South Korea have reached the final of the Asian Games, and the “Taegeuk Warriors” have Woo-Yeong Jeong of VfB Stuttgart to thank for much of that. Should South Korea now also win the final, then VfB would also benefit from this.
The Asian Games (ASIAD) are currently underway in Hangzhou, China, where South Korean footballers are causing a sensation. The Koreans beat Uzbekistan 2-1 at the “Huanglong Sports Centre Stadium” and now have the chance to win the gold medal at the Asian Games for the third time in a row, after 2014 at home in Incheon and 2018 in Jakarta (Indonesia). To do so, however, they needed a win over Japan on Saturday.
Woo-Yeong Jeong of VfB Stuttgart, who has been playing big in the current tournament and has already scored seven goals – two of which the 24-year-old scored on Wednesday in the fifth and 38th minute – played a big part in the victory against Uzbekistan and virtually single-handedly led his team into the final. The first goal came from a free-kick trick, the second from a slight loss of the ball by the Uzbeks, while Jasurbek Jaloliddinov scored the intervening goal to equalise 1-1 with a direct free-kick.
The South Koreans were superior in terms of play, but it was certainly not easy for them to cope with the Uzbeks’ sometimes very rough manner – Abdurauf Buriev also saw a yellow card in the 74th minute.
In addition to the medal, military service exemption beckons
The Swabians would certainly like Jeong to have the sporting success and the self-confidence that comes with it, but in addition to the medal, a tournament victory for the South Koreans in China could be doubly rewarding for Jeong and VfB: In that case, the midfielder would be exempted from 20 months of military service in his home country – then the player and the club would have one less thing to worry about.
Should South Korea lose to the Japanese, then there would be another chance to win exemption from military service. Any medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris would be enough for that. Jeong is lucky to have any chance at all of winning a medal and thus exempting himself from military service – after all, he is already 24 years old and is one of three players older than 23 taking part in the tournament.
Jeong moved from South Korea to the Bundesliga in 2018/19, initially to FC Bayern. He failed to make the breakthrough there, but it worked out in Freiburg. He came to Breisgau in 2020/21 and quickly established himself there. After 99 games and eleven goals for Sport-Club, he moved on to VfB Stuttgart this summer, for whom he has made four appearances so far.
