Kim Jin-kyu (born 16 February 1985) is a retired South Korean football player. He has gained reputation as a defender who is also capable of scoring.[1]
Club 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 Jeonnam 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.
Kim returned to Jeonnam 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 Huh Jung-moo, who wanted him to play for Jeonnam because the coach helped him "during a difficult time".[2]
Kim transferred to Chinese Super League side Dalian Shide in January 2011.[3] However, after Dalian's Korean manager Park Sung-hwa was sacked in May 2011, he lost his position in the club. Kim was loaned to J1 League club Ventforet Kofu for six months in July after managing eight appearances for the Chinese club. He returned to FC Seoul after Kofu were relegated to the Second Division.
He gained praise and notoriety during 2005 East Asian Football Championship. The Chinese coach at that time had pledged to end Koreaphobia by winning the match against Korea.[5] The Chinese scored the first goal in the first half, but Kim prevented loss against China by scoring an equaliser.[6] 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.[7]
He has been criticized for his hot temper and unprofessional behavior. During the 2004 Asian Cup, he received a red card for his hand gesture against an Iranian player during South Korea's match against Iran national football team, and was suspended for two games.[10]
He was also met with criticism for his performance after South Korea failed to advance to the round of 16 for 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.[7]
