Ahn Byung-joon, a 34-year-old Korean-Japanese striker who has played in the K-League for a long time, has lost his soccer shoes due to a knee injury. Ahn has been nicknamed “People’s Naldu” since he served as a member of the North Korean national team.
Ahn Byung-joon said on social networking service (SNS) on the 9th, “I am retiring a soccer player after this season,” and “I decided that my knee condition continued to deteriorate and I was no longer eligible to play.”
“There were many times when I cried every day and thought I wanted to give up everything. However, a single goal in a single game made me forget all those hard times,” he said. “I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the fans who cared for me and supported me. I sincerely thank them for the past 12 years.”
Born in Japan in 1990, Ahn was an experienced striker who played for the North Korean national soccer team. Since joining Suwon FC in the K League 2 (division 2) after leaving Japan in 2019, Ahn has played in the domestic league.
Ahn Byung-joon dominated the second division by scoring eight goals in 2019, the first year of joining Suwon FC, and 20 goals in 2020.
In particular, in 2020, when he was the top scorer, he led Suwon FC’s promotion to the first division and won the MVP award of the season.
Ahn Byung-joon expressed his desire to play in the first division of the K League 1, but he suffered from failing the medical test while pushing for a transfer to Gangwon FC in the K League 1. The problem was knee cartilage, which had no choice but to make Ahn decide to retire. Ahn Byung-joon underwent knee cartilage surgery when he played in Japan, which made it essential to control the amount of training.
Coach Kim Do-kyun (currently Seoul E-Land FC), who coached Ahn Byung-joon at Suwon FC, lamented that his trip to Gangwon Province failed, saying, “It is not that there is a problem that he cannot play. He is a player who can do his part if he adjusts it well.” 바카라사이트
Ahn joined Busan I’Park instead of Gangwon, and scored 23 goals in 2021, proving that he is the best player. Of course, Ahn was the MVP of the K League 2 that year. He is the only MVP in the K League 2 for two consecutive years.
Ahn made the K-League 1 debut after being traded to Suwon Samsung in the summer of 2022, and will retire after passing through Busan and Suwon FC. Ahn played in 158 K-League matches, scoring 69 goals and 10 assists.