Kim Jae-kyu

Kim Jin-Kyu

Kim Jin-Kyu (Korean: 김진규 Hanja: 金珍圭) (born February 16, 1985) is a South Korean football player, who has gained reputation as a defender who is also capable of scoring. He plays for the K-League team FC Seoul.

Career

He began playing football during 4th grade at elementary school influenced by his older brother. After graduating from Andong High School, he headed straight to K-league instead of playing for a university. During his days at Chunnam Dragons, he set a record by becoming the youngest player to score a goal in his team. He later transferred to Júbilo Iwata in 2005.

He gained praise and notoriety during East Asian Games which was held during December 2005. The Chinese coach at that time had pledged to end Koreaphobia by winning the match against Korea. The Chinese scored the first goal in the first half, but Kim prevented loss against China by scoring an equaliser.

In 2006, he was selected to represent South Korea in FIFA World Cup. This time, however, his performance was below expectations when he played for Korea against Switzerland.

Kim returned to Chunnam Dragons in January 2007 amid rumours he will return to South Korea by playing for Suwon Samsung Bluewings. Kim wanted to keep his promise with coach Hu Chung-Moo, who wanted him to play for Chunnam because the coach helped him "during a difficult time.

Kim was selected to be the captain of the Korean team for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Kim stated he will no longer free kick during the game.

Criticism

He has been criticized for his hot temper and unprofessional behavior. During Asian Cup 2004, he received a red card for flipping the bird against an Iranian player during Korea's match against Iran national football team, and was suspended for two games.

He was also met with criticism for his performance after South Korea failed to advance to the round of 16 in the 2006 World Cup for his lack of aggressiveness when it has been revealed that he had never used tackles during the matches despite his position as a defender.