In the history of soccer in Korea, the name Park Eun-seon (37, Seoul City Hall) makes people feel mixed. He was truly one of the players with many twists and turns, and it is because he lost around the age of 20, which is the age of greatest for an active player. As time went by and Park Eun-seon’s name faded away, he suddenly rose again. As a striker belonging to the women’s national soccer team with confidence.
Park Eun-sun announced her revival with ‘3 goals and 2 assists’ in the evaluation match against Zambia held in Korea on the 7th and 11th. In the second game, he scored multiple goals (2 goals), making the hearts of viewers watching the TV broadcast. It was the second coming of the forgotten ‘genius striker’ and ‘national treasure striker’.
Park Eun-seon, whom I met at a training center in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 19th, had a comfortable face. The interest that poured out after the evaluation match seemed to be enjoyable. Park Eun-seon smiled brightly, saying, “It’s good that you’ve been looking for me (in the media) and showing interest.”
Park Eun-sun played almost full-time in the second game against Zambia. Although he gradually increased his playing time, it was an unconventional appointment. He said that even Park Eun-seon said, “Honestly, I didn’t expect it at first.” He said, “After the national team meeting after the first game, I found out that I was going to start in the second game. It was very good,” he said. I remembered my mind at the time. Park Eun-sun scored a goal each with her legs and head in the second game, proving that Bell’s choice was correct.
Park Eun-seon was stunned last year when she was called by the coach of the Bell women’s national soccer team for the first time in seven years. Since she last wore the Taegeuk mark in 2015, her national team has felt far away. As she prepared for her retirement at one point, a clear goal filled him. “Let’s go to my third and last World Cup, let’s score goals!” The 2023 Australia-New Zealand Women’s World Cup will be held in July.
Park Eun-sun participated in the 2003 World Cup in the United States and the 2015 World Cup in Canada, but failed to score a goal. I couldn’t show my skills because of an injury. So, if he goes to the World Cup this year, he intends to be greedy for goals. “It’s a great thing for a soccer player to go to the World Cup three times, so I’m grateful and determined,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for me to show something, but I want to show that women’s soccer has improved.”
The age of 37 is not a barrier to Park Eun-sun. There is no problem with the physical part. It is thanks to Bell’s high-intensity training that he learned how to raise and release his stamina. In addition, in the second game against Zambia, Bell’s tactics eased his stamina. Park Eun-seon said, “Coach Bell covers a lot tactically. Even when attacking, he holds the ball as much as possible and passes it when his teammates come, or plays a lot of roles in the post play (an attack method in which a tall player is placed in front of the opponent’s goal post to score). You ordered,” he said. At the same time, he said, “(Son) Hwa-yeon (26, Incheon Hyundai Steel) I felt very sorry for her. Because she ran around a lot because of me.
As the second senior in the national team after Kim Jung-mi (39, Incheon Hyundai Steel), she tries hard to get along with her juniors. However, there are times when he can’t help but think, ‘I’m getting older’. “In the national team, I often lived with Garam Cheon (21, Hwacheon KSPO), and as we talked, I kept giving him advice. Look, I’m worried.”
Even so, Park Eun-seon is a reliable ‘older sister’ to her juniors. Every time he scored a goal in the evaluation match, Jo So-hyun (35, Tottenham) Lee Geum-min (29, Brighton) Kim Hye-rim (33, Incheon Hyundai Steel) Chun Ga-ram would run and cling to him. Each time Park Eun-sun smiled with a shy expression. Park Eun-seon confessed, “When I score a goal, I get everyone’s attention, but I saw juniors rushing in all of a sudden. I was a bit shy, so I covered my face and laughed, but some people saw this as a ceremony.”
Park Eun-sun’s professional debut was not smooth. She graduated from high school in 2005 and immediately wore the uniform of the Seoul City Hall, but after graduating from high school, she joined the unemployment team without going through college, so she was disciplined by participating in three tournaments. In 2003, she was selected as the youngest (17-year-old) national team member at the time, and the prospect who was very active in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Championship that year collapsed helplessly. 스포츠토토
After a long wandering, he returned to Seoul City Hall in 2012 and had to shed tears again the following year. When he was selected for the WK League All-Star Game that year and played an active role as the top scorer (19 goals) the following year, the clubs took a stand. Demanding a gender test out of the blue left an indelible scar on Park Eun-seon’s chest. The bare face of the football world at the time was revealed, such as the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, and it became socially controversial.
Park Eun-seon laughed bitterly when asked about the past, which had many twists and turns. Then he slowly opened his mouth. “When I think back to that time, I think it was a good experience. I think I can’t help it because it’s the path I chose. There are people who know that I wore the Taegeuk mark for 20 years, but there are too many things I didn’t do in the middle. It passed really quickly.”