Park Ji-soo (,

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 ...

: 朴志洙; born 13 June 1994) is a South Korean

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for Portuguese club

Portimonense Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimão. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. It al ...

and the South Korea national team.

Playing career

Park Ji-soo would play for top tier club

Incheon United Incheon United FC is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the city ...

's youth setup before he was promoted to their senior team where he signed his first professional contract at the start of the 2013 league season. Throughout the season he did not make any appearances for the team and was released from the club at the end of the season. This saw Park join

K3 League The K3 League is the third tier of South Korean football league system, which was created from the rebranding of the Korea National League (2003–2019) and the former K3 League (2007–2019) into K3 League and K4 League in 2020. 16 teams are ...

club

FC Uijeongbu FC Uijeongbu (Korean: FC 의정부) was a South Korean amateur football club based in Uijeongbu, South Korea. They played in the K3 League Basic, fifth tier of the South Korean football league system. History Founding According to their websi ...

for the 2014 league season before going on a practice match for

K League 2 The K League 2 (Hangul: K리그2) is the men's second-highest division of the South Korean football league system. It is contested between thirteen professional clubs, and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the K League 1. Hi ...

club

Gyeongnam FC Gyeongnam FC (Hangul: 경남 FC) is a South Korean professional football club based in South Gyeongsang Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Its home stadium is the Changwon Football Center, located ...

where he showed potential and was signed by the team. In January 2015, Park officially joined Gyeongnam FC and he would make his debut in a league game against Ansan Police on 22 March 2015 in a 0–0 draw. This would be followed by his debut goal for the club in a league match against

Chungju Hummel Chungju Hummel Football Club was a South Korean professional football club based in Chungju of Chungcheongbuk-do province. The club was based in Icheon from 2006 to 2007, and prior to that in Uijeongbu. Chungju Hummel played in the K League bet ...

on 5 July 2015 in a 1–1 draw. Park would establish himself as an integral part of the team's defence and go on to aid the club to win the 2017 K League 2 division and promotion to the top tier. Park and Gyeongnam FC would continue their upward trajectory and the club surprisingly came runners-up in the

2018 K League 1 The 2018 K League 1 was the 36th season of the top division of professional football in South Korea since its establishment in 1983, and the sixth season of the K League 1, former K League Classic. The K League Classic was changed its name to "K ...

campaign. On 20 February 2019, Park transferred to

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Association Super League, commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the China Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional football in ...

side

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...

. On 5 March 2019, he made his debut for the club in a 2–0 home win over Japanese side

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

in the

2019 AFC Champions League The 2019 AFC Champions League was the 38th edition of Asia's premier club association football, football tournament, organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 17th under the current AFC Champions League title. Al Hilal SFC, Al ...

. He would go on to establish himself as a regular within the team and go on to win the

2019 Chinese Super League The 2019 Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League () was the 16th season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League. The league title sponsor was Ping An Insurance. The season began on 1 March and ended on 1 December. Shanghai SI ...

title with the club. On 25 January 2023, Park signed for Portuguese club

on a one-and-a-half-year contract.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Gyeongnam FC *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Guangzhou Evergrande *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Gimcheon Sangmu *

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

South Korea * EAFF Championship:

Individual * K League 2 Best XI:

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

All-Star Squad:

Opta Best XI:

Notes

References

External links

* 1994 births Living people People from Mungyeong Association football defenders South Korean footballers South Korea international footballers Incheon United FC players Gyeongnam FC players Guangzhou F.C. players Portimonense S.C. players Chinese Super League players Primeira Liga players K League 2 players K League 1 players K3 League players South Korean expatriate sportspeople in China South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal South Korean expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in China Expatriate footballers in Portugal Footballers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of South Korea Sportspeople from North Gyeongsang Province {{SouthKorea-footy-defender-stub