Song Bum-keun, 'Verified Gatekeeper', left the J-League Shonan and returned to Jeonbuk as 'Friendship'...with a desire to return to the national team
Song Bum-keun, 'Verified Gatekeeper', left the J-League Shonan and returned to Jeonbuk as 'Friendship'...with a desire to return to the national team
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Song Bum-keun (27), a former national soccer goalkeeper, will leave Shonan Belmare in the Japanese J-League and return to his former team, Jeonbuk Hyundai.
"Song Bum-keun is heading to Jeonbuk. A big framework agreement has already been reached between the player and the club, and only detailed procedures such as medical tests are left. In fact, only the club's official announcement is left," a soccer source said on Sunday.
He is a proven goalkeeper who shared Jeonbuk's golden age. Song Bum-keun debuted as a pro in 2018 and was immediately appointed as a goalkeeper. He showed off stable defense capabilities from the first season, contributing significantly to his team's four consecutive wins in the K League 1 until 2021. He is evaluated as a goalkeeper worthy of modern soccer with his outstanding quickness and consistent build-up ability.
His national team career also went through an elite team course. Song grew step by step by steadily gaining experience in the national team by age. At the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta-Palembang, he won the gold medal and was selected as the next-generation goalkeeper of the national team.
However, the A team rarely had a chance to play in the midst of outstanding competitors. In September 2018, he was selected for the A team led by Paulo Bento (Portugal), and formed a three-way race with Kim Seung-gyu and Cho Hyun-woo, but was classified as the third resource. The same was true at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He has played in the A-match game against Hong Kong at the East Asian Cup in July 2022.
After achieving achievement on the domestic stage, he played for Shonan Belmare in the J-League from 2023. He seemed to be establishing himself as the mainstay by playing 27 games in his first season, but played only 22 games this season due to shorter time. His team was ranked 15th this year, both last year and this year.
According to a soccer official, Song Bum-keun's willingness to return to the national team was strongly influenced by his decision to go to Jeonbuk. He was called up to the national team in September, which played the first and second Group B matches in the final Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup, which faced Palestine and Oman in succession, but was later excluded from the national team roster in October and November. Having always had the national team in mind, he chose to return to the 안전놀이터 K-League, where he could be guaranteed a lot of playing time in his team.
Jeonbuk is a place similar to Song`s hometown. A new wind is blowing in the team. Coach Gus Foyet (Uruguay), who served as Sunderland of the English Premier League and head coach of the Greek national team, has taken the helm, and main goalkeeper Kim Joon-hong will leave for the D.C. United of the U.S. Major League Soccer. Unless something unexpected happens, Song is expected to take over the baton from Kim.