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| Photo =Brentford Club's official SNS capture |
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| Photo by Kim Ji-soo personal SNS capture |
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"I feel light because I feel like I paid back a little bit to those who cheered me on."
Kim Ji-soo (20, Brentford), who once again wrote Korea's soccer history, smiled broadly. Kim Ji-soo replaced Ben Mee in the 33rd minute of the second half in the 2024-2025 English Premier League (EPL) away match against Brighton at Amex Stadium in Brighton, England on the 28th (Korea time). It was the moment when Kim Ji-soo announced his EPL debut. This made Kim Ji-soo the 15th Korean Premier Leaguer. In addition, Kim Ji-soo, who celebrated his 20th birthday on the 24th, became the youngest Premier Leaguer among Korean players. The previous record was 20 years and 3 months old when Ji Dong-won, the eighth Korean Premier Leaguer, was deployed as a substitute for Sunderland in the 2011-2012 season opener away game against Liverpool in August 2011. Kim Ji-soo also set a record for the first time as a Korean center back to step on the EPL stage. Defenders such as Lee Young-pyo, Cho Won-hee and Yoon Seok-young played in the EPL first, but their main position was side defenders.
Kim Ji-soo, who had a hard time contacting Sports Chosun on the 29th, said, `It was dawn when I returned home after the match against Brighton. The next day, I immediately trained from the morning. Players who have played a lot of games train for recovery, and those who have played less or less games train for the team. The team asked 'What are you going to do?' It's because I rode the bus for a long time and I digested it for nearly 20 minutes. But I didn't think I played a lot, so I trained the team."
It was a grand moment. Korean fans looked at the historical scene as they couldn't sleep early in the morning. Kim Ji-soo signaled that the physical team should be ready. First of all, he told me to warm up, so I wondered if (the debut) was today. When it came to reality, I became calm. Before entering the ground, the director said 'enjoy (enjoy)!He asked 'Which one is more comfortable between the left and right of the centerback?' I said I Don't Care. The coach said 'Then stand on the left, so I ran like that. When I was playing, I thought 'Let's not just make mistakes', 'Let's keep calm as usual' I don't remember any scenes in particular," he said shyly. After the game, Brentford coach Thomas Frank made his EPL debut. I enjoyed the performance of the two. Suddenly he came on as a substitute, but he was calm. This was very satisfactory."
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| Photo =Brentford Club's official SNS capture |
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Kim Ji-soo, the person in charge, was calm, but the people watching his game cheered and rejoiced. Kim Ji-soo said "I've been contacted a lot for sure. My parents told me that I was in the game and that they were nervous. It's a long-awaited moment, but I'm afraid I'll make a mistake or show something bad.... After it was over, 'You worked hard. It was nice to hear that you did a good job"After it was over, the coach, the players, and the staff did a great job." He congratulated me by saying that his debut in the EPL itself is a big deal. The players continued to play around on the bus and rejoiced. I was talking to the agent (CEO Kim Jin-woo) on the phone about the game on the bus, and he teased me saying, `You're congratulating me on the phone as well.'
Kim Ji-soo wore Brentford's uniform through the transfer market last summer. After an adaptation period, he took the British stage as a substitute in the 32nd minute of the second half in the third round (32 strongest) of the Carabao Cup (League Cup) 2024-2025 season against Leyton Orient (third division) on September 18. Then he performed on the EPL stage of his dream against Brighton.
Kim Ji-soo, who turned 20 after challenging to the EPL stage at the age of 18, said "It felt really strange. In fact, even after the game, I wondered if I really played. It's true that I've endured it, learned it, and it's true that it's been difficult. I started playing soccer when I was in elementary school, and it was the first time I couldn't play a game. Of course, it was hard, but I definitely learned something from that situation. It was a really big change in team tactics, language, life, etc. I was also worried about how to spend my time here, but now I feel much more comfortable. I think I used my time well. I think I tried to use the hard time well. I don't think it was just a bad time" said daintyly.
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| Photo =Brentford Club's official SNS capture |
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Brentford play Arsenal at GTech Community Stadium on 2 January 2025 in London, England. Global sports media ESPN expected Kim Ji-soo to start the game against Arsenal. Currently, Brentford centre-backs such as Ethan Pinnock, Christopher Ayer and Sef van den Bergh are out one after another due to injuries. Fans have high expectations.
Kim Ji-soo said "I think I need to do something better because you keep telling me 'first' and 'first' (laughs). Everyone is looking forward to it…. I want to play more at home, too. Our home stadium is romantic. But no one knows what will happen in the future. There may be situations where you have to wait for another opportunity, a few chances may come soon, or you may start. I think I just have to work out the same as before. I'm getting a lot of attention right now, but nothing much has changed in my feeling. I've played one game now, and I'm 20 now. There will be a lot of games in the future, and it's important how long the game and how long it takes to play."
Starting with the Qatar Asian Cup in January, Kim Ji-soo, who ran tirelessly all year, will immediately start preparing for the next game after taking a day off. Kim Ji-soo is not in her normal condition because of a cold. But he just ran without an excuse. Kim Ji-soo said, `If you run, you will get better.'"There remains greed and regret for the 2024 game time." The new year's goals are the same. I want to play a lot of games and time. I feel like I should be hoping and preparing well for the same."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
