Choe Song-hyok explained

Choe Song-hyok
Birth Date:8 February 1998
Birth Place:Pyongyang, North Korea[1]
Height:1.76 m
Position:Midfielder
Youthyears1:–2016
Youthclubs1:Chobyong
Youthyears2:2016
Youthclubs2:Fiorentina
Years1:2017–2018
Caps1:0
Goals1:0
Years2:2018
Clubs2:Olbia (loan)
Caps2:5
Goals2:0
Years3:2018–2020
Clubs3:Arezzo
Caps3:2
Goals3:0
Nationalyears1:2014
Nationalteam1:North Korea U16
Nationalgoals1:4
Nationalyears2:2015
Nationalteam2:North Korea U17
Nationalcaps2:4
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:2016
Nationalteam3:North Korea U19
Nationalcaps3:2
Nationalgoals3:0
Nationalyears4:2018
Nationalteam4:North Korea U23
Nationalcaps4:2
Nationalgoals4:0
Nationalyears5:2018–
Nationalteam5:North Korea
Nationalcaps5:3
Nationalgoals5:0
Club-Update:19 November 2019
Nationalteam-Update:2 July 2019
Hangul:최성혁
Rr:Choe Songhyeok
Mr:Ch'oe Songhyŏk
Context:north

Choe Song-hyok (born February 8, 1998) is a North Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for the North Korean national team.

Club career

Youth career

Choe started out with Chobyong, a North Korean academy known for developing young talent.[2] [3] Choe signed with Italian club Fiorentina in February 2016, joining the Primavera (under-19) squad.[2] On March 5, he made his debut for Fiorentina Primavera, during a 4–2 victory over Virtus Entella U19. In doing so, he became the first North Korean footballer to ever make an appearance for an Italian club at any level.[2] [3]

However, problems related to his nationality quickly began arising, and he only made three more appearances with the team.[4] It was reported that the North Korean regime had placed strict restrictions on him during his time abroad. In addition to them keeping his travel documents, he was not allowed to use the internet, nor have relations with the media or teammates, unless directly related to football.[3] [5] Additionally, it was rumored that his signing bonus and 70% of his future salary would be repatriated to his home country. For this reason, in May, the Italian Parliament requested that the government review the contract.[6] The following month, Fiorentina decided to terminate his contract.[2] Choe took the matter to court, and the Italian Football Federation ruled that the club was obligated to continue honoring the contract. Subsequently, Fiorentina appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing that the contract should be invalidated because they were not aware that it violated international sanctions at the time of its signing.[7]

Professional career

In July 2017, Choe signed a three-year deal with Serie B side Perugia.[8]

After only two appearances with the club (both with the under-19 squad), Choe was loaned out to fellow Serie C side Olbia in January 2018.[1] He made his long-awaited professional debut on February 25, replacing Roberto Biancu in the late minutes of a 1–0 defeat to Robur Siena.[9]

On 13 July 2018, he signed with another Serie C club Arezzo.[10] He made just 2 appearances in the league (16 minutes of field time) in the next 1.5-years, and on 31 January 2020, his Arezzo contract was terminated by mutual consent.[11]

International career

Choe gained prominence by leading the North Korea U16s to a first-place finish at the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship, scoring the game-winning strike against South Korea in the final.[2]

Choe was also named to the North Korea U-17 national team that competed in the North Korea U17 squad at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he made four appearances.[12] However, North Korea was knocked off in the round of 16 by Mali.

He earned two caps for the national under-19 team at the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship, and two more at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.

He made his debut for his nation's senior squad on 25 December 2018 in a friendly against Vietnam.[13]

Honours

International

North Korea U16

Notes and References

  1. News: UFFICIALE Olbia: c'è la firma di Choe Song Hyok. SardegnaSport. January 29, 2018. May 17, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180518195849/http://www.sardegnasport.com/2018/01/29/calciomercato-ufficiale-olbia-ce-la-firma-di-choe-song-hyok-nordcoreano-classe-98-ex-perugia-e-fiorentina/. May 18, 2018. dead.
  2. News: The strange ballad of Choe Song Hyok. SB Nation. Viola Nation. February 9, 2017. May 16, 2018.
  3. News: Dal regime della bomba atomica alla Fiorentina: la storia di Choe Song-Hyok. Eurosport. Daniele. Fantini. March 27, 2016. May 16, 2018. Italian.
  4. News: Scontro Figc-Fiorentina: 'Reintegrate e pagate Choe'. Ma i viola dicono no. calciomercato.com. October 6, 2016. May 16, 2018. Italian.
  5. News: La Fiorentina molla Choe, finisce la favola del nordcoreano della Primavera. La Gazzetta dello Sport. Francesco. Oddi. August 4, 2016. May 17, 2018. Italian.
  6. News: North Korea suspected of 'extorting' young footballer's wages. Julian. Ryall. The Daily Telegraph. May 27, 2016. May 16, 2018.
  7. News: Caso Choe Song-Hyok, la Fiorentina ricorre contro il calciatore e si rivolge al Collegio di Garanzia: i dettagli. Fiorentina News. February 8, 2017. May 16, 2018. Italian.
  8. News: UFFICIALE: Perugia, triennale per Choe Song Hyok. Claudia. Marrone. Tutto Mercato Web. July 14, 2017. May 17, 2018. Italian.
  9. Web site: Serie C Girone A 2017/2018 » 27. Giornata » Diretta scritta: Robur Siena - Olbia 1:0. calcio.com. May 17, 2018. Italian.
  10. Web site: U.S. Arezzo. Choe Song Hyok: the first North Korean for Arezzo. Italian. 13 July 2018.
  11. Arezzo. Chiuso il mercato invernale amaranto, ecco tutte le operazioni effettuate. 31 January 2020. Italian.
  12. News: Dalla Corea del Nord con furore: Fiorentina, ecco Choe Song-Hyok. canteraviola.com. Stefano. Fantoni. March 8, 2016. May 16, 2018. Italian.
  13. Web site: ESPN. Vietnam vs North Korea game report. 25 December 2018.