Sung Jin-Young – Korea University’s mobile attacking presence
Korea University is a staple in Korean football culture as the football team was started in November 1923 as the University team is a major contributor of talent for the Korean League. The first player from KU to play for South Korea was Hong Duck-Young as he was a goalkeeper at the 1948 London Olympics while Hong Myung-Bo, Cha Du-Ri and Park Chu Young are other alumni for the University to feature for the National Team and play abroad. The latest player off the production line is Sung Jin-Young who finished second on the top scorers list in the recently completed AFC U20 Asian Cup while he has trained with Jeonbuk Hyundai’s youth teams. The 19-year-old will be a player to watch in the upcoming U20 World Cup later this year.
Sung Jin-Young is a shorter striker, but he has good mobility and core strength as he is able to drop into space, receive possession in between the lines and work connections with teammates. In the congested zones at the top of the box, he thrives in dropping deep to receive possession to swivel and thread passes to runners as his vision for through balls and general passing range is exceptional. The 19-year-old can drop into space, receive possession and have shots on goal but his favoured method of generating shooting opportunities is making runs into the box to get on the end of short crosses. His first touch allows him to generate shooting opportunities in tight spaces as he can receive the ball, guiding the ball into his stride or pushing the ball in front of him to drive shooting opportunites at goal. In order to generate more shooting opportunities, the young striker will need to improve his movements in the box to get into space, so he can apply the finishing touch to moves.
In the opening game against Oman, he played a one-touch flicked pass to the right flank before making a run to the near post in the six-yard area as his side had a cross blocked. In another situation, he moved into the wide areas to force a turnover and play the ball to a teammate as in an attacking interchange, he dropped deep as a pass was played to a runner behind him so Sun Jin-Young made a run around him as he occupied a free space in the box for a cut-back which was played in front of him and cleared. The 19-year-old made a movement to the wide areas where he rose high to flick-on a throw-in for a teammate. A ball was played to the left flank as the South Korean attacker occupied a space on the blind-side as he trudged towards the box as his defender was sucked towards the ball as the young striker gestured for the ball to be played in front of him for a tap-in, but a low cross was played behind him.
Sung Jin-Young dropped into space to receive possession, controlling the ball and swivelling to thread a through ball to a teammate who had his shot blocked. The 19-year-old’s positioning and occupation of space in the box is impeccable as he sets himself up to receive low crosses as his team played the ball to the left flank while he positioned himself in between the centre-backs, on the ball-near defender’s blind-side, before moving towards the centre of the box as the young striker would hold his position as his winger was dribbling as once his winger evaded his marker, the striker made a run into the six-yard area for a low cross which was blocked. The teenager moved to the right half-space to receive possession, using his body to shield the ball and hold off a defender and work a pass to the right flank. After a turnover, Sung Jin Young received possession with his back to goal, swivelling to place a shot over the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper as his strike dipped into goal.
Sung Jin-Young received possession from a throw-in once more to drive the ball forward and back-heel a pass to a teammate. In a counter-attacking situation, the South Korean was positioned in the nine-space before making a curled run into a pocket of space in between the opposition left-back and left sided centre-back, making a run into the box and gesticulating for a delivery as he stopped his feet and made another movement to the top of the box where a pass to him was intercepted. This was an example of double-movement from the 19-year-old as he needs to show more intent to move towards the ball in crossing situations. He received possession just outside the opposition box to drive into a pocket of space before poking a through ball for a teammate who was unable to get a shot on goal. He thrives in his occupation of space and making subtle movements to receive the ball as his team won a turnover for Sung to side-step into a pocket of space and swivel before gesturing for possession to be played in front of him as he received the ball, controlling the ball with his right foot, driving into the box as he attempted to curl a shot past the goalkeeper but his shot went wide.
Sung Jin-Young received a deep pass in the nine-space to play a one-touch pass to the flank. In another attacking sequence, he occupied the space in between the two fullbacks, making a run into the box before holding his run as a teammate in the half-space received possession as he played the ball to the striker who allowed the ball to roll across his body to his stronger right foot before prodding the ball to his left where he had a shot saved at the near post. The South Korean dropped out of the nine-space to receive possession in between the lines, playing the ball to the right flank and making a run to the near post before his winger played a back-pass as Sung responded by moving into a more central position, positioning himself on his defender’s blind-side as while his teammate drove towards the box, he made a movement to the near post, looking to make a double-movement into the centre to receive a cross but it was played too far in front of him and rolled into the goalkeeper’s arms.
Against Tajikistan, he received possession from a throw-in to lay-off for a teammate before receiving possession in the nine-space, controlling the ball with his right foot before playing an outside of the boot pass with his left. During a counter-attack, he received a deep pass in the nine-space to play a one-touch flick to a runner who had a 1v1 with the goalkeeper smothered. In an attacking interchange, he received possession in between the lines to play a one-touch lay-off while in another attacking interchange, possession was switched to the left flank as Sung Jin-Young was positioned at the back-post, making a run into the box as he started to divert his run wide for a cross across the face of goal. If the striker diverted his run wide before making a double movement towards goal, he would have been in a better position to slide for a tap-in at the back-post.
Sung Jin-Young received possession to play a one-touch pass to the right flank before receiving possession in between the lines to lay-off for a teammate as he made a dart to the back-post for a cross into the box. This showed an issue with his double-movements in the box as he should have made a run to the back-post to create space before darting in front of his centre-back into a pocket of space to receive the delivery and have a headed opportunity on goal. The teenager is good at occupying his defender’s blind-side, but he needs to make more double-movements towards the ball and the near post to have higher quality opportunities. The striker created an opportunity when he received a lobbed pass, rising high to lay-off for a teammate to send a shot high and wide from range. He nearly created another opportunity when he dropped deep to receive possession, taking a touch and lobbing a pass into the box for a runner who had his path blocked by a defender.
Sung Jin-Young created another shooting opportunity for a teammate when he regained possession at the top of the opposition box to lay-off for a teammate to have a shot on goal. In an attacking interchange, the striker was occupying the space in between his two centre-backs, receiving possession to switch the ball to the opposite flank as a cross was played into the box as the striker attempted a flick-on for a teammate which was intercepted. In the knockout phase against China, Sung facilitated a counter-attack with a lay-off to a teammate after a deep pass. The teenager received another deep pass in between the lines taking a heavy touch to lose possession as he immediately regained possession to lay the ball off to a teammate as he received possession once more to shield the ball and draw a foul.
The 19-year-old received possession with his back to goal, controlling the ball with his left and laying off the ball with his right as in another situation, he made a blind-sided movement into a pocket of space to swivel away from a marker and have a switch ball intercepted. Sung Jin-Young was positioned at the back post on his centre-back’s blind-side as he made a backwards movement away from goal rather than a double movement into the centre of the box where he could have received a looping cross. There have been a few situations where he has made a movement away from goal rather than a movement towards goal or a movement into a better position as he needs to work on this aspect of his game. The South Korean would exercise better movement moments later as he was positioned in the left half-space before making a movement towards the penalty spot as he received a low cross at the near post to have an opportunity saved. If the striker opened his body more, he could have allowed the ball to roll across his body, he could have diverted the ball into acres of space in the far side of the goal.
Sung Jin-Young received possession in the nine-space to play a one-touch pass to a runner who drove into the box and had a shot blocked before a cross was played into the box for the 19-year-old to control the ball with his outstretched left leg to hold-off a defender and work a pass to a teammate. He dropped deep to stoop low and flick-on a pass to a teammate as he controlled a lobbed pass with his chest to apply a deft touch to finish and put his team in the lead in extra time. In the final stages of the game, the South Korean was moved to the right flank where he regained possession to thread a pass into the box for a teammate who had his cross blocked.
Sung-Jin Young thrives when he can drop deep, allowing teammates to make runs off him, threading passes to them with his first touch as he can provide creativity in the nine-space as well as adding continuity to attacking moves. He is clever at moving into space to receive possession while his passing range is fantastic as he can switch the ball to switch the point of attack, he can play simple lay-offs as well as threading through balls to runners to create opportunities. His ability to receive the ball and swivel is crucial in not only creating shots for teammates but also for himself as he can move into spaces, receive passes and swivel to generate shooting opportunities for himself. He has the first touch, core strength and low centre of gravity to evade markers and have shots on goal from in and around the box. The 19-year-old’s occupation of space, especially on the blind-side of his defender is strong as it is crucial in allowing him to finish low crossing opportunities.
The attacker needs to develop a better sense of double-movements in the box, especially at occupying the blind-side of his defender, moving into the box to drag his defender away from his partner before moving in front of his marker at the last minute receive deliveries in the box. Sung Jin-Young loves to occupy the back-post as late movements in front of his defender could be key in finishing opportunities from this area. As a shorter striker, it is integral that he utilizes his movement at the front and the back-post as he could face taller defenders in the centre of the box. In crossing situations, he needs to focus on moving towards the goal as there are certain situations where he moves away from the goal to receive a cut-back when a better finishing position is available closer to goal.
The 19-year-old has potential as a striker as it seems like his primary move could be to the K League to gain experience. In Korea, teams regularly start young players while taking them off in the first 15 to 30 minutes as this may not be the best team for him to develop. In Europe, teams like Midtylland would suit his style of play as would Club Brugge as Hamburg would also be a good team for him. In Austria, LASK, Austria Wien and Rapid Wien would be good teams for him as teams in the Swiss Super League would also be a good place for the youngster to earn some experience. He was 2nd in the top scorers list with 3 goals in the AFC U20 Asian Cup while he will also be a player to watch in the U20 World Cup in Indonesia later this year. Sung-Jin Young could be a low risk and high-value player available on the summer market in a few months.
