I hung in there when everyone else looked at me like I couldn’t do it. They found motivation in the ordeal and stood firm. “The injury made me stand taller,” said Incheon United’s Park Seung-ho, who is a rookie but has a strong mentality.
Park Seung-ho is a “rookie” who joined Incheon this season. As a freshman at Dankook University, he quickly made a name for himself with his fierce scoring prowess. In 2021, he won the Cheongryonggi Goalscorer of the Yongin Football Center Deokyung U-18 team and led the team to the championship. He was a ‘rising star’.
After joining the professional ranks, it wasn’t easy. First of all, he had fewer opportunities to play. It’s natural for a rookie to not get much playing time, but he faced another setback. In May, he was injured in the group stage of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina against Honduras. He suffered a non-fractured fibula and ligament damage in his right ankle and was sent home from the tournament, requiring surgery and rehabilitation. It was especially painful because he scored the equalizer against Honduras.
However, this time was more motivating than frustrating for Park. “Being injured helped me in my soccer career. It gave me the motivation that I could do it. In fact, when I was injured, I was told that I couldn’t do it, that it was over, but it made me stand tall,” he said.
His teammates are starting to make their mark on the national team. Bae Joon-ho moved to Stoke City in the English Professional Football Championship (second division), and Kim Ji-soo moved to Brentford. “Rather than seeing it as a stimulus, I thought, ‘Now I just have to do well,'” says Park Seung-ho. I tried to prepare without worrying about it,” he recalls.
After three months of recovery, Park gradually got his chance to play. He started against Suwon Samsung in September and gradually gained ground until he scored his ‘debut goal’ against Ulsan Hyundai in the 37th round on the 24th. In the fifth minute of the second half, with the score tied at 0-0, Park connected with a non-stop volley from Choi Woo-jin’s cross from the left side of the penalty box to split the goal.
“I tried not to be intimidated because I thought I was the best, and there was a play in training where I matched a ground ball cross with Woo Jin-jin, and we talked about it before going into the second half. I think that part led to the goal,” Park smiled. 토토사이트
Incheon head coach Cho Sung-hwan also gave a thumbs up to Park Seung-ho’s “mentality. “If he works hard, he definitely has the mentality and ability to see the A national team in the future. I think he can overcome his illness and rise to a good position.”