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Paik Seung-ho

Paik Seung-ho (Korean: 백승호; RR: Baek Seung-ho; born 17 March 1997) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League One club Birmingham City and the South Korea national team. Starting playing football since May in 2005 in a football academy, Paik was awarded MVP award in juvenile team and MVP award from Korea Football Association (KFA) in youth team for the first time at the age of 11. While he played in Barcelona youth team at the age of 13, he was expected to join Barcelona A for the first time as Korean player.

Early life

In 2009, as a member of Seoul Daedong Elementary School, he played 18 games in the Elementary Weekend League and scored 30 goals. Since then, he has received attention as an outstanding prospect, winning the 22nd Cha Bum-kun Football Grand Prize. In December, he participated in the 1st Korea-Catalonia Youth Cup in Barcelona, Spain as a member of the South Korean national under-14 football team, and was offered a contract as a result of his impressive performance. However, he was already scouted by Maetan Middle School, a youth team of Samsung Bluewings in Suwon, and was scheduled to enter, but Samsung Bluewings decided to send Paik to Spain with a long term vision and also to support him.

Paik played for Maetan Middle School, under-15 youth team of the Suwon Samsung Bluewings until March 2010, before moving to Barcelona's under-13 youth team, Infantil A, in April 2010. In July 2011, Paik signed a five-year contract with Barcelona's youth team, leaving him in Barcelona's uniform until the age of 19. However, in February 2013, FIFA suspended six players, including Paik, from Barcelona's youth team, for violating Article 19 of the FIFA rules that made Paik not participate in Barcelona's official matches until January 2016. After the disciplinary action was released in January 2016, he played actively for Barcelona Juvenile A, and made his professional debut on 21 February, as a substitute in Segunda División B match with Atlético Levante in the 45th minute of the second half.

Club career

Girona

Paik played for Barcelona as a youth player for seven years, but he had difficulty competing in the senior team. He joined Girona on 21 July 2017, and played for Peralada, the reserve team of Girona at the time, in the Segunda División B during his first professional season.

Paik made his first team debut against Atlético Madrid in the Copa del Rey on 10 January 2019. He made his La Liga debut as a substitute against Barcelona on 27 January. He officially played six matches for Girona excluding a Supercopa de Catalunya match.

Darmstadt 98

On 31 August 2019, Paik signed for 2. Bundesliga side Darmstadt 98 on a three-year deal. He played for Darmstadt for one-and-a-half years, but his status in the team was gradually lowered. He eventually considered a return to his country in order to get more appearances in the field and moreover participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics. He joined K League 1 club Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in March 2021.

Birmingham City

After the end of his three-year contract with Jeonbuk and his exemption from mandatory military service as an Asian Games gold medalist, Paik was expected to return to Europe. He joined EFL Championship club Birmingham City on 30 January 2024. On 4 May 2024, the final match day of the EFL Championship season, Paik scored his first goal for Birmingham in a 1–0 win over Norwich City, though the victory was not enough to save the team from relegation.

International career

Paik made his South Korea national team debut on 11 June 2019 in a friendly against Iran, as a starter.

Paik played South Korea's round-of-16 match against Brazil as a substitute in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and his goal in the match was nominated for goal of the tournament.

Paik participated in the 2022 Asian Games as an overage player, and captained South Korean under-24 team. He scored three goals with his powerful shots in the competition, but was criticised for his mistakes responsible for conceding goals to opponents in the knockout stage. Nevertheless, he successfully finished his role, winning a gold medal.

In March 2024, Paik received his first senior call-up for a year, for home-and-away 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Thailand. He started both matches, playing the whole of the home match, a 1–1 draw, and the first half of the away game, which South Korea won 3–0.