Pak Doo-ik ( Chosungul: 박두익;

Hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

: 朴斗翼; born 17 December 1943) is a North Korean 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 ...

player. He is well known for being the footballer who scored the goal which knocked out

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

from the group stage of the 1966 World Cup.

Career

Pak Doo-ik was born in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. He represented

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

at the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 July to 30 July 1966. The England national football team defeated West Germany 4-2 in the ...

in England, scoring the winning goal in their 1–0 win over

at Ayresome Park,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, a game since documented in the film '' The Game of Their Lives'' by British filmmaker Daniel Gordon. The result is still considered one of the World Cup's biggest ever upsets, with Italy – holders of a then joint-record two world titles – having been widely expected to face no difficulty in comfortably beating North Korea, who were making their tournament debut. Drawn in a group with Italy, Chile and the USSR, the North Koreans were based in the north-eastern English industrial town of

during the tournament, playing their matches at Ayresome Park stadium. After a 0–3 defeat against the USSR, their courageous and spirited display in an exciting 1–1 draw against Chile won the hearts of the local people. Their surprising win against the powerful Italians further cemented their popularity in the town. Pak, speaking in 2002 on a return to Middlesbrough with the surviving members of the 1966 North Korea team, recalled that "It was the day I learnt football is not all about winning. I learnt that playing football can improve diplomatic relations and promote peace." After the victory, Pak, who was, at the time, a corporal in the

North Korean army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General ...

, was promoted to sergeant. An original ticket to the match is on display among other historical football items at the

FIFA World Football Museum The FIFA Museum is an association football museum operated by FIFA. The museum is located in Zürich, Switzerland, across town from the FIFA headquarters. It opened on 28 February 2016. The project, costing over SFr500 million ($563m), is current ...

in Zurich. Although the North Koreans – having led 3–0 – eventually lost 3–5 to Portugal in their quarter-final match played at

Goodison Park Goodison Park is a football stadium in the Walton area of Liverpool, England. It has been the home stadium of Premier League club Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892. Located in a residential area 2 miles (3 km) north of Liverpool ...

stadium in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, they did so cheered on by 3,000 fans from Middlesbrough who had made the coast-to-coast journey of 150 miles to support them. Pak and his team-mates had made their mark on a town and a region, and written their names into World Cup folklore. After the championship, Pak left the military and retired from football and became a

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...

instructor. An

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...

that persisted for a long time in the

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

had it that Pak was a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

, although this was not the case. Ayresome Park stadium was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate was built on the site. In honour of the famous goal, in the front garden of one new house were permanently placed cast-iron football boot

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

marks in the earth, at the exact position of Pak Doo-ik's feet when he scored against Italy with his shot from the edge of the penalty area. During the

2008 Olympic torch relay The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China. The relay, a ...

, he was the first to carry the Olympic torch.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pak, Doo-Ik 1942 births Living people Association football forwards North Korean footballers North Korea international footballers 1966 FIFA World Cup players Moranbong Sports Club players Sportspeople from Pyongyang North Korean football managers North Korean military personnel People's Athletes