Ji So-yun
South Korean footballer (born 1991)
Ji So-yun (Korean : 지소연 , Korean pronunciation: [tɕi.so.jʌn] ; born 21 February 1991) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Seattle Reign FC of the National Women's Soccer League and the South Korea national team .
Club career
Ji with Chelsea in 2014
Ji started her career in Japan, playing for Nadeshiko League champions INAC Kobe Leonessa between 2011 and 2013. In November 2013, Ji was subject to a transfer bid from English club Chelsea .[ 2] She agreed to a two-year contract in January 2014.[ 3] When the transfer was officially confirmed later that month, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said of Ji: "She is one of the best midfielders in the world and our fans will love her."[ 4] In one of her final matches for the Japanese club, Ji scored against her soon-to-be new club, Chelsea, in the International Women's Club Championship final.[ 5]
Ji was named Players' Player of the Year after her first season in England, as Chelsea narrowly missed out on the FA WSL 1 league title on the last day of the season.[ 6] She was named PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year in April 2015 and was also named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year .[ 7] [ 8]
In the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final , staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time, Ji scored the only goal of the match to win the Cup for Chelsea.[ 9] In October 2015 she also scored in Chelsea's 4–0 win over Sunderland which secured the club's first FA WSL title and a League and Cup double .[ 10]
On 1 April 2018, Ji made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal .[ 11]
In the light of her performances for Chelsea over the years and the instrumental role she played in Chelsea's 2020–21 FA WSL winning team, Suzanne Wrack of The Guardian claimed that Ji was the best foreign player in the history of WSL.[ 12]
After spending eight years with Chelsea, Ji left the club following the 2021–22 season. She made over 200 appearances and scored 68 goals in all competitions, and won six league titles, four FA Cups , two league cups , and one Community Shield .[ 13]
On 24 May 2022, Ji returned to her homeland and joined WK League side Suwon FC , her first spell with a South Korean club.[ 14] On her WK League debut on 18 August 2022, she scored a brace in a 3–0 victory against Boeun Sangmu .[ 15]
On 24 January 2024, the National Women's Soccer League club Seattle Reign FC announced that they had signed Ji on a two-year contract through the 2025 season.[ 16]
International career
Ji represented South Korea at under-17 level and was part of the under-20 team that finished as runners-up at the 2009 AFC U-19 Women's Championship , and in third place at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup .[ 17]
In October 2006, Ji made her senior team debut while playing at the 2006 Peace Queen Cup . On 30 November 2006, she became the youngest goalscorer (15 years, 282 days) for the South Korean senior team after scoring two goals against Chinese Taipei at the 2006 Asian Games .[ 17] [ 18]
Ji is the all-time top scorer of the South Korea women's national team with 71 goals.[ 18]
Career statistics
Club
As of match played 25 November 2023 [ 19]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club
Season
League
National cup[ a]
League cup[ b]
International[ c]
Other[ d]
Total
Division
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
INAC Kobe Leonessa
2011
Nadeshiko League
16
8
4
0
—
—
—
20
8
2012
16
4
3
0
6
3
—
—
25
7
2013
16
9
4
6
9
3
2
1
—
31
19
Total
48
21
11
6
15
6
2
1
—
76
34
Chelsea
2014
FA WSL
12
3
2
2
5
4
—
—
19
9
2015
14
5
4
3
4
2
4
0
—
26
10
2016
16
5
4
5
1
0
2
0
—
23
10
2017
7
4
3
2
—
—
—
10
6
2017–18
14
6
3
2
5
1
6
3
—
28
12
2018–19
17
6
3
1
2
0
8
2
—
30
9
2019–20
13
6
2
0
4
1
—
—
19
7
2020–21
19
2
1
0
4
0
8
1
1
0
33
3
2021–22
12
0
4
2
1
0
5
0
—
22
2
Total
124
37
26
17
26
8
33
6
1
0
210
68
Suwon FC
2022
WK League
5
5
—
—
—
1
1
6
6
2023
18
3
—
—
—
3
2
21
5
Total
23
8
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
3
27
11
Career total
195
66
37
23
41
14
35
7
5
3
313
113
International
Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ji goal.
List of international goals scored by Ji So-yun
No.
Date
Venue
Opponent
Score
Result
Competition
1
30 November 2006
Doha , Qatar
Chinese Taipei
1–0
2–0
2006 Asian Games
2
2–0
3
17 February 2007
Masan , South Korea
India
1–0
5–0
2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers
4
15 April 2007
Hai Phong , Vietnam
Vietnam
1–1
2–1
2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers
5
2–1
6
12 August 2007
Cheongju , South Korea
Vietnam
1–0
2–1
2008 Summer Olympics qualifiers
7
26 August 2009
Tainan , Taiwan
Northern Mariana Islands
1–0
19–0
2010 EAFF Women's Championship qualifiers
8
11–0
9
12–0
10
16–0
11
19–0
12
30 August 2009
Tainan, Taiwan
Chinese Taipei
5–0
6–0
2010 EAFF Women's Championship qualifiers
13
10 February 2010
Tokyo , Japan
China
1–2
1–2
2010 EAFF Women's Championship
14
14 November 2010
Guangzhou , China
Vietnam
1–1
6–1
2010 Asian Games
15
16 November 2010
Guangzhou, China
Jordan
1–0
5–0
2010 Asian Games
16
2–0
17
5–0
18
22 November 2010
Guangzhou, China
China
2–0
2–0
2010 Asian Games
19
7 March 2011
Paralimni , Cyprus
Russia
1–0
2–1
2011 Cyprus Women's Cup
20
18 June 2011
Ehime , Japan
Japan
1–1
1–1
Friendly
21
3 September 2011
Jinan , China
Japan
1–1
1–2
2012 Summer Olympics Qualifiers
22
14 January 2013
Chongqing , China
Canada
2–0
3–1
Friendly
23
6 March 2013
Paralimni, Cyprus
South Africa
1–0
2–0
2013 Cyprus Women's Cup
24
8 March 2013
Paralimni, Cyprus
Northern Ireland
1–0
3–0
2013 Cyprus Women's Cup
25
27 July 2013
Seoul , South Korea
Japan
1–0
2–1
2013 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup
26
2–0
27
5 March 2014
Paralimni, Cyprus
Switzerland
1–1
1–1
2014 Cyprus Women's Cup
28
7 March 2014
Paralimni, Cyprus
Republic of Ireland
1–1
1–1
2014 Cyprus Women's Cup
29
15 May 2014
Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam
Myanmar
1–0
12–0
2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
30
17 May 2014
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Thailand
1–0
4–0
2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup
31
12 November 2014
Hsinchu , Taiwan
Guam
1–0
15–0
2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualifiers
32
8–0
33
15 November 2014
Hsinchu, Taiwan
Hong Kong
1–0
9–0
2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualifiers
34
13 January 2015
Shenzhen , China
China
2–2
3–2
Friendly
35
15 January 2015
Shenzhen, China
Mexico
2–1
2–1
Friendly
36
4 March 2015
Nicosia , Cyprus
Italy
1–1
1–2
2015 Cyprus Women's Cup
37
5 April 2015
Incheon , South Korea
Russia
1–0
1–0
Friendly
38
8 April 2015
Incheon, South Korea
Russia
2–0
2–0
Friendly
39
13 June 2015
Montreal , Canada
Costa Rica
1–1
2–2
2015 FIFA Women's World Cup
40
3 March 2017
Nicosia, Cyprus
Scotland
1–0
2–0
2017 Cyprus Women's Cup
41
6 March 2017
Larnaca , Cyprus
New Zealand
2–0
2–0
2017 Cyprus Women's Cup
42
5 April 2017
Pyongyang , North Korea
India
8–0
10–0
2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
43
10–0
44
11 April 2017
Pyongyang, North Korea
Uzbekistan
2–0
4–0
2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
45
4–0
46
19 August 2018
Palembang , Indonesia
Maldives
1–0
8–0
2018 Asian Games
47
21 August 2018
Palembang, Indonesia
Indonesia
10–0
12–0
2018 Asian Games
48
12–0
49
31 August 2018
Palembang, Indonesia
Chinese Taipei
1–0
4–0
2018 Asian Games
50
28 February 2019
Sydney , Australia
Argentina
4–0
5–0
2019 Cup of Nations
51
5–0
52
3 March 2019
Brisbane , Australia
Australia
1–1
1–4
2019 Cup of Nations
53
6 March 2019
Melbourne , Australia
New Zealand
1–0
2–0
2019 Cup of Nations
54
9 April 2019
Chuncheon , South Korea
Iceland
1–1
1–1
Friendly
55
6 October 2019
Chicago , United States
United States
1–0
1–1
Friendly
56
3 February 2020
Seogwipo , South Korea
Myanmar
1–0
7–0
2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Third round
57
3–0
58
9 February 2020
Seogwipo, South Korea
Vietnam
3–0
3–0
2020 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament – Third round
59
17 September 2021
Tashkent , Uzbekistan
Mongolia
5–0
12–0
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
60
21 January 2022
Pune , India
Vietnam
1–0
3–0
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
61
3–0
62
24 January 2022
Pune, India
Myanmar
2–0
2–0
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
63
30 January 2022
Pune, India
Australia
1–0
1–0
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
64
6 February 2022
Navi Mumbai , India
China
2–0
2–3
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup
65
19 July 2022
Kashima , Japan
Japan
1–1
1–2
2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship
66
22 February 2023
Bristol , England
Italy
1–1
1–2
2023 Arnold Clark Cup
67
8 July 2023
Seoul, South Korea
Haiti
1–1
2–1
Friendly
68
22 September 2023
Wenzhou , China
Myanmar
2–0
3–0
2022 Asian Games
69
25 September 2023
Wenzhou, China
Philippines
3–1
5–1
2022 Asian Games
70
24 February 2024
Oeiras , Portugal
Czech Republic
1–0
2–1
Friendly
71
5 April 2024
Icheon , South Korea
Philippines
2–0
3–0
Friendly
Honours
INAC Kobe Leonessa
Chelsea
South Korea U20
South Korea Universiade
South Korea
Individual
Summer Universiade Most Valuable Player: 2009 [ 20]
AFC U-19 Women's Championship top goalscorer: 2009
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Ball: 2010 [ 20]
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Silver Shoe: 2010 [ 20]
Korean FA Women's Player of the Year : 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022[ 18] [ 21]
FA Women's Players' Player of the Year : 2014 [ 6]
PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year : 2014–15 [ 7] [ 8]
PFA Women's Super League Team of the Year : 2014–15 , 2015–16 , 2017–18 , 2018–19 , 2019–20 [ 7] [ 22] [ 23]
IFFHS Asian Women's Team of All Time: 2021[ 24]
WK League Midfielder of the Year: 2022 [ 25]
References
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ji So-yun .
Awards
FA Women's Players' Player of the Year