Song Ui-young

Song Ui-young (Hangul: 송의영, born 8 November 1993) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors. Song played as a striker in his youth career before converting to become a midfielder. Song is also well known for his high work rate and excellent technical ability.[4]

Song Ui-young
Personal information
Full name Song Ui-young
Date of birth (1993-11-08) 8 November 1993[1]
Place of birth Incheon, South Korea
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Lion City Sailors
Number 10
Youth career
Cheong Wang Middle School[3]
Yeouido High School[3]
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Roasso Kumamoto 18 (2)
2012 Suwon City 11 (2)
2012 → Home United (loan) 6 (0)
2013–2020 Home United 125 (28)
2020– Lion City Sailors 2 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 08:10, 21 March 2020 (UTC)

Early life

Song was born in Incheon, South Korea and spent most of his childhood between school and football. Song was known as a quiet child during his schooling days, but stood out for his footballing skills and passion for the sport. He was scouted in his final year of elementary school to join Cheong Wang Middle School, a school renowned for its footballing programme. Song also moved to the dormitory as the school premises were situated in the Gyeonggi-do province, away from Incheon where he lived.[5]

Youth career

At the age of 13, Song began training with the school team of Cheong Wang Middle School. In the final year of middle school, Song was made the team captain and his head coach also put in a recommendation during his graduation for him to attend his high school education at Yeouido High School, which was known for its affiliations with K.League Classic club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.[5]

By the recommendation of his coach from Yeouido High School, Song left South Korea at the age of 19 to pursue footballing opportunities in Singapore. Song's move to Singapore was eased by the presence of Home United's assistant coach Baek Jong-seok, whom he shared an apartment with. Song subsequently joined Home United's youth team, which participates in the Prime League.[5]

Club career

Roasso Kumamoto

Song briefly joined J.League Division 2 side Roasso Kumamoto in 2011. During his one season stint with the Japanese side, he made a total of 18 competitive appearances for the team, with 12 of the 19 appearances coming off the bench. He scored 2 goals for the Japanese side.

Suwon City

Following his short spell with Roasso Kumamoto, Song returned to South Korea, where he joined Suwon City to partake in the Korea National League for the 2012 season. Song made a total of 14 competitive appearances with 8 appearances coming off the bench for his club. He scored 2 decisive goals against Cheonan City and Chungju Hummel to secure a 1–2 and 2–1 win respectively for his side.[6]

Home United

Song moved abroad afterwards to join Home United's youth team in the Prime League, before being promoted to join the first team which competed in the S.League. On 12 July 2012, Song made his debut appearance for the Protectors in the uniformed derby against Warriors FC. He played a total of 46 minutes in his first competitive match for the club, which subsequently ended in a 0–3 loss for his side.

Former Home United coach Philippe Aw who managed the Singapore Selection side for the 2016 Sultan of Selangor Cup, selected Song in the 18-man squad for the cup tie that took place at the Shah Alam Stadium on 7 May 2016. He came on as a substitute in the 56th minute, and played the remainder of the match which eventually ended 1-1 (3-4 on penalties) in a win for the Singapore Selection team.[7]

Song often spearhead the attacking players in the false nine position. Alongside Shahril Ishak, he enjoyed a prolific start to the 2018 Singapore Premier League campaign before encountering an injury that ruled him out for the latter half of the season. Song also played a pivotal role in helping the club to a second-place finish, scoring a total of 20 goals over the entire season, securing Home United with a play-off slot for the AFC Champions League as well as its highest ever AFC Cup finish in the quarter-finals. On 1 November 2018, it was reported that Song had rejected interest from Indonesian giants Persija Jakarta. Despite being offered a deal worth US$20,000 per month from the Indonesian club, Song chose to remain with Home United, stating his hopes of representing Singapore internationally in the future. He also signed a two-year contract extension with the Singapore-based club.[8]

Lion City Sailors

On 14 February 2020, Home United was purchased, privatised and officially renamed as Lion City Sailors by Singaporean billionaire, Forrest Li.[9] Song remained with the rebranded side, representing the club for the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.

Style of play

Initially deployed as a defensive midfielder by former Home United head coach Lee Lim-saeng, Song was repositioned into more offensive roles under Aidil Sharin Sahak, playing in a variety of positions as a box-to-box or attacking midfielder, winger, second striker and even as a poacher.[10]

International career

During an interview conducted in 2016, Song stated that he was open to the idea of representing Singapore internationally. Song is a S Pass holder and met the residency requirements of 5 years set by FIFA by the end of 2016 for him to become a naturalised Singaporean. In 2018, the Football Association of Singapore formally expressed support for Song's application, announcing that discussions were in place to naturalise Song under the Foreign Talent Scheme to strengthen the national team.[11] Former national football team coach Bernd Stange also rated Song as one of the foreign players plying their trade in Singapore that can improve the national team if they are naturalised.[4]

Career statistics
As of 21 March 2020[6]
Club Season J. League Division 2 Emperor's Cup J. League Cup Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Roasso Kumamoto 2011 18 2 0 0 0 0 — 18 2
Club Season K League Challenge KFA Cup Korean League Cup Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Suwon City 2012 11 2 0 0 0 0 — 11 2
Club Season Singapore Premier League Singapore Cup Singapore League Cup Asia Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Home United (loan) 2012 6 0 1 0 0 0 — 7 0
Home United 2013 22 2 4 1 3 1 — 29 4
2014 20 2 6 1 3 0 1 0 30 3
2015 20 1 1 0 2 0 — 23 1
2016 19 5 1 0 4 1 — 24 6
2017 13 2 5 0 0 0 7 3 25 5
2018 13 10 3 1 0 0 11 9 27 20
2019 18 6 2 2 0 0 4 3 23 11
Total 131 28 23 5 12 2 23 15 189 50
Lion City Sailors 2020 200000—20
Career total 162 32 23 5 12 2 23 15 220 54

Honours

Club

Home United

References
  1. "Song Ui-Young". Goal.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  2. "Song Ui Young - Basic Information". ONEFOOTBALL.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  3. "An Interview with Song Ui Young". hufc.sg. Home United Football Club. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  4. Chua, Siang Yee (8 April 2016). "Song open to the idea of playing for Singapore, Football News & Top Stories". The Straits Times. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  5. "An Interview with Song Ui Young". Home United Football Club. 5 November 2013. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  6. "Korea Republic - Ui-Young Song - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  7. Tan, Kenneth (7 May 2016). "Singapore win Sultan of Selangor Cup on pens". ESPN FC. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  8. Lee, David (1 November 2018). "Home United's South Korean midfielder Song Ui-young says no to US$20,000 a month". The Straits Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  9. Mohan, Matthew (14 February 2020). "Football: Singapore tech firm Sea takes ownership of Home United; club changes name to Lion City Sailors FC". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  10. "Song's feeling right at Home in Singapore". FourFourTwo. 4 June 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  11. "FAS' response to supporting Song Ui-young's PR application". Football Association of Singapore. 31 October 2018.
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