Another ‘European center back (central defender)’ was born in Korean soccer. National team defender Park Ji-soo (29) joined Portimonense of the Portuguese league.

Portimonense announced on its website on the 26th that it had recruited five players, including Park Ji-soo. The length of his contract was not disclosed, but according to local media, Park Ji-soo is known to have signed a contract for 1 year and 6 months until next summer.

As Park Ji-soo entered the Portuguese stage, Korean soccer has two center backs who play in major European leagues. Previously, Kim Min-jae (27) moved to the Turkish league in the summer of 2021 and joined the prestigious Napoli of Italy’s Serie A ahead of this season after standing on the European stage for the first time.

Park Ji-soo’s transfer involved former national team coach Paulo Bento, who made our national team advance to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Park Ji-soo said at a press conference after joining, “Coach Bento was a Portuguese league player and his nationality was Portugal, so I was familiar with him.” Thank you,” he said.

Park Ji-soo was consistently selected for the national team ahead of the Qatar World Cup, but had the misfortune of not being able to go to Qatar due to an ankle injury in an evaluation match with Iceland right before the final list was announced. However, coach Bento, who liked Park Ji-soo, helped him on his way to Europe, and it became a stepping stone for him to take off on a new stage.

He started his career as a professional in Incheon, K League 1, passed through Gyeongnam FC and made his first overseas advance by joining Guangzhou Hengda (now Guangzhou FC) in China in 2019. Subsequently, he returned to the K-League to serve in the military at Kimcheon Sangmu, played for Suwon FC and Sangmu under a rental status, and became a free agent (FA) status this winter.

Portimonense’s defense is unstable, with 10 runs in the last 5 games in the official game, so Park Ji-soo is expected to be given ample opportunities. Portimonense is currently in 12th place (20 points) out of 18 teams in the Primeira Liga (first division). 메이저사이트

Asian players such as striker Kim Yong-hak and Japanese goalkeeper Nakamura Kosuke are members of the U-20 (under 20) national team, which is expected to help Park Ji-soo adapt to the new team. Striker Lee Seung-woo also briefly joined Portimonense in 2021.

Park Ji-soo said, “Korean players come and go (to Portimonense) a lot. He looked up the game on YouTube, and he is very quick to switch between offense and defense.”