Kim Byung-ji (born 8 April 1970) is a former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who played for the South Korea national team as well as several clubs in the K League. He was noted for his unique hair style which looked like the tail of a bird.

Playing career

Kim spent 24 seasons as a professional player from 1992 to 2015. He kept 229 clean sheets and scored three goals while playing 706 games in the K League including

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Champions List of finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statis ...

. Kim was selected for the South Korean squad for the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. South Korea lost 5–0 to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in its second match, and South Korean players couldn't avoid journalists' criticisms after the defeat. Furthermore, South Korea's manager Cha Bum-kun was sacked, although the tournament was ongoing. However, Kim struggled in the Netherlands' 17 shots on target, and became the only player to receive acclaim despite conceding five goals.

Style of play

Kim played as a sweeper-keeper who helped the defense of his teams with rapid pace. He also had great reflexes, and was skilled in making super saves. However, his excessively active personality sometimes resulted in eccentric plays. In a match of the

2001 Lunar New Year Cup The 2001 Lunar New Year Cup (''aka Carlsberg Cup'') was a football tournament held in Hong Kong over the first and fourth day of the Chinese New Year holiday. Participating teams * Hong Kong League XI (host) * * * Squads Hong Kong League ...

against

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, he was deprived of the ball after he suddenly tried to

dribble In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

, and embarrassed Guus Hiddink, the former South Korea's manager. Kim formed a strong rivalry with

Lee Woon-jae Lee Woon-jae (; born 26 April 1973) is a South Korean former football goalkeeper. He was part of South Korea's 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup campaigns. He was the only Asian player nominated for the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of ...

in the K League and the national team, and also competed with him for the position as a starter in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

. Hiddink agonised over the choice of a goalkeeper until the start of the tournament, but selected Lee because of Kim's eccentric play in the Lunar New Year Cup.

After retirement

Kim is currently working as a

YouTuber A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influent ...

in the "Kkong-byung-ji-tv", his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel, after his retirement in 2015. On 28 May 2022, Kim signed with entertainment company Angry Dogs.

Career statistics

Club

International

Filmography

Television

Honours

Player

Sangmu FC * Korean Semi-professional League (Spring): 1992 * Korean Semi-professional League (Autumn): 1991 Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i *

K League 1 The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. History The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...

: 1996 *

Korean FA Cup The Korean FA Cup is a national football cup knockout competition of South Korea, held annually by the Korea Football Association (KFA). Before the FA Cup was established in 1996, two predecessor competitions named All Joseon Football Tournament ...

runner-up: 1998 *

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, 1998 Pohang Steelers *

runner-up: 2001,

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

FC Seoul *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

South Korea *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

fourth place:

Individual * Korean Semi-professional League (Autumn) Best Player: 1991 * K League 1 Best XI: 1996, 1998,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, 2007 * K League All-Star Game Most Valuable Player: 2000

Entertainer

References

External links

*
Kim Byung-ji – National Team Stats
at KFA * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Byung-ji 1970 births Living people Association football goalkeepers South Korean footballers South Korea international footballers Ulsan Hyundai FC players Pohang Steelers players FC Seoul players Gyeongnam FC players Jeonnam Dragons players K League 1 players 1996 AFC Asian Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players People from Miryang Footballers at the 1998 Asian Games South Korean association football commentators Asian Games competitors for South Korea South Korean YouTubers Sportspeople from South Gyeongsang Province