Ri Kum-suk

Korean spelling
Chosŏn'gŭl	리금숙
Revised Romanization	Ri Geum-suk
McCune- Reischauer	Ri Kŭmsuk
See also : Korean name

Ri Kum-suk

Ri Kum-suk (born August 16, 1978 in Hamhŭng ) is a North Korean soccer player. The striker is the captain of the North Korean national soccer team . She took part in three soccer world championships, in her home country she played for the state club sports group April 25 from Namp'o .

At the 1999 World Cup , Ri took part in the finals at the age of 20 and played in all three of her team's preliminary round games, but could not prevent North Korea from prematurely leaving. At the 2001 Asian Cup , North Korea won the title for the first time, Ri scored the opening goal in their 2-0 win over Japan , followed a year later by winning the Asian Games in Busan.

In 2003 the North Koreans managed to maintain their title at the Asian Cup ; Ri scored 15 goals in this tournament, including the two goals in the 2-1 final victory over China . At the World Cup in the same year, Ri Kum-suk was used again in all preliminary round games, but the team of the East Asian country was eliminated again in the preliminary round. After the rather disappointing performance at the 2006 Asian Cup , when the North Koreans were eliminated in the semifinals, Ri led the team to win the gold medal again at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha. At the 2007 World Cup , North Korea finally managed to survive the preliminary round, but lost 3-0 in the quarter-finals against eventual world champions Germany . She herself scored a goal in this tournament. In 2007 she won the World Military Games with North Korea after beating Germany 5-0 in the final.

In April 2007 she was nominated for the game of the “FIFA Women's World Stars” against the Chinese women's national soccer team on the occasion of the group draw for the 2007 World Cup and came on as a substitute for the second half.

At the Asian Cup in 2008 , North Korea celebrated its third title win, Ri once again had a large share in the continental crown, who scored seven goals and thus also became the tournament's top scorer. In the same year she was named the best player on the continent by the Asian Football Association . She was also recognized as one of the best athletes in her home country. In 2006 she was one of the candidates for the election of World Soccer Player of the Year.

At the end of 2008 she ended her active career as a player. She is currently working on her trainer training.

In 69 international matches, she scored 45 goals for her country.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Naenara: Best Player in Asia  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (no longer available online)  
2. ↑ Ri Kum-suk in the FIFA database , accessed on July 29, 2011
3. ↑ tagesspiegel.de: Mysterious and feared (September 19, 2007), accessed on July 29, 2011.
4. ↑ rsssf.com: Asian Women's Championship 2003
5. ↑ Match Report FIFA Women's World Stars - China PR 2: 3 (2: 2)
6. ↑ the-afc: Ri Kum Suk is AFC Women's Player of the Year (November 6, 2007), accessed July 29, 2011.
7. ↑ kcckp.net: Ten most valuable Players ( Memento of October 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). Accessed July 29, 2011.
8. ↑ fansoccer.de: Three Stars from the Far East , accessed on July 29, 2011.
9. ↑ Naenara: People's Athlete Ri Kum Suk , accessed July 29, 2011.
10. ↑ fifa.com: Profile: RI Kum Suk

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Ri is the family name here, Kum-suk is the first name.