Park Chu-young

At 38 years old, Park Chu-young has this physical status:

Park Chu-young (born 10 July 1985) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a forward for FC Seoul.

Personal life

Park is a Christian. "Isus Christ" writes next to his autograph, and he has written about his faith, saying, "The first and most important reason why I play football is to evangelise people."

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Club career

Park made the most money in February 2005 when he joined a K League team in Seoul, earning him the highest salary among rookie players. For the first time in K League history, he scored 18 goals and four assists in 30 appearances (including the Korean League Cup). However, he failed the following year because his incompetences had been exposed by other teams. Due to his on-and-off foot injury, he missed 15 games in the 2007 season. Because of his injury, he missed FC Seoul's friendly match with Manchester United.

Park completed a move to Monaco on September 1, 2008. On his debut against Lorient in the 26th minute on September 13, he scored on his debut against Lorient. He assisted his colleague Frédéric Nimani's goal before being called off in the 2nd half. Park was named Man of the Match after the game ended 2–0, and the game was declared as the Man of the Match. He made 31 appearances in his first season at Monaco, scoring five times.

Park scored three goals in the first half of the season in his second season at Monaco. Park agreed to a three-year deal with Monaco on January 30, 2010, which will keep him until 2013. Despite three injuries during the season, Park stayed on the first team, scoring eight goals in twenty-seven appearances.

He had mixed success in Monaco last season. In the first half of the season, Park scored five goals. But then, Park celebrated after scoring against Sochaux, which resulted in him injuring his right knee and keeping him out for four weeks. Park scored his seventh goal of the season in a 3–1 victory over Lorient on February 13, 2011. Park scored a brace in a 2–2 home draw over Caen just 13 days later. He put on a good showing in the 2010–11 season, scoring 12 league goals, but the club was relegated to Ligue 2 after finishing 18th in the league. Park expressed his desire to leave Monaco in order to play in a competitive league after relegation. The club followed this news by a letter stating that they would not participate in Park's way from leaving the club.

Arsenal joined Park in an interesting fashion on August 30, 2011. Chu-Young is said to have been aware of Arsenal's threat and departed his hotel room without completing a medical with the Ligue 1 club Lille. He was given the number 9 shirt. In a 2-1 home victory over Bolton Wanderers on October 25, Chu-young scored his first goal for Arsenal in the fourth round of the Football League Cup. He made his Premier League debut as a substitute on January 22, 2012, losing by 82 minutes against Manchester United. In the 3–0 victory over Milan at the Emirates Stadium on March 6, 2012, he appeared as a replacement for Theo Walcott in the Champions League, but Milan defeated 4–3 on aggregate.

With new signing Lukas Podolski taking over the number 9, it was announced on August 8th. Park was advised by new national coach Hong Myung-bo to leave the club if Park wanted to remain in the national team following a loan spell at Celta Vigo. Park did not play a single game for Arsenal until October 30, 2013, when he came on as a replacement for Aaron Ramsey against Chelsea in the League Cup on the 81st minute. Arsenal lost the game 2–0. Despite rumors of a possible loan transfer to Wigan Athletic, the offer never came to fruition.

Park made no further appearances in the league with the first team starting from the beginning. On June 30, 2014, Park was released by the club as a free transfer. As a result of Arsenal's loss, Daily Telegraph reporter John Duerden would rate Park move to Arsenal as "the hardest call to answer since Colin Farrell picked up a public phone in Phone Booth in New York and endured a few hours of agony."

Park transferred to Celta de Vigo on a season-long loan from Arsenal amid reports of being linked to Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers and Al-Hilal. The number 18 shirt was given to him. He scored his first goal in his home debut in a 2–1 victory over Getafe on September 22, 2012, becoming the first South Korean player to score a goal in La Liga. In the Galician derby, Park would then score two more goals against Mallorca and Deportivo de La Corua. Park will hurt his right foot, putting him right away from this season and his career as a result of three goals in twenty one appearance.

Park was loaned to Watford in the remainder of the 2013–14 season from January 31. Park made his Watford debut as a 90th-minute replacement for Fernando Forestieri in the 2–0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion on February 2, 2014 and then got off to a 2–0 away loss against Bolton Wanderers on February 22, 2014 before being ruled out in the second half. However, Park played just two games for the club after suffering from thigh and toe injuries.

Despite being released by Arsenal, Park joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Shabab on October 1st, 2014, signing a one-year deal. In a 1–0 win over Al-Hilal on October 17, Park scored on his debut on his debut.

Park returned to FC Seoul on March 10, 2015. In a 1–0 away win over FC Seoul in the final round of the season on Friday, he scored his only goal for the team against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, boosting his side to win the 2016 K League 1.

International career

Park Chu-young was named Most Valuable Player of the 2004 AFC Youth Championship after leading the South Korean under-20 team to the championship. He scored a goal against Nigeria on a free kick in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. He also played in the 2008 Summer Olympics for the under-23 team, scoring a free kick against Cameroon.

In the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Park Chu-young was South Korea's first-choice striker. In a 4–1 loss to Argentina, Park scored a vital free kick, but he recovered himself by scoring a vital free kick in a 2–2 draw with Nigeria. Park's free kick just before halftime struck Uruguay's paper, and South Korea lost 2–1.

Park and Kim Jung-woo were invited to compete in the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou with Park and Kim Jung-woo. Former national team captain Hong Myung-bo led the team. Park did not participate in the first game against North Korea, which resulted in a 1–0 loss. In the next game against Jordan, which South Korea defeated 4–0, he came off the bench. He started against Palestine in the last group game against them, scoring his second goal in the 3–0 win before being suspended. South Korea qualified in Group C for the knockout round after finishing second place with six points. Park played the entire game against China, scoring a goal in the 50th minute to help South Korea win by 3–0. Park was once more influential in leading Korea to victory in the quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan. Park scored his third goal of the tournament just a few minutes into the first period of extra time, after the teams played to a 1–1 draw in normal time. South Korea eventually won the game 3–1, but Park was forced to leave in the 108th minute. Although Park played in the semifinal match against UAE, he was unable to locate the net and South Korea lost 1–0 after UAE scored in the last minute of extra time. Park scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the bronze medal game against Iran. Park tapped in the ball from a cross to bring the score to 3–2. South Korea eventually defeated 4–3 to win the bronze medal, with two goals from Ji Dong-won.

Despite being on the roster for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, Park was unable to participate due to an injury and was replaced on the roster by Ji Dong-won. He was named captain of the national team to replace retiring Park Ji-sung after the tournament. However, Lee Jung-soooo became the national head coach in 2012, replacing Park Chu-young.

Park revealed in October 2011 that he'll have to leave Arsenal in two years to serve in the military, which would put an end to his football career. Park, on the other hand, could postpone his service until 2022 because he qualified for a long-term residency in Monaco in March 2012. This meant that his mandatory military service was exempted under South Korean rule, which restricts military service only from domestic men under the age of 35. As the uproar over his postponement of military service erupted, he denied opposing conscription and pledged to fulfill his obligation.

Park was selected by the director Hong Myung-bo to represent the South Korean Olympic team as an over-age participant. The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in Seoul, South Korea. He scored the first goal in a group match against Switzerland, giving the team a crucial victory over the quarter-finals. He scored the winning goal against three Japanese defenders in a bronze medal match against Japan. Olympic medalists could have been barred from the military service in South Korea, and so he was respectfully barred from it for his efforts.

Despite not playing regular first-team football for many years, Park was selected in the South Korea national squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He competed in the matches against Russia and Algeria. His results had been heavily criticized, particularly because he failed to fire in either match. For the team's last match against Belgium, Kim Shin-wook was swapped by Kim Shin-wook. The other South Korean players who earned a bronze medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics also did not do well in the manager's set-up.

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