Park Joins AS Monaco
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korean striker Park Chu-young has joined AS Monaco in the French league.
Park and the French side reached a four-year deal Monday night for him to play in the Ligue 1, the first division league in France.
The transfer fee for the former FC Seoul star was reportedly 2 million euro ($2.9 million, 3.2 billion won), but his salary was not disclosed.
Joining manager Ricardo Gomes' side, the 23-year-old Daegu native became the fourth South Korean footballer to join the Ligue 1, following retired Seo Jung-won (RC Strasbourg), Lee Sang-yoon (FC Lorient) and Ahn Jung-hwan of Busan I'Park (FC Metz).
Park, who was once a highly-touted football prospect, is anticipating the new challenge in France.
``After the Olympic Games, I played two matches with FC Seoul, and I'm ready to play,'' Park said. ``I'm proud to be here. It was not me who picked this team, but the team which chose me.''
Monaco chairman Jerome de Bontin was also pleased with the signing.
``We had been in contact with his club for several months and we are very happy he has joined us,'' he said.
Added Gomes, the team's Brazilian boss: ``He is a center forward, very comfortable right in front of goal. He will need a little time to adapt to our league but I hope he will manage that quickly.''
Park is not likely to have trouble communicating with Gomes because he can speak Portuguese after spending one year in Brazil in 2001.
The seven-time league champion, which also topped the French Cup five times, ranks 11th in the league standings this year and is filled with young talented attackers, such as American Freddy Adu, who is on loan from Benfica in the Spanish league, and Frederic Nimani of France.
After sweeping the golden ball and Most Valuable Player awards at the 2004 AFC Youth Championships, Park made his K-League debut with FC Seoul in 2005. He sparked the league by scoring 18 goals and four assists en route to becoming the first unanimous rookie of the year in vote history. He also set a record that season by becoming the youngest player to record a hat trick at 19 years, 10 months and 8 days.
However, after his stellar first pro season, Park has never equaled that success, and he was left off the Korean national team's roster for the final qualifying round of the 2010 World Cup.
Park was scheduled to return home this week and play his final K-League match, but Monaco wants to get him on the pitch as soon as possible, so he postponed coming back to Korea to October.
He is expected to make his French league debut on Sept. 13 against FC Lorient.