Birthplace: Gwangju, South Korea
Signed: 1 Jan 2010
Left: 24 Aug 2012 (to Swansea)
Position: Midfielder (Central)
Debut: Celtic 1-1 Falkirk, League, 16 Jan 2010
Squad No: 18
Internationals: South Korea
International Caps: 45 [Apr 2012]
International Goals: 5 [Apr 2012]

Biog

Highly rated midfielder Ki Sung-Yong joined the Hoops in January 2010 when he completed a reported £2.1 million move from FC Seoul.

Ki's football education really began in Australia having been sent by his family in 2001 to John Paul College in Logan City, Queensland (where he was known as "Dave"!). While in Australia he helped his college side to the national title before eventually being tempted back to Korea by FC Seoul in 2005.

It would be at FC Seoul that he really made his name and would quickly gain international honours at Under-20 and Under-23 levels before winning his first full cap on June 7th 2008 when he played in the World Cup qualifier against Jordan.

Ki's career continued to progress and he was now regarded as one of Asia's most promising football talents. This potential was underlined when Ki was named as Asian Young Footballer of The Year 2009.

Although the deal to bring Ki to Glasgow from South Korea was initially agreed in August 2009 the switch wasn't officially ratified until January 1st. A star performer with Seoul in the K-League the 20-year-old had attracted interest from various European clubs including English Premiership side Portsmouth.

It was Celtic though that won the race to bring Ki to Europe and the South Korean ace would make his Hoops debut on January 16th when he started the SPL clash against Falkirk at Parkhead.

His early appearances in the Celtic shirt displayed glimpses of talent but the Hoops support were in the main slightly under-whelmed by the contribution of a player who arrived in Glasgow hotly tipped as a star in the making.

However, any expectations that Ki would be an instant success were perhaps both unrealistic and unfair. Anyone crossing the cultural gulf – both on and off the field - between Scotland and Korea deserves time for acclimatisation. In any walk of life such a move would be a challenge so it is only natural that a 20-year-old thrust into the intensity of the Glasgow football scene would take time to find his feet.

Coupled to all this was the fact that Ki’s arrival at Parkhead coincided with a period of shambolic upheaval. The Korean landed in Scotland amidst desperate attempts by then Bhoys boss Tony Mowbray to add a plethora of new faces to his squad and perform a radical overhaul of his struggling team. It was a gamble which failed to pay off and Mowbray paid with his job.

Against this background of a disjointed and dispirited dressing room it is little wonder the youngster failed to shine. It is also little surprise that Neil Lennon – appointed interim boss after Mowbray’s sacking – mostly overlooked the undoubtedly out of sorts Korean as he attempted to restore some Celtic pride in the remainder of the season.

When the disappointing domestic campaign concluded Ki travelled to the World Cup with the South Korea squad. He enjoyed an impressive tournament and, perhaps for the first time, Celtic supporters witnessed with their own eyes that here was a footballer of no little quality.

Despite this the challenge of breaking into the Celtic starting line-up was not about to get any easier. Lennon – now the full-time Parkhead manager – had recruited international midfielders Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley and Efrain Juarez. However, one new arrival warmly welcomed by Ki was international team-mate Cha Du Ri. Cha, a former Freiburg full-back, signed for the Hoops on a free transfer and with his fellow countryman for company Ki seemed to finally settle down in Glasgow.

Starting the season on the bench the midfielder produced several impressive substitute appearances – including scoring a stunning goal in the 4-0 victory over St Mirren at Celtic Park in August. An injury to Scott Brown then presented Ki with a chance to stake a claim for a starting place and it was an opportunity he wasn’t to squander.

The Korean produced a string of stand-out performances and suddenly Ki was regarded as a must start for the Bhoys. A wonderfully composed, astute and efficient ball player, Ki became a highly effective performer. His vision coupled with a sublime passing ability could penetrate the tightest defence. Energetic and hardworking, he demonstrated a previously unheralded robustness which ensured that even in the rough and tumble of the SPL his cultured skills could flourish.

It was no surprise that Ki was named the Clydesdale Bank Young Player award for October 2010 and the players excellent form continued until the New Year when he and Cha departed Scotland for international duty at the Asia Cup, where he would play a key role in South Korea's third place finish.

Ki returned from international duty to find Celtic in top form and with competition for a starting berth tougher than it ever was. However, having played an integral role in the campaign so far there was little doubt that the Korean would remain a major part of manager Neil Lennon's plans. Ki rounded off season 2010/11 in style with the opening goal in the Celtic's -0 Scottish Cup Final victory over Motherwell.

Ki then kicked off season 2011/12 in the same form as he leff off with, scoring the second goal in the 2-0 victory at Hibs on the opening day of the season. He also netted in the 5-1 rout over Dundee and the 4-0 win against Motherwell in the first few weeks of the campaign.

Overall, Ki went onto make 41 appearances during the 2011/12 season, scoring 7 goals in the process. Ki claimed his first league winners medal with Celtic that season and come agonisingly close to a possible double and even a highly prestigious treble. He was definitely developing although still assertiveness was an issue.

He made a bit of Celtic history as well. Competing with the South Korean national team in the Summer Olympics in London (August 2012), he pushed his side into the medals winning a bronze, so becoming the first ever Celtic player to win an Olympic medal whilst the player is on our books. High points will have been scoring the winning penalty in a penalty shoot-out to knock-out "Team GB" (sic!) and then defeating local rivals Japan in the third place play-off match for the bronze medal.

Many supporters agree that Ki had improved greatly compared to previous year. It was generally accepted that he was possibly the most technically gifted player at the club yet many still feel that he lacks enough of a fight in the ''big'' games. Of course, this is all open to debate. He did though show his skill and quality and there were many who stated that he was our most talented player. Subjective, but was supported with many examples of his quality. A good ability to play long passes and create moves was his strength even if the physical game wasn't.

Football needs more than skill; assertiveness and speed are also virtues. Some would say that the losing goal in the League Cup final of 2011/12 stemmed from a lost ball by Ki due to his lack on those fronts. They have a fair point but everyone can make errors.

It was a long season but still he was finding it difficult to make himself a certain starter for every game, not easy with the large glut of quality midfielders Celtic had at the time (i.e. Wanyama, Kayal, Ledley, Brown, Forrest). The midfield had to be repeatedly rotated to keep all happy. Ki nevertheless was still a regular starter in the league which was more than enough indication of the respect from the management for him.

However, he was never a vital player. Possibly youth was part of the reason, but he could flit in and out of games and for a player in his position (central midfield), that was not an attractive 'attribute' to have. Commanding the midfield is vital especially now that tactics seems to see the centre of the pitch clogged up. Some would argue that he could be a bit pedestrian, and in the modern fast paced game this is a huge drawback but he had the ability and time to work on this flaw. Anyone who would try to argue that he was possibly too skillful for the SPL is talking nonsense. Others like Jarosik, Donati and Crosas have been here and failed yet after leaving never showed anything different elsewhere. Others skillful players like Lubo, Nakamura and Izaguirre have come and more than proven themselves.

One event badly marked Ki's card down. After a match v Japan in Asia, Ki decided to goad the opposition support with some monkey gestures. Comical and can be put down to silly banter, however after some criticism, a statement was released claiming that it wasn't in fact about the Japanese but a retort against the racism he had experienced in Scotland. Pathetic! If he had the guts to make the gesture he should have had the bottle to apologise or stand by it. It was an insult to Scotland and our club for what was said after the generally great welcome and support that had been offerred to him by both within and out of Celtic. Shouldn't overshadow all else, but can't be swept away. Redirecting his errors was a poor decision and a cheap shot. You could argue it was his association who put out the remarks and not him but it all comes down to Ki and he has to take the flak, he could have made his own statement and apology on it.

Don't wish to put a sour note on his time at Celtic though. It was obvious that he enjoyed his time at Celtic and the fans responded in kind. His celebrations when we won the trophies showed this and he was a popular frequent tweeter showing what japes he was getting up to. With his loveable compatriot at Celtic from South Korea (Cha-Du Ri) they were a good duo to like as people. Handled himself generally professionally on the field and there was never any silly bleating to the press if he did ever have any qualms. He came with some good talent and definitely grew whilst at the club to be a better player. In truth, part of the plan was obviously going to be that he would develop and move onto one of the richer leagues. If Celtic could do well with him and then make good money from him then that suited both parties. Guess though we'd have like to see him stay and develop further with us.

Strangely, just before leaving Celtic, Nike produced a video using Ki about Celtic and his love for the club and the ethos of the club etc in Korean for that market. It was slick and sharp but he was leaving us so confusing why it was commissioned. Sure the sentiment was right though.

On 24 August 2012, after returning from the Olympics with the South Korean team, he opted to move to Swansea (Welsh team playing in the EPL with footballing great Michael Laudrup as manager), for a transfer fee estimated of £5.5-6.3m with add-ons (est up to £2.5m). Not a bad deal financially on a player we bought for very little, but on a footballing front it's sad to see him go. Maybe if we weren't as blessed with a surplus of quality midfielders we'd have more ability to room him in all games without need for much rotation but that wasn't the situation for him. Possibly will have more opportunities at Swansea.

We wished him the best. A good talented player who left us with some good memories after some fine goals and performances.

Playing Career

2011/12
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Celtic	SC	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Celtic	SPL	21	9	6	6	31	14	21	17	3	0
Celtic	LC	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Celtic	Europa Lge	6	0	1	0	9	5	7	14	1	0
2010/11
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Celtic	LC	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Celtic	SPL	18	8	3	3	24	7	26	16	4	0
Celtic	SC	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
2009/10
TEAM	Competition	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Celtic	SC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Celtic	SPL	5	5	0	1	9	7	5	11	0	0

GS: Games Started, SB: Used as Substitute,
G: Goals, A: Assists, SH: Shots, SG: Shots on goal,
YC: Yellow Cards, RC: Red Cards, FC: Fouls Committed, FS: Fouls Suffered,
SV: Saves, OF: Offsides,
W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses

Honours with Celtic

Scottish Premier League

• 2012

Scottish Cup:

• 2011

KDS Honours
MOTM Winners 2009-10
16-Jan-10	Celtic 1-1 Falkirk	SPL

Pictures

• Player Pics

Articles

(Official)

CELTIC Football Club is delighted to announce that South Korean Internationalist, Ki Sung Yueng, has agreed a contract for up to four years with the club and will join Celtic on January 1 2010.

The player was granted the required work permit on Friday and is expected to join up with the squad towards the end of December.

Ki, aged just 20, has recently been named the Asian Young Player of the Year and has made 17 international appearances, playing in every game in South Korea's World Cup qualifying campaign on route to qualification for South Africa 2010.

Ki Sung Yueng commented: “I am absolutely delighted to sign for Celtic, a football club with a tremendous history and one which is known throughout the world.

“I know that Celtic has some of the best supporters in the world and I will be doing all I can to show these fans what I can do and give everything as part of a team which will aim to achieve more and more success.

“When I lived in Australia, my football coach there was a Celtic supporter and through him I really became interested in the club.

“It is now a dream come true for me to join this great club - already, Celtic has shown me a tremendous welcome and I really do now feel part of the Celtic family. I look forward to teaming up with my new manager and team mates and I will be working hard towards achieving all I can for Celtic.”

Celtic Manager Tony Mowbray is delighted with the player's capture, adding: “We are very pleased to announce the signing of Ki and we are sure he is a player who has the potential to make an impact at Celtic.

“We have watched the player in action already and believe that he has some real qualities. He is a young man, but someone who we believe has the ability and character to do well for the club. We will be doing all we can to ensure that he can fulfill his potential at Celtic.”

Celtic's Chief Executive commented: “Celtic looks forward to welcoming Ki Sung Yueng to Scotland, we are sure he is someone who will be a positive addition to the squad.

“The Celtic Board will continue to do all that it can to support Tony's plans in terms of strengthening the squad.”

Swansea complete signing of Ki Sung-yueng from Celtic for club record fee

Swansea have signed Celtic midfielder Ki Sung-yueng for an undisclosed club-record fee, subject to a work permit and international clearance.
Ki Sung-yueng
By Telegraph Sport

5:42PM BST 24 Aug 2012

The South Korea international has signed a three-year contract at the Liberty Stadium but will not be available for Saturday's clash with West Ham.

Ki told swanseacity.net: "This is something I have dreamt about since I was a child - playing in the Premier League against the best players in the world. I can't wait to play my first game."

Ki revealed the Swans' style of play and the presence of Michael Laudrup as manager both played a part in enticing him to make the move south.

"When I look at Swansea I see a club that is growing and growing, and the style here is very attractive to me," he said.

"Last year I watched them a lot in the Premier League and they did things very differently to a lot of the other teams. They wanted to keep the ball and pass it around, which I love to do. When they didn't have the ball they worked so hard to get it back quickly.

"It was very impressive, and I think I can grow as a player here and help the club move forward.

"The manager is another big attraction. I remember watching him when I was younger and I was amazed by how good he was.

"Now I want to learn from him in order to help me become a better player. I learned a lot at Celtic - it helped me become more of an all-round player."

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins added: "Having lost Joe Allen recently, it was vital that we invested the money wisely by bringing quality young footballers into the club with potential to grow further.

"Ki fulfils that criteria and everyone in the football club is excited about the prospect of him playing and developing with us."

Ki spent two and a half years at Celtic after signing from FC Seoul in January 2010, the highlight of which was a goalscoring, man-of-the-match performance in the 2011 Scottish Cup final against Motherwell.

He came up against new team-mates Neil Taylor and Scott Sinclair, as well as Allen, when his side beat Great Britain on penalties in the recent Olympic tournament, with Ki scoring the first spot-kick.

He also has experience of the Liberty Stadium after a pre-season friendly with his former club and said: "I remember playing here for Celtic and the fans here made a lot of noise. This is a lovely stadium.

"I can't wait to get out there and be a part of the team. But first I will enjoy watching the game on Saturday."