Good-bye 女 soccer player Yoo Young-ah → Lee Eun-mi's touching retirement ceremony, please give a lot of love to your sincere juniors

Jun 01, 2025

Good-bye 女 soccer player Yoo Young-ah → Lee Eun-mi's touching retirement ceremony, please give a lot of love to your sincere juniors
photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association



"Please show a lot of love for your juniors."

The last wish of 'Taegeuk Warrior' leaving the ground was, again, the love and interest of the fans.

South Korea's women's soccer A team, led by head coach Shin Sang-woo, played a friendly match against Colombia at Incheon Namdong Asia Rugby Stadium on May 30.




At half-time, the retirement ceremony of Yoo Young-ah (Seoul City Hall coach) and Lee Eun-mi (Suwon FC Women's Playing coach) was held. Since 2002, the Korea Football Association has been providing retirement ceremonies for players who have played more than 70 A matches and have devoted themselves to the national team. At the retirement ceremony, a tribute video was screened, including congratulatory messages from junior national team players. Memorial frames, plaques, and bouquets were delivered to the retired players.

Yoo Young-ah thanked all the leaders. I wrote half of my life without a script. The drama of soccer player Yoo Young-ah is over. Thank you for your love. Now, please look forward to the second act of life as a leader, not a player."

Yoo Young-ah, who was a striker, joined Busan Sangmu (currently Mungyeong Sangmu) in 2009, played for Incheon Hyundai Steel and Gumi Sports Toto (currently Sejong Sports Toto) and played as a striker for Seoul City Hall until last year. As a member of the national team, he participated in the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada, the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, and the 2014 Incheon Asian Games. He scored 32 goals in 87 A matches. After Ji So-yeon (72 goals, Seattle Lane) and Jeon Ga-eul (38 goals, retirement), it is the third-highest score in women's A-match history.




Lee Eun-mi is ranked 11th in the women's A-match history. He "I never thought I'd hold a microphone like this in front of so many people. I tried silently to do my best rather than trying to do well. I'm leaving the ground, but I ask for a lot of love for my juniors." His voice shook as if he was holding back tears.

Lee Eun-mi, who was a defender, won three WK League titles (2009, 2011, 2012) after joining the Gyeongnam Daekyo Kangaroos (the predecessor of Icheon Bridge) in 2009. Since 2017, he has played only for Suwon FC Women. They won last year's championship game together. Currently, he is playing as a playing coach for Suwon FC Women. He experienced World Cup stages in Canada in 2015 and France in 2019. He scored 14 points in 91 A matches.

Good-bye 女 soccer player Yoo Young-ah → Lee Eun-mi's touching retirement ceremony, please give a lot of love to your sincere juniors
photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association
The juniors seemed to be ahead of the seniors' successive retirements. Ji So-yeon "I thought I would cry when I saw the retirement ceremony. So I didn't look at it on purpose. I said hello separately"We have to raise our players (to a high level) before I leave the team (retire). My experience helps a lot of players, and if I get to that position, I think I can probably come down."




Kim Hye-ri (Wuhan Jingda) is an older sister who played together. I was touched. My sisters said we could do it longer. But my sisters retired at my age and told us to do more, so I don't understand what you're saying (laughs)," he said. "I thought a lot that I wasn't far from (retired). I haven't decided when I will retire, but I think it's the last time every year. My goal is to come back to the next national team call-up. Rather than big plans or greed, the goal is to value every call-up and have fun and happy soccer with good players. A lot of young players came in. He said, "I want to adapt well and play a central role so that the team can go in a good direction and retire."



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.