“Yang Min-hyuk and Yoon Do-young told me, ‘It’s cool that you’re doing well’”

Park Seung-soo (17-Suwon Samsung), the youngest K-Leaguer, is going from strength to strength.

Born in 2007, Park Seung-soo is playing in the K League while still in high school. As a sophomore in high school, he is the youngest ‘semi-professional’ player currently playing in the K League. He made his professional debut against the Pohang Steelers in the round of 16 of the 2024 Hana Bank Korea Cup on March 19. Three days later, he came on as a 26th-minute substitute in the second half of the Hana Bank K League 2 2024 home match against Seongnam FC to fulfill his dream of making his K League debut.

“When I first entered the game, I couldn’t even breathe, but now I can control my breathing,” Park laughed. The U-17 team in the recent K League Youth Championship plays a total of 70 minutes, with 35 minutes in each half.

Park Seung-soo is part of the recent ‘semi-professional’ craze, along with ‘hot’ players Yang Min-hyuk (Gangwon FC) and Yoon Do-young (Daejeon Hana Citizen). Together, they were runners-up at last year’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Asian Cup. Park Seung-soo said, “I’m trying to learn a lot from my brothers. It’s good to be able to learn a lot. I’m also in touch with Minhyuk and Do-young. They congratulated me on my debut. They said it was cool that I was doing well,” he bragged.

They are also reportedly receiving interest from Europe beyond the K League. “It’s just interest,” Park Seung-soo said bluntly. “I have to 안전한 파워볼사이트 work harder in Suwon. Once I get a good opportunity, I’d like to go, but I still need to work harder in Suwon.”

Park Seung-soo has already played four league games. On June 30, he scored his first K League goal at the age of 17 years, 3 months, and 21 days in a home match against the Greeners. He rewrote the record for the youngest K League scorer in history. He also rattled the opponent’s net in the match against Chungbuk Cheongju on June 20, but the goal was canceled after a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

He said, “I had a vacation. I don’t have to go to school in the morning, so I think I can recover a little more. I think I’ll use the summer vacation to work on some more things in my game. I think I need to work on my shooting and how to solve problems when I’m isolated,” he said.

Meanwhile, Suwon head coach Byun Sung-hwan said, “Seungsu has good characteristics. I think he has a competitive edge. Of course, he is a student athlete, so he shouldn’t neglect his studies,” he said, adding, ”Age doesn’t matter. Every coach has a way of operating and a philosophy. For me, age doesn’t matter. It’s about how well you can fulfill your role and play according to the game plan you’ve prepared,” he said.