Ji So-yun
Ji So-yun (Korean: 지소연, Korean pronunciation: [tɕi.so.jʌn]; born 21 February 1991) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Chelsea in the FA Women's Super League and the South Korean national team.
 Ji in 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 21 February 1991 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Seoul, South Korea | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Chelsea | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Dongsan Info & Industry HS | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Hanyang Women's University | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | INAC Kobe Leonessa | 48 | (21) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2014– | Chelsea | 91 | (34) | |||||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | South Korea U17 | 15 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2010 | South Korea U20 | 17 | (13) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2006– | South Korea | 125 | (61) | |||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 January 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 June 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ji So-yun | |
| Hangul | 지소연 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 池笑然 |
| Revised Romanization | Ji Soyeon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chi Soyŏn |
Club career
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Ji started her career in Japan, playing for L. League champions INAC Kobe Leonessa between 2011 and 2013. In November 2013, Ji was subject to a transfer bid from English club Chelsea.[2] She agreed to a two-year contract in January 2014.[3] When the transfer was officially confirmed later that month, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said of Ji: "She is one of the best midfielders in the world and our fans will love her."[4] In one of her final matches for the Japanese club, Ji scored against her soon-to-be new club, Chelsea, in the International Women's Club Championship final.[5]
Ji was named Players' Player of the Year after her first season in England, as Chelsea narrowly missed out on the FA WSL 1 league title on the last day of the season.[6] She was named PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year in April 2015 and was also named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year.[7][8]
At the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final, staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time, Ji scored the only goal of the match to win the Cup for Chelsea.[9] In October 2015 she also scored in Chelsea's 4–0 win over Sunderland which secured the club's first FA WSL title and a League and Cup "double".[10]
On 1 April 2018, Ji made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal.[11]
International career
Ji has represented South Korea at under-17 level and was part of the under-20 team that finished as the runners-up at the 2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and third at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.[12]
In October 2006, Ji made her senior team debut while playing at the 2006 Peace Queen Cup. On 30 November 2006, she became the youngest goalscorer (15 years, 282 days) for the South Korean senior team, after scoring two goals against Chinese Taipei at the 2006 Asian Games.[12][13]
Ji is the all-time top goal scorer of the South Korean women's national football team with 58 goals.[13]
International goals
- Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first.
| Goal | Date | Location | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 November 2006 | Doha, Qatar | .svg.png){kind=small} | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2006 Asian Games |
| 2 | 2–0 | |||||
| 3 | 17 February 2007 | Masan, South Korea |  | 1–0 | 5–0 | 2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers |
| 4 | 15 April 2007 | Hai Phong, Vietnam |  | 1–1 | 2–1 | |
| 5 | 2–1 | |||||
| 6 | 12 August 2007 | Cheongju, South Korea | | 1–0 | 2–1 | |
| 7 | 26 August 2009 | Tainan, Taiwan |  | 1–0 | 19–0 | 2010 EAFF Women's Championship qualifiers |
| 8 | 11–0 | |||||
| 9 | 12–0 | |||||
| 10 | 16–0 | |||||
| 11 | 19–0 | |||||
| 12 | 30 August 2009 | | 5–0 | 6–0 | ||
| 13 | 10 February 2010 | Tokyo, Japan |  | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2010 EAFF Women's Championship |
| 14 | 14 November 2010 | Guangzhou, China | | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2010 Asian Games |
| 15 | 16 November 2010 |  | 1–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 16 | 2–0 | |||||
| 17 | 5–0 | |||||
| 18 | 22 November 2010 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 19 | 7 March 2011 | Paralimni, Cyprus |  | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2011 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 20 | 18 June 2011 | Ehime, Japan |  | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 21 | 3 September 2011 | Jinan, China | | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2012 Summer Olympics Qualifiers |
| 22 | 14 January 2013 | Chongqing, China | .svg.png){kind=small} | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly (Yongchuan Cup) |
| 23 | 6 March 2013 | Paralimni, Cyprus |  | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2013 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 24 | 8 March 2013 |  | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 25 | 27 July 2013 | Seoul, South Korea | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup |
| 26 | 2–0 | |||||
| 27 | 5 March 2014 | Paralimni, Cyprus |  | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2014 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 28 | 7 March 2014 |  | 1–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 29 | 15 May 2014 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam |  | 1–0 | 12–0 | 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup |
| 30 | 17 May 2014 |  | 1–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 31 | 12 November 2014 | Hsinchu, Taiwan |  | 1–0 | 15–0 | 2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualifiers |
| 32 | 8–0 | |||||
| 33 | 15 November 2014 |  | 1–0 | 9–0 | ||
| 34 | 13 January 2015 | Shenzhen, China | | 2–2 | 3–2 | Friendly |
| 35 | 15 January 2015 |  | 2–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 36 | 4 March 2015 | Nicosia, Cyprus |  | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2015 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 37 | 5 April 2015 | Incheon, South Korea | | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 38 | 8 April 2015 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 39 | 13 June 2015 | Montreal, Canada |  | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup |
| 40 | 3 March 2017 | Nicosia, Cyprus |  | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2017 Cyprus Women's Cup |
| 41 | 6 March 2017 | Larnaca, Cyprus |  | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| 42 | 5 April 2017 | Pyongyang, North Korea | | 8–0 | 10–0 | 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification |
| 43 | 10–0 | |||||
| 44 | 11 April 2017 |  | 2–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 45 | 4–0 | |||||
| 46 | 19 August 2018 | Palembang, Indonesia |  | 1–0 | 8–0 | 2018 Asian Games |
| 47 | 21 August 2018 |  | 10–0 | 12–0 | ||
| 48 | 12–0 | |||||
| 49 | 31 August 2018 | | 1–0 | 4–0 | ||
| 50 | 28 February 2019 | Sydney, Australia |  | 4–0 | 5–0 | 2019 Cup of Nations |
| 51 | 5–0 | |||||
| 52 | 3 March 2019 | Brisbane, Australia | .svg.png){kind=small} | 1–1 | 1–4 | |
| 53 | 6 March 2019 | Melbourne, Australia | | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 54 | 9 April 2019 | Chuncheon, South Korea |  | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 55 | 6 October 2019 | Chicago, United States |  | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 56 | 3 February 2020 | Seogwipo, South Korea | | 1–0 | 7–0 | 2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Third round |
| 57 | 3–0 | |||||
| 58 | 9 February 2020 | | 3–0 | 3–0 |
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 15 January 2020[14]
| Club | League | Season | League | Cup[lower-alpha 1] | League Cup[lower-alpha 2] | International[lower-alpha 3] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| INAC Kobe Leonessa | Nadeshiko League 1 | 2011 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 8 | ||
| 2012 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | — | 25 | 7 | |||
| 2013 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 19 | ||
| Total | 48 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 76 | 34 | ||
| Chelsea | FA WSL | 2014 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | — | 19 | 9 | |
| 2015 | 14 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 10 | ||
| 2016 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 23 | 10 | ||
| 2017 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 10 | 6 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 28 | 12 | ||
| 2018–19 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 30 | 9 | ||
| 2019–20 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 14 | 6 | |||
| Total | 91 | 34 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 8 | 20 | 5 | 150 | 62 | ||
| Career total | 139 | 55 | 30 | 21 | 35 | 14 | 22 | 6 | 226 | 96 | ||
- Includes the Empress's Cup and Women's FA Cup
- Includes the Nadeshiko League Cup and FA WSL Cup
- Includes the International Women's Club Championship and UEFA Women's Champions League
Honours
Club
INAC Kobe Leonessa
- Nadeshiko League 1: 2011, 2012, 2013
- Nadeshiko League Cup: 2013
- Empress's Cup: 2011, 2012, 2013
- International Women's Club Championship: 2013
Chelsea
International
- AFC U-19 Women's Championship Runner-up: 2009
- FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Third place: 2010
- Summer Universiade Gold medal: 2009
- Asian Games Bronze medal: 2010, 2014, 2018
Individual
- 2009 Summer Universiade MVP[15]
- 2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship Top Scorer
- 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Ball[15]
- 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Boot[15]
- KFA Women's Footballer of the Year:[13] 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019
- Asian Women's Footballer of the Year: 2013[15]
- FA WSL 1 Women's Player's Player of the Year: 2014[6]
- PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year: 2014–15[7][8]
- PFA Team of the Year: 2014–15,[7] 2015–16,[16] 2017–18,[17] 2018–19[17]
References
- "2015 World Cup" (PDF).
- "Chelsea Ladies FC interested in signing Ji So-yeon". Arirang. 29 November 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
- "Korean footballer Ji So-yun to sign two-year deal with Chelsea Ladies". Arirang. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- "Chelsea Ladies sign South Korean midfielder Ji So-Yun". BBC Sport. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- Bond, Steve (8 December 2013). "Chelsea Ladies lose to Inac Kobe Leonessa despite defiant late rally". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- "Chelsea's Ji So-Yun named WSL player's player of the year". BBC Sport. 14 November 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- "Who won what? PFA award winners in full". BBC Sport. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- "Chelsea midfielder Ji So-yun is the PFA Women's Player of the Year". Sky Sports. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- Aloia, Andrew (1 August 2015). "How Chelsea won the Women's FA Cup". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
- Garry, Tom (4 October 2015). "WSL 1: Chelsea Ladies 4–0 Sunderland Ladies". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
- "Ladies report: Arsenal 1 Chelsea 1". Chelsea F.C. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "[한국축구유망주60] 지소연: 여자축구의 미래이자 희망" [Ji So Yeon & apos; Future of women's football and hope] (in Korean). Korea Football Association. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- "각종기록" [Various records]. kfa.or.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- "Ji So-yun profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- "Chelsea's South Korean star eyes World Cup success". FIFA. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- "PFA awards: Leicester and Spurs dominate Premier League team". BBC Sport. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
- Association, Press (26 April 2019). "PFA Women's Team of the Year: Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City dominate". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ji So-yun. |
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