‘Unnumbered uniform is my motivation to try harder’

At the home of Oh Hyeon-gyu (21, Suwon Samsung FC), a national team uniform without a uniform number is hanging on the wall. Even today, whenever he leaves his house, he looks at the uniform in the frame and renews his commitment. “No matter what others say, it is a uniform that is valuable to me, and it can never be replaced with anything else,” Oh said. “It has given me the strength to move forward with a stronger determination.”

This uniform demonstrates that he almost became a striker for the Korean national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He arrived in Qatar with other national team players in the morning on November 14 to be prepared in the event Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham Hotspur) could not play due to an orbital bone fracture. However, as Son chose to participate in the match against Uruguay even by wearing a facial mask on November 24, Oh completely lost an opportunity to play on the “dream stage.”

However, rather than getting frustrated, he decided to bite the bullet. He played harder than anyone else as a practice partner at the training site and volunteered to serve as a ballboy and cheerleader for Team Korea. “I studied hard in my brain while watching how other players played. I renewed my ‘commitment never to give up’ and try my best to wear the national team uniform at the next World Cup without fail,” he said.


ycy@donga.com