Making the Grade: Son Jae-hee’s journey to the Ansan first team (via Germany)

Son Jae-hee made his breakthrough into Ansan's first team this season, with 4 starts and 5 appearances from the bench for the Green Wolves so far this season. We sat down to have a chat with the man to find out about his expereinces rising through the ranks at the Wa.

With the team trailing by two on the South-east coast, a cross field ball is headed on by 21 year-old Yang Se-yeong. It is then cut back across by 20 year-old Son Jae-hee which results in a dextrous turn, control and then finish from Noh Gyeong-ho. It did not yield a comeback at the Asiad stadium, but it did highlight a rare positive for the Green Wolves in 2024: Their youth development. We decided to interview Son, following his goal involvement in the K League, to find out how he went from youth to professional.

Developing Youth

Ansan's 2024 squad certainly has a young orientation with 12 players aged 23 or under (36%), compared to just 5 aged 30 or over (15%). The club have also brought through players from the U League in recent years (see the article linked below for an interview with Kim Bo-seop), and this may seem like an ever pressing necessity given that the Greeners ranked lowest in terms of player staff expenditure in the 2023 season. While youth players are brought in from the university system or from other K league sides, Son Jae-hee rose through the ranks of the Greeners' youth set-up before breaking into the first team this season.

Origins

Son joined the Ansan youth set-up in primary school and trained within the youth ranks right through middle and high school. He notes that these were the key days for developing his strengths and learning his weaknesses, but also it was his father's tutelage that cultivated him into becoming a professional footballer.  However it was a high school tournament that gave Son his fondest memory during his youth development, noting winning his last high school competition: "It's always good to win a game, but the reason it was a high school tournament was because I was injured and it was unclear whether I would be able to participate in the tournament, but I really wanted to play in the tournament, so I think I did everything I could. That's why I remember it the most." However, after graduating high school and joining Ansan professionally, Son sought a different type of opportunity in order to find the advancement necessary to make it into the first team.

In the second half of 2023, Son set off for Germany to play for SV Hemelingen in the German fifth tier, a league featuring Werder Bremen's 2nd side. He made an impression, scoring 4 times in 15 apparances.  Asking why he made the move to Germany, rather than battling for a place in a struggling Ansan team, he noted: "I wanted to play football abroad if I had the chance," and further, his high school coach recommended the opportunity as being key to gaining match experience. Regarding the level of competition, Son reflects: "Although it was a lower league, there were many high-level teams and many physically good players, so competing with adult players was a good experience for me. As time went by, I was able to adapt to the team and German football style and record attack points." In particular, the match experience appears to be paying off, as it provided a chance to play against a more mature age group. Son notes on his time in Germany: "[I] A lot of time for self-development in Germany and also had experience playing against adult players, so I think it is helping me compete with adult players in Ansan." Regarding adapting to a different environment, Son was postivie, noting a difference in atmosphere, stating that Germany felt more comfortable and it was easier to communicate and express one's feelings. Thus, making such moves appears to be more attractive for young Koreans breaking into the game, and the main draw of course is play time, which moves onto another key talking point on youth development in Korea.

The U22 Rule

The U22 rules in Korea allows teams to make more subsitutions based on player ages. U22 players can count as 2 additional substitutes, on top of the standard 3, essentiually meaning a team can use 5 substitutes in one game as long as the 2 of them qualify as U22. While this rule has been criticised as harming the Universty League, and also for producing odd circumstances wherby both teams subsitute their young players off early in the game, Son sees the rule as a good thing for young Korean players. He states: "I think the U22 rule helps. I think it's right for young players to compete against experienced players." Son also notes a key difference in terms of development stating that "the pace of development is different between playing and not playing."

Goals for the Season

At the time of writing, Ansan sit in an unenviable position at the foot of the K2. However, there have been some positives, including a relatively decent goal difference, and not being too adrift of midtable. How Son plans to be part of this is made clear, aiming to "participate in as many games as possible so I can continue to show good form." And regarding his future, it seems that the German experience left an impression, as Son notes: "if I get the chance, I would like to go overseas again." Perhaps we will see Son make an appearance beyond the K League again in the future.