Ji Dong-won

At 32 years old, Ji Dong-won has this physical status:

Ji Dong-won (born 28 May 1991) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a winger for 1.

FSV Mainz 05 and the South Korea national team.

Early life

Born in Chuja Islands, an archipelago of Jeju City, Ji began his football career at Gwangyang Jecheol High School. (Jeonnam Dragons under-18 team). One of the best prospects in South Korea, Ji was sent to an English club Reading in 2007 by the Korea Football Association. After a brief spell in Reading Academy, Ji moved back to his home country to rejoin Jeonnam Dragons' youth team, where he started his career. It was announced in November 2009 that Ji was promoted to the first team of Jeonnam Dragons.

Personal life

Ji is nicknamed the "Tuna", because his name was the same as Dongwon Industries, a company famous for canned tuna in South Korea.

In June 2017, Ji married Kang Ji-eun, an older sister of Kang Ji-young, a former member of K-pop girl group Kara. The couple first met in 2015.

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Club career

Ji scored 13 goals in his first professional season, with a hat-trick against Gyeongnam in the 2010 Korean FA Cup. Despite losing the K League Young Player of the Year award to his rival Yoon Bit-garam, he became a national player due to his outstanding results. Ji made the switch to Premier League side Sunderland in the summer transfer window last year.

After impressing boss Steve Bruce with his results in the 2011 Asian Cup in which he scored four goals and two assists in six games, Ji decided to join Sunderland of the English Premier League as a summer transfer in June 2011. He agreed to a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee (estimated to be around £2 million). Ji was given a number 17 shirt when joining the club, ahead of the new season.

Ji made his debut for his new club in a 1–1 draw with Arminia Bielefeld in the club's pre-season tour of Germany. In a pre-season friendly against Darlington, he scored his first goal for Sunderland. In the 66th minute against Liverpool, Ji made his league debut for Sunderland on August 13, 2011. Ji scored his first Premier League goal against Chelsea in the 90th minute of a Nicklas Bendtner assist on September 10, 2011, which Sunderland lost 2–1. Ji scored the winning goal in the 90th minute in just 12 minutes after being on as a replacement in Manchester City's second-half on January 1, 2012. However, his first team appearances at Sunderland were limited due to his fitness, and he remained invariably as a late replacement. As a result, he fought in the reserve team to regain his match fitness. Ji's first team opportunities were reduced by new Manager Martin O'Neill towards the end of the 2011–12 season. Despite this, Ji continued to make the most appearances and scoring twice in all competitions.

Ji was told by manager O'Neill that if he is 100% produce on his potential, he will struggle to develop physically in the Premier League. However, he didn't make it to the first team in the first half of the season and ended up in the reserve team.

Ji made his first Sunderland appearance in over a year in a 1–0 loss against Fulham in the season's opener. He was a member of Paolo Di Canio's first team and turned down a £5 million bid from an unidentified club for a male footballer. However, Ji was barely included in the first team after Di Canio's ouster, Gus Poyet's new leadership. In a 1–0 loss to Aston Villa on January 1, 2014, he made his first appearance under Poyet in his first appearance under Poyet, what would be his last appearance. Despite his appearances by the time of his departure, Sunderland failed to gain international recognition from the German Football Association, resulting in a fine by the Premier League.

Ji obtained a cult hero badge among the club's followers during his time at Sunderland.

Ji was matched with Jeonnam Dragons and FC Augsburg when his Sunderland opportunities were limited. On January 1, 2013, Ji signed for FC Augsburg on loan for the remainder of the season, where his national teammate, Koo Ja-cheol, was also on loan.

Ji made his Augsburg debut against Fortuna Düsseldorf on January 20. In a 2–1 victory over 1899 Hoffenheim on February 24, he scored his first goal for Augsburg. Ji scored two goals against Eintracht Frankfurt on April 14th, clinching a 2–0 victory for his team. He later scored in two victories over VfB Stuttgart and Greuther Fürth, helping Augsburg avoid relegation. The club was still interested in signing Ji at the end of the season on a permanent basis, but it didn't meet the deadline for purchasing options.

Sunderland reported on January 17th that Ji had signed a permanent transfer for an undisclosed fee until the 2013–14 Bundesliga season and would sign for Borussia Dortmund.

Ji started his second spell with FC Augsburg against Borussia Dortmund; after being called back to the game with 20 minutes to play, Ji scored a header to tie the game 2–2. Even though he suffered injuries later this season, Ji kept in the first team for the remainder of the season.

After completing his loan period with Augsburg, Ji signed a four-year deal with Borussia Dortmund on July 1, 2014. However, he made his appearances with the reserve team, prompting the return to Augsburg. This was also a result of injuries. Ji found the six months of his stay in Augsburg, before his transfer to Augsburg, as "difficult" there was.

Ji signed a three-and-a-half-year deal with FC Augsburg on December 22, 2014, after struggling to appear competitively for Borussia Dortmund, before moving to Borussia Dortmund on September 22nd.

In a 4–1 victory over AZ on 5 November 5, Ji scored his first Europa League goal. During the 2015–16 season, he struggled to recover his form due to his repetitive injuries, and was unable to score in the Bundesliga.

Ji began the season well when he was a rookie on the team and found himself fighting alongside Takashi Usami, Caiuby, and Jonathan Schmid in the attacking midfield role. In a 2–1 loss to RB Leipzig on September 30, 2016, he scored his first goal of the season. In the second round of the DFB-Pokal, the following month scored twice in a 3–1 loss against Bayern Munich. Ji scored two more goals against Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund by the end of 2016. Ji began playing forwards after Alf Finnbogason and Ral Bobadilla's absence, but he struggled to score under the new circumstances. Despite this, Ji appeared in all 34 games in the 2016–17 Bundesliga.

Ji scored twice against his former club Borussia Dortmund on March 1st, leading Augsburg to a stunning 2–1 upset over the league's leaders.

Ji transferred to Mainz 05 and Eintracht Braunschweig after a long time in Augsburg, but the teams weren't particularly good, but neither club was particularly good. Ji will join FC Seoul on July 7th, 2021.

International career

Ji had been called up for the under-23 team before being a member of the under-20 team in the 2010 Asian Games. He scored a spectacular equalizer and winning goal in the 88th and 89th minutes respectively, resulting in a 4–3 victory and a trophy in the bronze medal match against Iran.

Ji was called up to the senior team of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. In a 1–0 victory over Syria on December 30, 2010, he made his senior debut and scored in a 1–0 win. After proving his worth in the friendly, he was chosen for the Asian Cup team. In a group match against India, he scored two goals. Ji then scored twice for the second time in the third place match against Uzbekistan, earning a bronze medal. Ji scored four goals in six games, catching Sunderland boss Steve Bruce's eye during the tournament.

Ji participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics two years ago. He was a reserve until the end of the group competition, but he appeared as a starter in the quarter-finals against Great Britain. He scored the first goal against Great Britain, punishing his boss Hong Myung-bo for mistaking him. Since his team defeated Japan in the bronze medal competition, he earned a bronze medal.

Ji was a replacement in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the group stage, he appeared against Algeria and Belgium twice.

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