confederacy korean football player

Koo Ja-cheol
Hangul

구자철
Hanja

具滋哲
Revised Romanization Gu Ja-cheol
McCune–Reischauer Ku Cha-ch’ŏl
Also spelled Gu Ja-chul or Ku Ja-chul

Koo. In this korean diagnose, the family name is Koo Ja-cheol ( korean : 구자철 ; korean pronunciation : [ ku.dʑa.tɕʰʌl ] or [ ku ] [ tɕa.tɕʰʌl ] ; born 27 February 1989 ) is a south korean football player who plays for Al-Khor as a midfielder. Koo is one of the three most successful confederacy korean players with careers in the german Bundesliga, aboard Cha Bum-kun and Son Heung-min. [ 2 ] He played for VfL Wolfsburg, FC Augsburg and Mainz 05 with 211 Bundesliga appearances. [ 3 ] He besides captained the South Korea national team in the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and won a bronze decoration in the Summer Olympics .

early life [edit ]

Koo started football at historic period ten when a nearby elementary school opened its football club. During his early young career, he by and large played as a defender, often taking carpet sweeper role. however, he was n’t particularly outstanding and the fact he suffered from anemia besides hindered him from gaining attention. In 2006, as a penis of Boin High School, Koo participated in the Baekrok High School Football Competition that is per annum held in Jeju Island. Leading Boin High School to a runner-up put with an great performance, he grabbed the attention of Jung Hae-seong, who was then the director of Jeju United .

Club career [edit ]

Jeju United [edit ]

In 2007, Koo was selected by Jeju United in the K League draft. He failed to make an depression in his first two years at Jeju due to numerous injuries. however, he slowly broke into the first team, largely playing as a defensive midfielder. In January 2010, he was reportedly invited by Blackburn Rovers for a test, but the motion did n’t happen. [ 4 ] He spent a great season in 2010 at Jeju rather, driving his club to an unprecedented runner-up placement. His contribution besides enabled him to gain personal honors such as the top Assists Award, the FANtastic Player Award, and the Best eleven .

VfL Wolfsburg [edit ]

On 30 January 2011, Koo successfully moved to VfL Wolfsburg during the winter transfer window, signing a three-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee. [ 5 ] On 12 February 2011, Koo made his Wolfsburg debut against Hamburger SV, coming on as a utility in the 64th moment in the 1–0 home kill. [ 6 ] however, he had difficulty competing for places in the starting line-up during a year .

loanword to FC Augsburg [edit ]

On 31 January 2012, he moved on lend to the league rivals FC Augsburg. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] On 18 February 2012, he scored the counterweight with a non-stop blast outside the punishment area, but Augsburg lost 4–1 to Bayer Leverkusen. [ 9 ] On 17 March 2012, he scored the counterweight with a lob outside the penalty area, and his goal contributed to a 2–1 victory against Mainz 05. [ 10 ] On 24 March 2012, he assisted the equalizer, leading team ‘s 1–1 trace against Werder Bremen. [ 11 ] On 31 March 2012, he scored the opening goal with a depleted shoot outside the punishment area, contributing to a 2–1 victory against 1. FC Köln. [ 12 ] On 7 April 2012, he scored the equalizer through Manuel Neuer ‘s leg, but his goal could n’t prevent a 2–1 passing to Bayern Munich. [ 13 ] On 5 May 2012, he scored the winning goal with a header, leading a 1–0 victory against Hamburger SV. [ 14 ] During his loan menstruation, he scored five goals and provided two assists in 15 appearances, becoming Augsburg ‘s top goalscorer, though he played merely half a season for them. [ 15 ] He performed a significant part in helping Augsburg to escape relegation in their maid season in the Bundesliga. [ 16 ] In his moment season at Augsburg, Koo was plagued by injuries, but he inactive helped his club survive delegating in the express games he played in. In a DFB-Pokal match, he was involved in an affray with Bayern Munich ‘s midfielder Franck Ribéry. After a quarrel free kick he confronted Ribéry and touched his face, in answer Ribéry slapped Koo. [ 17 ] Referee Thorsten Kinhöfer gave Koo a yellow card and sent off Ribéry. Bayern Munich film director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge demanded that the ejection be overturned, while Bayern ‘s coach Jupp Heynckes blamed both Koo and Ribéry, stating that although Koo had provoked Ribéry the latter should learn to not react under atmospheric pressure. [ 18 ]

Mainz 05 [edit ]

In the 2013–14 season, he returned to Wolfsburg, and played as a central midfielder or winger. however, he wanted more appearances, and prefer bet as an attacking midfielder like when he played for Augsburg. [ 19 ] [ 20 ] On 18 January 2014, it was announced that Koo penned a four-and-a-half year softwood with Mainz 05. [ 21 ] On 1 February 2014, he scored his beginning goal for Mainz in a 2–0 victory over SC Freiburg. [ 22 ] In the 2014–15 season, however, he was used as a winger again to replace Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Nicolai Müller, who left Mainz 05. [ 23 ] On 31 July 2014, he contributed to a 1–0 victory by assisting the winning goal against Asteras Tripoli in the third gear qualifying round of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. [ 24 ] On 7 August 2014, he scored his first Europa League goal, but Mainz 05 were eliminated from the tournament by losing the second base leg 3–1 to Asteras Tripoli. [ 25 ] He recorded five goals and two assists in 23 games of the 2014–15 Bundesliga. [ 26 ]

refund to FC Augsburg [edit ]

On 31 August 2015, Koo rejoined Augsburg, so Augsburg spent a season with three south korean players, including Ji Dong-won and Hong Jeong-ho. [ 27 ] On 12 September 2015, he assisted the first step goal with a backheel run in the foremost half, but Augsburg lost 2–1 to Bayern Munich after conceding two goals in the second half. [ 28 ] On 23 September 2015, he won a penalty against Granit Xhaka, but it was insufficient to reverse the resultant role, and Augsburg lost 4–2 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. [ 29 ] On 21 February 2016, he scored a solo finish against Hannover 96 and it became the victorious goal. [ 30 ] On 6 March 2016, he scored the first-ever Bundesliga hat-trick of Augsburg, [ 31 ] but Augsburg drew 3–3 with Bayer Leverkusen, failing to protect their 3–0 star. [ 32 ] He recorded eight goals and four assists with 29 appearances in the 2015–16 Bundesliga. [ 33 ] He besides participated in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, the first UEFA competition in Augsburg ‘s history. [ 34 ] Augsburg recorded three wins and three losses in the group stage, and succeeded in advancing to the hard stage, [ 35 ] but they lost 1–0 on aggregate to Liverpool in the round of 32. [ 36 ] After the 2015–16 season, he was ranked fifth in the attacking midfielder rankings of the german sports magazine kicker. [ 37 ] On 3 February 2020, he achieved his two-hundredth Bundesliga appearance against Mainz 05. He left Augsburg by turning down a abridge extension with the club after the 2018–19 season. [ 38 ] [ 39 ] He wanted to abridge with one of the top teams of the Bundesliga, [ 40 ] but finally joined Qatar Stars League slope Al-Gharafa in August 2019. [ 41 ]

International career [edit ]

Koo played a central role in helping South Korea finish third gear in the 2011 AFC asian Cup, with five goals and three assists over the tournament, finishing as the tournament ‘s clear scorekeeper. [ 42 ] During the 2012 Summer Olympics, Koo played as a central midfielder in the South Korea under-23 team. He appeared in every game in the tournament, and scored the second finish during the moment one-half of the bronze decoration match against Japan, securing a 2–0 victory for Korea. The south korean team won the tan decoration in football for the first meter in its Olympics history and in doing so, became the second base asian team in the Olympics men ‘s football to reach the semi-finals. [ 43 ] He was named captain of the national team ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and scored in a 4–2 defeat to Algeria in the team ‘s irregular group match. [ 44 ] He was selected for the 2015 asian Cup and played a decisive function in South Korea ‘s open peer, a 1–0 victory over Oman, and was named world of the meet. [ 45 ] In the match against Australia, Ja-cheol suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the tournament. On 25 January 2019, Koo announced his retirement from external duty after South Korea lost in the quarter-finals of the 2019 AFC asian Cup. [ 46 ]

style of play [edit ]

Koo showed his best performance when play as an attacking midfielder, though he in the first place deployed as a defensive midfielder. He sometimes played as a cardinal midfielder, second striker, or winger if necessary. [ 19 ] [ 47 ] He was praised for his techniques, particularly the endowment for getting out of opponents ‘ press while keeping the ball. [ 48 ] He besides had an ability to find the back of the web, often displaying a bent to charge into the confrontation punishment box blind. [ 49 ] however, he was occasionally criticized that his individual ability slowed down his team ‘s tempo. [ 48 ]

personal life [edit ]

Koo likes to go shopping in his spare time in Germany. [ 50 ] He is presently the honorary ambassador for The Republic of Korea Air Force. [ 51 ] Koo is besides a close ally with his teammate Ki Sung-yueng, and they like to display their friendly, humorous conversations on Twitter. Ki revealed on the korean speak testify Healing Camp, Aren’t You Happy that Koo has a nickname called “ Koogle Georim ” ( korean : 구글거림 ) because of his sometimes goofy way of talking. [ 52 ] On 24 June 2013, Koo married a Jeju woman three years his senior at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel. [ 53 ] [ 54 ]

career statistics [edit ]

club [edit ]

As of match played 3 May 2021[55]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Jeju United 2007 K League 10 1 1 0 6 0 — 17 1
2008 K League 9 0 0 0 5 0 — 14 0
2009 K League 22 1 2 1 6 1 — 30 3
2010 K League 29 5 4 0 1 0 — 34 5
Total 70 7 7 1 18 1 — 95 9
VfL Wolfsburg 2010–11 Bundesliga 10 0 0 0 — — 10 0
2011–12 Bundesliga 12 0 0 0 — — 12 0
2013–14 Bundesliga 10 0 2 0 — — 12 0
Total 32 0 2 0 — — 34 0
FC Augsburg (loan) 2011–12 Bundesliga 15 5 0 0 — — 15 5
2012–13 Bundesliga 21 3 1 0 — — 22 3
Total 36 8 1 0 — — 37 8
Mainz 05 2013–14 Bundesliga 14 1 0 0 — — 14 1
2014–15 Bundesliga 23 5 1 1 — 2[a] 1 26 7
2015–16 Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 39 6 1 1 — 2 1 42 8
FC Augsburg 2015–16 Bundesliga 27 8 1 0 — 8[a] 0 36 8
2016–17 Bundesliga 23 2 2 1 — — 25 3
2017–18 Bundesliga 28 2 1 0 — — 29 2
2018–19 Bundesliga 26 2 2 0 — — 28 2
Total 104 14 6 1 — 8 0 118 15
Al-Gharafa 2019–20 Qatar Stars League 18 1 0 0 — — 18 1
2020–21 Qatar Stars League 20 5 4 2 0 0 1 0 25 7
Total 38 6 4 2 — 9 0 43 8
Career total 319 41 21 5 18 1 11 1 369 48

International [edit ]

As of 25 January 2019[56]
National team Year Apps Goals
South Korea U20 2007 4 3
2008 5 0
2009 7 2
Total 16 5
South Korea U23 2008 1 0
2009 1 0
2010 6 3
2012 8 2
Total 16 5
South Korea 2008 2 0
2009 0 0
2010 8 2
2011 15 7
2012 3 1
2013 6 2
2014 8 1
2015 8 3
2016 7 2
2017 8 1
2018 7 0
2019 4 0
Total 76 19
Career total 108 29

International goals [edit ]

Scores and results list South Korea’s goal tally first.

Honours [edit ]

South Korea U23
South Korea
Individual

References [edit ]