Latest Stoke City news as player of the year Bae Junho tells press back home about his journey so far in England, being taught naughty words by his teammates and piling on muscle.
Bae Junho, known as the South Korean king among Stoke City supporters, is being referred to as the King of Stoke City back in South Korea as he celebrates his first senior international call-up to cap a dramatic 12 months in his life and career.
The playmaker started his personal season back in March 2023 with games for South Korea under-20s and he came to wider prominence at the under-20s World Cup in Argentina, where he helped his team reach the semi-finals.
He had interest from clubs around Europe but was plucked from Daejeon Hana Citizen by Stoke in August, just after turning 20, with a promise of a clear pathway to regular football in the Championship.
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It has proven the case in the end, being named Stoke’s player of the season and being serenaded by fans throughout matches, but that is not to say it hasn’t been tough too. He couldn’t speak English when he arrived and, on the pitch, was frustrated that his only goal contributions up until the start of February were two assists, setting up a winner for Nathan Lowe at Bristol City and freak goal for Lynden Gooch in a draw at West Brom.
But he studied English for two hours every day and focused on strength training. His language improved, first by picking up swearwords thanks to his teammates, and his muscle increased by 4kg, which is reminiscent of the gym work done by Marc Muniesa and Bojan when they first arrived in the Potteries from Barcelona. He’ll have to add on half that again and then some to keep up with the Catalan boys’ progress.
“(When I went to Stoke City), it had a ‘manly’ side to it, but I was confident. It took some time to get used to it, but I think I had confidence that it would work out someday,” he said in interview with the Seoul press in the close season.
“I feel physically stronger. I like the atmosphere in England. Before I learned the language it was very difficult. It was easier when I was able to communicate to a certain extent. The first thing I learned was swearing so I was able to freely say what I thought.”
He missed out on playing in qualifiers for this summer’s Olympic Games due to his commitments helping to haul Stoke out of relegation trauma but now he has been summoned to the senior international camp for World Cup qualifiers against China and Singapore in June.
“It seems like a dream,” he said. “There’s Son Heung-min, who everyone respects. I want to score my debut goal in front of the home fans, and my ultimate goal is to play in the World Cup.”
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