Koo Ja-cheol

Koo Ja-cheol
Koo with South Korea in 2017
Personal information
Full name Koo Ja-cheol
Date of birth (1989-02-27) 27 February 1989
Place of birth Nonsan, South Korea
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 FC Augsburg
Number 19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2010 Jeju United 70 (7)
2011–2014 VfL Wolfsburg 32 (0)
2012–2013 → FC Augsburg (loan) 36 (8)
2014–2015 Mainz 05 39 (6)
2015– FC Augsburg 80 (12)
National team‡
2007–2009 South Korea U20 16 (5)
2009–2012 South Korea U23 16 (5)
2008– South Korea 70 (19)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 September 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 June 2018
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 Ja-cheol (Hangul: 구자철; Korean pronunciation: [ku.dʑa.tɕʰʌl] or [ku] [tɕa.tɕʰʌl]; born 27 February 1989) is a South Korean footballer who plays as midfielder for FC Augsburg and the former captain of South Korean football team.

Blessed with technique and vision, Koo "has an uncanny ability to find the back of the net, often displaying a knack to charge into the opposition penalty box unsighted."[2]

Career

Early career

Koo started football at age ten when a nearby elementary school opened its football club. During his early youth career, he mostly played as a defender, often taking sweeper role. However, he wasn't particularly outstanding and the fact he suffered from anemia also hindered him from gaining attention. In 2006, as a member of Boin High School, Koo participated in the Baekrok High School Football Competition that is annually held in Jeju Island. Leading Boin High School to a runner-up place with an outstanding performance, he grabbed the attention of Jung Hae-seong, who was then the manager of Jeju United.

Jeju United

In 2007, Koo was selected by Jeju United in the K-League draft. He failed to make an impression in his first two years at Jeju due to numerous injuries. However, he slowly broke into the first team, mostly playing as a defensive midfielder. In January 2010, he was reportedly invited by Blackburn Rovers for a trial, but the move didn't happen. He spent a great season in 2010 at Jeju instead, driving his club to an unprecedented runner-up position. His contribution also enabled him to gain personal honors, as he received the 'FAN'tastic Player award and the Top Assist award and was included in the Best XI.

VfL Wolfsburg

On 30 January 2011, Koo Ja-cheol successfully moved to VfL Wolfsburg during the winter transfer window, signing a three-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee.[3] On 12 February 2011, Koo made his VfL Wolfsburg debut against Hamburger SV, coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute in the 0–1 home defeat.[4] He finished the 2010–11 season with 10 appearances.[5] He finished the 2011–12 season with Wolfsburg with 12 appearances.[6] He finished the 2013–14 season with 12 appearances.[6]

Loan to Augsburg

On 31 January 2012, he moved on loan to the league rivals FC Augsburg.[7][8] During the loan period, he scored five goals in 15 appearances,[6] and played a significant part in helping Augsburg escape relegation in their maiden season in the Bundesliga.[9]

In his second season at Augsburg, Koo was plagued by injuries but still helped the club survive relegation in the limited games he played in. In December 2012 he was involved in an on the field altercation with Bayern Munich's midfielder Franck Ribéry in a 2–0 2012–13 DFB-Pokal loss. After a disputed free kick he confronted Ribéry and touched his face, in response Ribéry slapped Koo.[10] Referee Thorsten Kinhöfer gave Koo a yellow card and sent off Ribéry. Bayern Munich 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 pressure.[11] He finished the 2012–13 season with three goals in 24 appearances.[12]

Mainz 05

On 18 January 2014, it was announced that Koo penned a four-and-a-half year deal with Mainz 05.[13] He scored his first goal for Mainz in a 2–0 victory over SC Freiburg.[14] He finished 2013–14 season with Mainz with a goal in 14 appearances.[6] He finished the 2014–15 season with seven goals in 26 appearances.[15]

Augsburg

On 31 August 2015, Koo rejoined Augsburg. On 6 March 2016, he scored Augsburg's first hat-trick in the Bundesliga, against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.[16] He scored eight goals in 36 appearances during the 2015–16 season with Augsburg.[6] He scored three goals in 25 appearances during the 2016–17 season.[17] He scored two goals in 29 appearances during the 2017–18 season.[18]

International career

Koo played a central role in helping South Korea finish third in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup, with five goals and three assists over the tournament, finishing as the tournament's top scorer.[19]

During the 2012 London Olympics, Koo played as a central midfielder in the Korean national team. He appeared in every game in the tournament, and scored the second goal during the second half of the bronze medal match against Japan, securing a 2–0 victory for Korea. The South Korean team won the bronze medal in football for the first time in its Olympics history and in doing so, became the second Asian team in the Olympics men's football to reach the semi-finals.[20]

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 second group match.[21] He was selected for the 2015 Asian Cup and played a decisive role in South Korea's opening match, a 1–0 victory over Oman, and was named man of the match.[22] In the match against Australia, Ja-cheol suffered an injury and missed the remainder of the tournament.

Career statistics

Club

As of matches played on 22 September 2018.
ClubSeasonLeagueCup[lower-alpha 1]League Cup[lower-alpha 2]ContinentalTotalRef.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Jeju United2007K League 11011060—171
2008900050140
20092212161303
20102954010345
Totals70771181—959—
Wolfsburg2010–11Bundesliga10000—100[5]
2011–1212000120[6]
2013–1410020120[6]
Totals32020—340—
Augsburg (loan)2011–12Bundesliga15500—155[6]
2012–1321310223[12]
Totals36810—378—
Mainz 052013–14Bundesliga14100——141[6]
2014–15235112[lower-alpha 3]1267[15]
2015–162000—20[6]
Totals39611—21428—
Augsburg2015–16Bundesliga27810—8[lower-alpha 3]0368[6]
2016–1723221—253[17]
2017–1828210292[18]
2018–19410041
Totals821341—809414—
Career totals2593415318110130239—
  1. ↑ Appearances in the Korean FA Cup and DFB-Pokal.
  2. ↑ Appearances in the Korean League Cup.
  3. 1 2 Appearances in the UEFA Europa League.

International

As of 27 June 2018[23]
South Korea
YearAppsGoals
200820
200900
201082
2011157
201231
201362
201481
201583
201672
201781
201850
Total7019

International goals

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
19 January 2010Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Zambia2–42–4Friendly
27 February 2010National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan Hong Kong2–05–02010 EAFF Championship
310 January 2011Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Bahrain1–02–12011 AFC Asian Cup
42–0
514 January 2011Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar Australia1–01–1
618 January 2011Thani bin Jassim Stadium, Doha, Qatar India2–04–1
728 January 2011Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar Uzbekistan1–03–2
87 June 2011Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju, South Korea Ghana2–12–1Friendly
915 November 2011Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut, Lebanon Lebanon1–11–22014 FIFA World Cup Qualification
1012 June 2012Goyang Sports Complex, Goyang, South Korea Lebanon3–03–02014 FIFA World Cup Qualification
116 September 2013Sungeui Arena Park, Incheon, South Korea Haiti2–14–1Friendly
1215 October 2013Cheonan Baekseok Stadium, Cheonan, South Korea Mali1–13–1
1322 June 2014Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil Algeria2–42–42014 FIFA World Cup
1427 March 2015Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea Uzbekistan1–01–1Friendly
158 October 2015Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait1–01–02018 FIFA World Cup Qualification
1612 November 2015Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea Myanmar2–04–0
171 September 2016Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea China PR3–03–22018 FIFA World Cup Qualification
1815 November 2016Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea Uzbekistan2–12–1
1914 November 2017Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium, Ulsan, South Korea Serbia1–11–1Friendly

Honours

International

South Korea

Individual

Personal life

Koo likes to go shopping in his spare time in Germany.[27] He is currently the honorary ambassador for The Republic of Korea Air Force.[28] Koo is also a close friend with his teammate Ki Sung-yueng, and they like to display their friendly, humorous conversations on Twitter.[29] Ki revealed on the Korean talk show Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy that Koo has a nickname called "Koogle Georim" or 구글거림 in Korean because of his sometimes goofy way of talking.[30] On 24 June 2013, Koo married a Jeju woman three years his senior at the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel.[31][32]

References

  1. ↑ "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 8 July 2018. p. 16.
  2. ↑ "Marco Fabian, Isco and the young stars who could emerge at the 2012 Olympics". Goal.com. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "구자철, VfL 볼프스부르크 이적" (in Korean). jeju-utd.com. 31 January 2011.
  4. ↑ "Neustart missglückt: 0:1-Heimniederlage gegen den HSV" (in German). vfl-wolfsburg.de. 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 February 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Ja-Cheol Koo". kicker.de. kicker. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Ja-cheol Koo » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  7. ↑ "FCA verpflichtet Koo Ja-Cheol" (in German). FC Augsburg.de. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "Augsburg sign Koo Ja-Cheol". Bundesliga.de. 31 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  9. ↑ "Augsburg Celebrate Survival". Sporting Life. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Slap Fight! Franck Ribery sent off for cuffing Koo Ja-Cheol (Augsburg v Bayern)". 101 Great Goals.com. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  11. ↑ "Rummenigge calls for Ribery red card justice". ESPN.com. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Ja-Cheol Koo". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Ja-Cheol Koo wird Mainzer" (in German). Mainz05.de. 18 January 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ja-cheol Koo » Bundesliga 2013/2014". World Football. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Ja-Cheol Koo". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "South Korean Koo Scores Augsburg's First Bundesliga Hat-Trick". The Global Herald. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
  17. 1 2 "Ja-Cheol Koo". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  18. 1 2 "Ja-Cheol Koo". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Wolfburg Sign Jeju United's Koo Ja Cheol After Impressive Asian Cup". goal.com. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  20. ↑ Teale, Chris (10 August 2012). "South Korea 2–0 Japan: Park & Koo strikes secure bronze". goal.com. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "South Korea 2–4 Algeria". BBC. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
  22. ↑ "South Korea aim to bank on former skipper Koo Ja-cheol to win first Asian Cup title in 55 years". Daily News and Analysis. Reuters. 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "KFA - Koo Ja-cheol".
  24. 1 2 3 "[K리그 대상] 개인상 싹쓸이 제주, 준우승 아쉬움 날렸다". Best Eleven. 20 December 2010.
  25. ↑ "AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2011". AFC.
  26. ↑ "양보없는 승부...구자철 '별 중의 별'". YTN. 21 June 2013.
  27. ↑ 구자철은 왜 독일에서 여자 취급받았나 (in Korean). Sportal Korea. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  28. ↑ 구자철, 공군 홍보대사 위촉 (in Korean). citydaily. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  29. ↑ "구자철아닙니다". twitter.com. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  30. ↑ 기성용, "구자철 별명은 구글거림" 폭로 (in Korean). asiae.co.kr. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  31. ↑ 구자철 결혼 발표...6월22일 연상녀와 '웨딩마치' (in Korean). etoday.co.kr. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  32. ↑ "Footballer Koo Ja-cheol is married". Dong A.com. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
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