Ryang Yong-gi (Korean: 량용기; Hancha: 梁勇基; born 7 January 1982) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.[1] Born in Japan, he represented North Korea internationally.
 Yong-gi with DPR Korea in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 7 January 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Tadaoka, Osaka, Japan | ||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2003 | Hannan University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2004–2019 | Vegalta Sendai | 522 | (76) |
| 2020–2022 | Sagan Tosu | 29 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Vegalta Sendai | 26 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2017 | North Korea | 26 | (7) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18 December 2023, 14:44 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 19 July 2020, 16:20 (UTC) | |||
| Ryang Yong-gi | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 량용기 |
|---|---|
| Hancha | 梁勇基 |
| Revised Romanization | Yang Yonggi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ryang Yonggi |
Ryang served as the captain of his club where he played as a creative midfielder.[2]
Ryang has made one appearance for the Korea DPR national football team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds [3] and was named as one of the North Korean squad for the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup.[4] Ryang won the Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player awards at the competition that guided Korea DPR to win the title and qualify for 2011 AFC Asian Cup.
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami edit
During the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Ryang was out driving when it hit. "I thought my tires had gone flat or I had driven over the curb, but the shaking continued and I saw the windows of shops shaking too," he recalled. "I knew it was a bad one and rushed home to see my wife." Ryang and his heavily pregnant wife spent the night sleeping in their car, fearful of further damage to buildings in an urban landscape that suffered severe wreckage.[5]
In the aftermath of the disaster, Ryang and his teammates made frequent visits to affected areas to lend support.[5]
Career statistics edit
Club edit
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Vegalta Sendai | 2004 | J2 League | 32 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 2 | ||
| 2005 | 39 | 6 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 6 | ||||
| 2006 | 42 | 4 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 43 | 4 | ||||
| 2007 | 48 | 8 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 49 | 8 | ||||
| 2008 | 42 | 13 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 13 | ||||
| 2009 | 51 | 14 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 55 | 15 | ||||
| 2010 | J1 League | 34 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 11 | ||
| 2011 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 4 | |||
| 2012 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 33 | 4 | |||
| 2013 | 30 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 41 | 6 | ||
| 2014 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 40 | 2 | |||
| 2015 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | — | 41 | 4 | |||
| 2016 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2018 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2019 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 21 | 1 | |||
| Total | 522 | 76 | 21 | 2 | 36 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 584 | 81 | ||
| Sagan Tosu | 2020 | J1 League | 22 | 0 | - | - | 2 | 0 | — | 24 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ー | ー | 32 | 0 | ||
| Vegalta Sendai | 2022 | J2 League | 15 | - | 1 | 0 | - | - | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | - | - | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 577 | 76 | 24 | 2 | 39 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 645 | 81 | ||
International edit
- As of match played 18 July 2020[6]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Korea | |||
| 2008 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 7 | 5 | |
| 2011 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 26 | 7 | |
International goals edit
- As of goal scored on 14 January 2015[6]
- Scores and results list North Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ryang goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 February 2010 | Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka |  Turkmenistan
|
1–0 | 1–1 | 2010 AFC Challenge Cup | |
| 2 | 21 February 2010 | Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka |  India
|
1–0 | 3–0 | 2010 AFC Challenge Cup | |
| 3 | 3–0 | ||||||
| 4 | 27 February 2010 | Sugathadasa Stadium, Colombo, Sri Lanka | Turkmenistan
|
1–0 | 1–1 | 2010 AFC Challenge Cup | |
| 5 | 31 December 2010 | Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha, Qatar | Turkmenistan
|
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | |
| 6 | 9 December 2012 | Hong Kong Stadium, Wanchai, Hong Kong |  Hong Kong
|
2–0 | 4–0 | 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup Preliminary round 2 | |
| 7 | 14 January 2015 | AAMI Park, Melbourne, Australia |  Saudi Arabia
|
1–0 | 1–4 | 2015 AFC Asian Cup |
Honours edit
Vegalta Sendai
- J. League Division 2: 2009
North Korea
Individual
- Individual Fair-Play Award: 2011
- Monthly Best Goal: 2015
References edit
- ^ "Stats Centre: Ryang Yong-gi Facts". Guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ "Jong poised to fire Chollima". FIFA. 2008-09-03. Archived from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-18.
- ^ Ryang Yong-gi – FIFA competition record (archived)
- ^ 梁勇基選手 2010AFCチャレンジカップ及び朝鮮民主主義人民共和国代表強化合宿参加のお知らせ. Vegalta Sendai official site. 14 January 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
- ^ a b Paul Gittings and Yoko Wakatsuki (28 August 2013). "Korea United: Football hero Ryang Yong-gi's ambitious goal". CNN.
- ^ a b c Ryang Yong-gi at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Ryang Yong-gi at Soccerway
External links edit
- Ryang Yong-gi – FIFA competition record (archived)
- Ryang Yong-gi at National-Football-Teams.com
- Ryang Yong-gi at Soccerway
- Ryang Yong-gi at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
