Park Joo-ho holds retirement press conference
Park Joo-ho held a retirement press conference at Suwon Sports Complex at 7:30 p.m. on June 6. After the Hana OneQ K League 2023 17th Round match against Ulsan Hyundai, he attended his last press conference as a player at the stadium.
First, Park said, “It wasn’t easy to retire in the middle of the season. Today’s result was not good, but I did my best against a strong team, Ulsan. I think I finished my 16-year professional career with my best effort.”
As for why he decided to retire, he said, “I’ve been thinking about it since last year. Last year, my wife wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t want to retire at that time, but this season, I got myself together and thought about whether I could play with more passion and energy, and I felt overwhelmed, so I decided to retire slowly,” he said.
-Retirement reflections
“It wasn’t easy to retire in the middle of the season. Today’s result wasn’t good, but I did my best against Ulsan, a strong team. I think I finished my 16-year professional career with my best effort.”
-How would you grade your career?
“I kept achieving my goals and challenging myself. I don’t regret much. I would give myself a 60-70 in my career. At this point in my career, I want to finish with no regrets and give myself a 100.
-On his decision to retire
“I’ve been thinking about it since last year. Last year, my wife wasn’t feeling well, so I didn’t want to retire at that time, but this season, I made up my mind, and I thought about whether I could play with more passion, and I felt overwhelmed, so I decided to retire slowly.”
-On retiring at a time when things were not looking good for Suwon FC.
“When I told the team I was retiring, we were in fifth place. I felt that the players could do enough without me. Young-jae can play a role and we can strengthen in the summer transfer market, so I told them in advance. After that, we lost back-to-back games and it became difficult. But we also won the Suwon derby. I think we can be a team that can keep winning.”
What are your happiest and most regrettable memories?
“My happiest moments come from the K League. Winning the Asian Champions League with Ulsan was one of my happy moments. I was also happy last year when we went to the top split and scored a lot of goals. A bad memory is when we finished runners-up in Ulsan. That hurt the most. Other than that, I can’t really think of anything.”
-Did you receive any advice about retirement?
“I didn’t talk to other players or teammates. I made the final decision and told only my friends. I didn’t tell the players until before the Jeonbuk game. I didn’t tell the players until before the game. For advice, I talked to my family, my company, and my will was the most important thing.”
-What kind of player was he?
“I was always changing my style. Many coaches have used me in different positions. I always did my best to fit in with the team, to fit in with the situation, and that’s the kind of player I was.”
-Has he been contacted by fans overseas?
“I had a friend in Japan contact me and we talked about my decision. I spoke to Shinji Kagawa, and he’s thinking about when he’s going to retire, so I sympathized with him. Coach Sergio, who was my coach at the World Cup in Qatar, also contacted me to congratulate me and thank me. I haven’t checked all the messages yet. We’ll talk a lot later.”
-Now you’ll be able to spend more time with your family?
“I was at home during my career, but when I was training, I was gone for 1-2 months. If I had a match, I was gone for two days. I felt bad about that, but outside of that, I was always with my family. I wouldn’t say I neglected them, but I think I could have spent a little more time with them.”
-How did the kids react?
“When I told Better and Jianhu, they were both sad. Better said what will Dad do with the money now? Then I hugged him and said it was hard. I told him not to cook. Jianhu was sad because he was so into soccer these days. I asked him why he stopped playing. I told him that he could have more time to play soccer with you instead, and he was happy. Both of them were very happy because they could have more time to play soccer.”
-What are your top three memorable matches with Suwon FC?
“The first win against Ulsan was memorable and we haven’t won since. I also remember the game against Pohang, where we hadn’t won a game and then won in the last minute. The 4-3 win against Seoul is also memorable.”
-On his future plans
“I think we need to organize a bit. I don’t have anything set in stone. In June, I’ll spend time with my family and think about what I can do in the future.”메이저놀이터
-How did his teammates react?
“My teammates were supportive. They told me to take a break and come back in six months like (Cho) Won-hee.”
-What did he say to the Ulsan players?
“I told them that I had a hard time and that it was not a normal day. They were very grateful. We didn’t talk much on the field today because there was an event and it was after the game. A lot of players contacted me the day before. We talked a lot through messages and phone calls.”