Suwon FC head coach Kim Do-kyun (46) regretted the decision to retire Park Joo-ho (36), but decided to respect the player’s intentions.
Coach Kim opened his mouth about Park Joo-ho, who recently announced his retirement from active duty ahead of the 15th round matchup of ‘Hanawon Q K League 1 2023’ against Gwangju FC at 6:00 pm on the 28th at Suwon Sports Complex.
On the 26th, the news that Park Joo-ho decided to retire from active service was reported, which shocked soccer fans.
Park Joo-ho, who made his professional debut in the Japanese J-League, played for FC Basel, Mainz, and Borussia Dortmund from 2011 to 2017, and has been active in Europe for a long time.
He wore the Taegeuk mark in the Korean national soccer team and played 40 A matches and scored one goal.
Park Joo-ho, who returned to the Korean K-League in 2018, played for Ulsan Hyundai until 2020 and has been active as a Suwon FC player since 2021. He drew attention when he decided to retire during the 2023 season.
The reason for his retirement is said to be due to the sick care of his wife, who is suffering from cancer. Park Joo-ho’s wife, Anna, revealed on Instagram last November that she was undergoing cancer treatment at Asan Medical Center in Seoul.
Ahead of the game, coach Kim said at a pre-press conference, “I haven’t talked about retirement yet,” and said, “I respect this part as a coach because the player’s own intention is important.”
He added, “I didn’t anticipate when the time of retirement would be because our team put a lot of effort and dedication, but I decided to respect it because it was a decision made by myself. I think I will do my best until the end.”
Director Kim revealed that Park Joo-ho came to him personally and suggested his intention to retire.
Director Kim said, “I didn’t hear the news of retirement from anywhere else, and (Park Joo-ho) came to me and expressed his intention,” he said.
He also expressed his feelings, saying, “It’s a pity. I have the manager’s heart to want me to stay with him until the end of the season, but I decided to respect it because I have my own intention.”
Suwon announced that it would hold a retirement ceremony for Park Joo-ho as a pre-game event in the home game against Ulsan Hyundai in the 17th round of the league on June 6, according to Park Joo-ho’s uniform number 6.메이저놀이터
With little time left to play in a Suwon uniform, Park Joo-ho showed his will to devote himself to the team and fans until the last moment as he started a sortie against Gwangju.