo and Park Joo-ho do not have capacity to be able to immediately move to a Big pro club.”

Among the Korean players in the non-Europe leagues, Nam Tae-hee (24, Lekhwiya) in Qatar will likely draw more attention than any other players. Analysts say that Nam, who played in the French league in the past, can seek to rejoin a European league, if he continues to display performance at the current level.

In contrast, Lee Chung-yong (27, Bolton), who is considered one of the "Big Three" Korean players overseas, still has an uncertain future. The top priority for him is to exit from his current team, a minor league club in England. Both soccer commentators said, "Lee Chung-yong is flawless in terms of ability. But if he continues playing in a minor league team, he will have no chance to see a great opportunity." Lee Chung-yong is seeking to move to an Italian or German pro team in this winter’s transfer market that will continue through February.

Kim Bo-kyung (26, Cardiff City), Koo Ja-cheol (26, Mainz), and Ji Dong-won (24, Augsburg) have seen their performance significantly deteriorate in recent months. Unless they find a new turning point, they will likely experience rough waters ahead again this year.