Former European national team member Park Joo-ho, who decided to take off his soccer boots, could not hide his laughter at the worry of his eldest daughter, Park Na-eun.메이저사이트
Park Joo-ho played his last game as an active player in the 17th round Suwon FC-Ulsan Hyundai confrontation of ‘Hana 1 Q K League 1 2023’ held at Suwon Sports Complex on the 6th.
Park Joo-ho, who debuted as a professional player in 2008, announced on the 26th of last month that he had decided to retire from active play. Suwon decided to hold his retirement ceremony on June 6 in line with Park Joo-ho’s uniform number 6.
Park Joo-ho, who made his professional debut in the J-League in Japan, played for FC Basel, Mainz, and Borussia Dortmund from 2011 to 2017, and has been active in Europe for a long time. He wore the Taegeuk mark in the Korean national soccer team and played 40 A matches and scored one goal.
Park Joo-ho, who returned to the Korean K-League in 2018, played for Ulsan until 2020 and played as a Suwon FC player from 2021.
Park Joo-ho, who is playing the 2023 season as a veteran of Suwon, is in the middle of the season, but as he decides to retire from active duty, he decides to leave the ground he has been playing for 16 years.
Many fans came to the stadium that day to support Park Joo-ho’s new start. At the 6th minute of the first half, the fans clapped and shouted for 60 seconds, shining Park Joo-ho’s retirement match.
Although Suwon suffered a 1-3 come-from-behind loss to Ulsan, the last game of his active career was not crowned with victory, but Park Joo-ho, who played as a starter that day, played a game with no regrets as he roamed the field until he was replaced in extra time in the second half.
After the game, Park Joo-ho attended a press conference and sincerely answered questions fans were curious about, including why he decided to retire even though he was still able to play full-time.
The following is Park Joo-ho’s Q&A.
– First, please tell us about your retirement.
It wasn’t easy for him to retire because he was in the middle of the season, but he feels comfortable now that he has made the decision. He thinks it was the best choice. It would have been nice if we had gotten the results in today’s game, but we did our best against the strong team Ulsan. He finished his 16-year professional career with hard work and best efforts.
-If you were to give a score when you look back on your past active career, how many points would you give out of 100?
I kept achieving what I set out to do and I kept challenging myself. He is a character with no regrets. When I was a player, I always gave 60 to 70 points, but today I finished with no regrets, so I want to give 100 points.
-I can’t help but ask about the background that made you decide to retire.
I’ve been thinking about retirement since last year. When he was a little better and could go to the game, he thought he would like to retire inside the playground. Last year, my wife was not feeling well, and I hated that if I retired, it would look like I was retiring because of her. Personally, I decided to retire because I thought it was too much for me while playing this season.
– Suwon’s performance (9th in the league) is not so good. I don’t think it was easy to decide to retire in this situation.
When I announced my intention to retire to the team, it was when I had not lost in 4 games in a row and was in 5th place. I thought that the players could do enough even if I missed it. Although the style is different, (Lee) Young-jae is discharged in the summer and reinforcements can be made in the summer transfer market, so I conveyed my thoughts to the manager (Kim Do-gyun). Since then, the team has been in a difficult situation with a losing streak, but I think we can overcome it.
– Please define what kind of player you were.
He was a player whose style was always changing. So, many coaches gave him various positions and appointed him. I’ve always been a player who did my best in any situation given to the team.
– Please pick three of the happiest and most regrettable moments during your career as a player.
As a happy moment, when I came from the K-League and won the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Champions League with Ulsan, the moment when I went up to the top split with many goals last year (at Suwon FC), and today is one of the happy moments. The bad memories are now when Ulsan won the runner-up in the last game of 2019. It was a bit of a heartbreaking moment.
-I want to ask who did you seek advice from before retiring?
I didn’t tell my co-workers beforehand. At the end, I only talked to (Lee) Yong-i, who was close to me. Fearing that the players would be upset, he did not speak until after the Jeonbuk match. After the Jeonbuk match, I heard that rumors were circulating about (retirement), and I thought it would be better for me to tell the players myself. I talked a lot with my family and the company, but the most important thing was my will.
– After announcing your retirement, overseas fans, including the Japanese J-League, were also saddened.
He heard that Mito Holly Hawk (Park Joo-ho’s professional debut team) also got caught. A friend in Japan also asked if he had seen the retirement news, so we talked. I talked a lot with Gaga and Shinji, and since they were the same age as me, I was contemplating when to retire, so there was a consensus.
During the 2022 Qatar World Cup, coach Sergio, who was the national team coach, also contacted me and said, “Congratulations and thank you. He was a player with many good memories.” He has also received many messages from players, but he has not yet confirmed them all. We plan to share the story later.
-Lee Seung-woo held back his retirement. Other co-workers seem to have dissuaded him as well.
The players continued to hold back. I was grateful that the players valued me, but I was sorry, but I couldn’t turn it over. When I said that, he told me to take a break for six months and come back like Wonhee hyung (Cho) (laughs).
– Please pick the most memorable match during your Suwon FC days.
First of all, we won our first win against Ulsan, a game we won on the road. Since then, there has been no win against Ulsan, so it is memorable. We have never won against Pohang, but we did win 2-1 last year. And the 4-3 win over Seoul is also memorable.
-I want to know what kind of conversation you had with the Ulsan players, your home team.
Ulsan players also “really struggled”. Thank you for sympathizing with me, saying, “It’s not like other people’s business.” Even after the game, I couldn’t talk much because there was an event, but I talked a lot with Lee Chung-yong and Park Yong-woo the day before through messages and phone calls.
– He said that when he retires, he will spend more time with his family.
I was with my family during my career as a player, but when I was training, there were times when I was away (from the house) for 1-2 months, and when there was a game, I was sorry for not being home for two days. Rather than neglecting it, I think I will be able to spend more time with my family in the future.
-I wonder how (Park) Na-eun and (Park) Geon-hoo reacted when they said they were retiring.
I talked to Na-Eun and Geon-Hoo, and after feeling a bit sad, Na-Eun said, “Then what will Daddy do to earn money now?” (laughs). After that, he hugged me saying that he had a hard time. He said he tried several jobs, but he told me not to cook. Geon-hoo whined about why he quit because he’s been into soccer lately, but instead he said he had more time to play soccer with you, and he liked it.
-What are your future plans?
The plan seems to have to be sorted out. Nothing has been decided for sure. In June, I think I will have to think a little while spending time with my family.