Suk Hyun-jun Makes Dutch Debut
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Suk Hyun-jun made his AFC Ajax debut at home Thursday (KST).
The 18-year-old replaced Serbian striker Marco Pantelic in the 80th minute with the team enjoying a safe 4-0 lead over Roda JC in a regular-season game and played a total of 15 minutes, including stoppage time.
Ajax won the match and are third on 46 points behind PSV Eindhoven and FC Twente, each with 55, in the Eredivisie standings.
"I was very nervous because it was my career-first match, so I could not play up to what I planned,'' said Suk, the eighth South Korean export to the Dutch league.
"It felt good to hear fans chant my name."
He was signed to an 18-month contract by the Amsterdam-based club last month, becoming the first Korean footballer to join Ajax.
He joined the first team on Jan. 19 and made the reserve roster in the last three matches.
Suk, who has played internationally with Korea's youth teams, flew to Amsterdam last June with hopes of getting a trial to train with the team. Ajax manager Martin Jol permitted him to train with the team's reserves and after some impressive training sessions, he earned an internship in October.