Freiburg forward Jeong Woo-yeong scores season’s first goal

SC Freiburg forward Jeong Woo-yeong scored his first goal this season. It is the first goal by Korean strikers who are playing in Europe.

During the 13-round match against FC Koln in the 2022-2023 Bundesliga season held in Freiburg, Jeong scored the first goal seven minutes into the second half. With the winning goal of Michael Gregoritsch after 19 minutes of the game, Freiburg won 2-0 and accomplished three consecutive wins. The team (points 27) is now second after Bayern Munich (points 28), with eight wins, three ties, and two defeats.

Jeong also played as a second striker for the Salke 04 match on Oct. 31. During his play as a member of the Korean national team in the same position, he scored two goals in nine A-match games. Jeong’s performance was evaluated to have a great link with Son Heung-min of Tottenham, a front-line striker.

He also helped his team to be at the top of the group’s league with one goal and one assist from five Europa league games of UEFA. Before this match, he had one assist but now, with the score after 11 games, he is upping his games. WhoScored.com, a football statistics website, rated him 7.6, the second highest among Freiburg and Koln.

Unfortunately, news on other Korean strikers in the national team is rare, while the 2022 Qatar World Cup is scheduled to kick off on Nov. 13. Hwang Ui-Jo of Olympia Cos and Hwang Hee-chan of Woolverhamption have failed to score during this season. Only Lee Jae-sung of Mainz scored the second goal for the season on Oct. 15, and Lee Kang-in of Mallorca scored against Valencia on Oct. 23 were among the season’s Korean scorers.

Son, who recorded two goals during UEFA Champions League on Oct. 13, is now recovering from his home in Britain after undergoing surgery for his facial injury. "I sent him a message yesterday after the surgery and Sonny was really, really disappointed with this situation,” said Antonio Conte, the manager of Tottenham. “I am confident, confident that he can come back.” Tottenham was defeated by Liverpool 2-1.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com