Ji So-yun

Ji So-yun (Korean: 지소연, Korean pronunciation: [tɕi.so.jʌn]; born 21 February 1991) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays for Chelsea in the FA Women's Super League and the South Korean national team.

Club Career

Ji started her career in Japan, playing for L. League champions INAC Kobe Leonessa between 2011 and 2013. In November 2013, Ji was subject to a transfer bid from English club Chelsea. She agreed to a two-year contract in January 2014. When the transfer was officially confirmed later that month, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said of Ji: "She is one of the best midfielders in the world and our fans will love her." In one of her final matches for the Japanese club, Ji scored against her soon-to-be new club, Chelsea, in the International Women's Club Championship final.

Ji was named Players' Player of the Year after her first season in England, as Chelsea narrowly missed out on the FA WSL 1 league title on the last day of the season. She was named PFA Women's Players' Player of the Year in April 2015 and was also named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year.

At the 2015 FA Women's Cup Final, staged at Wembley Stadium for the first time, Ji scored the only goal of the match to win the Cup for Chelsea. In October 2015 she also scored in Chelsea's 4–0 win over Sunderland which secured the club's first FA WSL title and a League and Cup "double".

On 1 April 2018, Ji made her 100th appearance for Chelsea in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal.

In the light of her performances for Chelsea over the years and the instrumental role she played in Chelsea's 2020–21 WSL winning team, Suzzane Wrack of The Guardian claimed that Ji was the best foreign player in the history of WSL.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Чи Союн (russian)