Koo Ja-cheol
Koo Ja-cheol was born in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea on February 27th, 1989 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 35, Koo Ja-cheol biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 35 years old, Koo Ja-cheol has this physical status:
Koo Ja-cheol (born 27 February 1989) is a South Korean footballer who competes for Al-Gharafa in the Qatar Stars League as a midfielder and has captained South Korea's national team. Koo has been praised for his technique and vision, with Goal.com lauding "his uncanny ability to find the back of the net, often revealing a rare talent for charging into the opposition penalty box unsighted."
Early life
When a nearby elementary school opened its football team, Koo began playing football at age ten. He mainly played as a defender throughout his youth, with occasional appearances in a sweeper role. However, he wasn't particularly notable, and the fact that he was anemian prevented him from gaining notice. Koo competed in the Baek High School Football Competition in 2006, which is annually held in Jeju Island, as a member of Boin High School. Boin High School's outstanding results attracted Jung Hae-seong, the then-manager of Jeju United, who was then the head coach of Boin High School.
Personal life
In Germany, Koo likes to go shopping in his spare time. He is currently the honorary ambassador for The Republic of Korea Air Force. On Twitter, Koo is also a close friend of his colleague Ki Sung-yueng, and they enjoy their friendly, amusing conversations. Aren't You Glad that Koo has a nickname called "Google Georim" (Korean: ) because of his occasionally goofy way of talking, Ki revealed on the Korean talk show Healing Camp. On June 24, 2013, Koo married a Jeju woman three years his senior at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel.
Club career
In 2007, Koo was selected by Jeju United in the K League draft. He didn't make a mark in Jeju's first two years due to a variety of injuries. However, he gradually fell into the first squad, mainly as a defensive midfielder. He was reportedly summoned by Blackburn Rovers for a trial in January 2010, but it didn't happen. He spent a stellar season in 2010 at Jeju instead, leading his team to an unprecedented runner-up finish. His work has also earned him awards such as the Top Assists Award, the FANtastic Player Award, and the Best XI.
During the winter transfer window, Koo successfully transferred to VfL Wolfsburg, earning a three-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee. In the 64th minute in the 1–0 home loss, Koo made his Wolfsburg debut against Hamburger SV on February 12, 2011 before returning as a replacement. During a year, he had trouble competing for places in the starting line-up.
On January 31, 2012, he went on loan to the league rivals FC Augsburg. He scored the equalizer outside of the penalty box on February 18, but Augsburg lost 4-1 to Bayer Leverkusen. With a lob outside the penalty zone on March 17, he tied the equalizer for the equalizer, and his goal gave the win over Mainz 05 by 2–1. On March 24, he was assisting the equalizer in the team's 1–1 draw against Werder Bremen. He scored the first goal outside the penalty area on March 31, contributing to a 2–1 victory over 1. FC Köln is a football team from Köln. He scored the equalizer through Manuel Neuer's legs on 7 April, but his goal was insufficient to prevent a 2–1 loss to Bayern Munich. In a 1–0 victory over Hamburger SV, he scored the winning goal with a header on 5 May. In 15 appearances, he scored five goals and two assists, becoming Augsburg's top goalscorer, despite the fact that he appeared only half a season for them. In Augsburg's maiden season in the Bundesliga, he was instrumental in assisting them in escaping relegation.
Koo was plagued by injuries in his second season as a coach in Augsburg, but he also helped his team relegate in the limited games he played in. He was involved in an altercation with Bayern Munich's midfielder Franck Ribéry during a DFB-Pokal match. After a tense free kick, he confronted Ribéry and touched his face. Ribéry slapped Koo in response. Referee Thorsten Kinhöfer issued Koo a yellow card and sent him off Ribéry. Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge requested that the dismissal be reversed, while Bayern's coach Jupp Heynckes chastised both Koo and Ribéry, saying that even though Koo provoked Ribéry, the latter should learn not to react under pressure.
He returned to Wolfsburg in the 2013–14 season as a central midfielder or winger. However, he wanted more appearances, and he liked playing as an attacking midfielder like when he played for Augsburg. On January 18, 2014, Koo revealed that it had signed a four-and-a-half year contract with Mainz 05. Nevertheless, he was used again as a winger to replace Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Nicolai Müller, who left Mainz 05, in the 2014–15 season. In the third qualifying round of the 2014--15 UEFA Europa League, he played a 1–0 victory against Asteras Tripoli on July 31. He scored his first Europa League goal on August 7th, but Mainz 05 were disqualified from the tournament after losing the second leg 3–1 to Asteras Tripoli. During 23 appearances in the 2014-2015 Bundesliga, he scored five goals and two assists.
After returning to Augsburg on August 31, 2015, Koo rejoined Augsburg, and Augsburg remained a member of three South Korean players, including Ji Dong-won and Hong Jeong-ho. He assisted with the opening goal in the first half with a backheel pass, but Augsburg lost 2–1 to Bayern Munich after conceding two goals in the second half. He won a penalty against Granit Xhaka on September 23, but it was insufficient to turn around Augsburg's loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. He scored a solo goal against Hannover 96 on February 21, 2016, making it the winning goal. He scored Augsburg's first-ever Bundesliga hat-trick on March 6, but Augsburg was unable to hold their 3–0 lead by drawing 3–3 with Bayer Leverkusen. With 29 appearances in the 2015–16 Bundesliga, he had eight goals and four assists. He also appeared in the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League, Augsburg's first UEFA qualifier. Augsburg won three victories and three losses in the group stage, and they were able to advance to the knockout stage. The club then lost 1–0 on aggregate to Liverpool in the round of 32. He was ranked fifth in the attacking midfielder rankings of the German sports magazine kicker from 2015 to 2016.
He made his 200th Bundesliga appearance against Mainz 05 on February 3, 2020. He left Augsburg by declining a contract extension with the club after the 2018-19 season. He wanted to work with one of the Bundesliga's top clubs, but Al-Gharafa, a Qatar Stars League team, won in August 2019.
International career
Koo was instrumental in South Korea's finish third in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, with five goals and three assists throughout the tournament, including finishing as the tournament's top scorer.
Koo played as a central midfielder for the South Korea under-23 team during the 2012 Summer Olympics. He appeared in every game of the tournament and scored his second goal in the second half of the bronze medal match against Japan, securing a 2–0 victory for Korea. For the first time in its Olympics history, the South Korean team captured the bronze medal in football, and in doing so, the second Asian team in the Olympics men's football tournament reached the semi-finals.
He was named captain of the national team ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and scored in a 4–2 loss to Algeria in the team's second group match. He was chosen for the 2015 Asian Cup and was instrumental in South Korea's opening match, a 1–0 victory over Oman, and was named man of the match. Ja-cheol sustained an injury during the match against Australia and missed the remainder of the tournament.
After South Korea lost in the quarter-finals of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup on January 25, Koo announced his departure from international service on January 25.