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Jong Tae-Se writes of his joy after January move to Koln
After struggling to find his form at Bochum, the North Korea international looks forward to a new challenge in Germany's top flight after his move to to Koln.
Feb 17, 2012 7:56:00 AM
By Jong Tae-Se
Bongarts
This is the first column I’ve written since I transferred to FC Koln.
It’s been two weeks since then, but even now it’s still hard to believe it actually happened.
The conversation first started a week after Bochum’s winter camp, when the Bundesliga resumed. It was the end of the transfer window and happened at lightning speed. Three days after I was told about the deal I signed the contract. Only in Europe could things come together that quickly.
Last year I appeared on several Japanese TV program to discuss players like Atsuto Uchida and Yuto Nagatomo’s performances in the Champions League. As a professional athlete it’s important to make these kind of media appearances and show your presence. And yet, it was very conflicting for me to analyze other players and talk about matches I didn’t play in.
When I was playing for Bochum, being able to play in the knockout phase of the Champions League was like a dream because it was practically another dimension, it was hard for me to accept where I was. Even though I talked big and went overseas to challenge myself, in the prime years of my playing career I found myself playing in 2. Bundesliga, where the technique isn’t as good as in Japan.
And yet the team and the fans gave me such a warm sending-off that I was almost ashamed to face them. Even though I keep saying how my dream is to win the Champions League and the World Cup, I haven’t been able to live up to my potential. That has been the last year and a half for me.
I can’t even count how many times I thought about what would happen if I returned to Japan. But if I went back every time I thought about it, people would always talk about me behind my back. And I would have left nothing but bad memories of my time at Bochum.
But to transfer like this to a first division team isn’t just a pleasure for me, but I hope that it will make everyone who has supported me happy as well. I think that my talents have been
recognized, and that my year and a half at Bochum hasn’t been wasted.
My family, my friends, my relatives, Japanese fans, South Korean fans, North Koreans... with every one's joy comes even higher expectations. Finally, I’ve accomplished one of my goals.
But even though I say all that and have been at Koln for two weeks, I’ve yet to appear in a match. Compared to when I wasn’t appearing in second-division matches, I’m far more comfortable. This is the stage I’ve been longing for.
It’s regrettable that I haven’t played yet, and I’m anxious to know what my manager is really thinking, but my dream stage being right before my eyes has pushed those negative thoughts away. There’s no greater pleasure than this. Until now I’ve only been able to watch players far younger than me play on this pitch, and now I’m on the sideline.
I’ve only felt this sensation once before, in my first year at Kawasaki Frontale. The J-League I yearned to play in as a child was there before me. Once again, I can approach soccer with those sincere feelings.
Looking toward another new dream, I hope I can steadily fly toward the sun. Lately I’ve been thinking about something a lot.
All of the Japanese around me who are playing abroad are incredibly elite players. They’ve played on every level of the national team and been famous since they were youth players. There are a few who won the national high school tournament.
When I was an amateur player, I didn’t have good results, or a good social status, or connections. And now I’m sharpening my blade against players like them. I can’t count how many years it’s been since then, but I got here by compensating for my faults with steady and persistent effort.
And that’s what I want to show everyone, how this ‘weed’ went from being nothing to playing at an elite level. Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking about.
Within the bulb of every talented, brilliant, elegant flower, there’s something that makes it come to full bloom like everyone expects it to. And growing up as a weed with ordinary roots, if you can give people happiness like a clover does, your dreams can fly in the wind like a dandelion and travel far, and inspire other flowers to bloom.
I’m the second kind of flower, I think. I hope I can make everyone happy.
Translation by Dan Orlowitz
It’s been two weeks since then, but even now it’s still hard to believe it actually happened.
The conversation first started a week after Bochum’s winter camp, when the Bundesliga resumed. It was the end of the transfer window and happened at lightning speed. Three days after I was told about the deal I signed the contract. Only in Europe could things come together that quickly.
Last year I appeared on several Japanese TV program to discuss players like Atsuto Uchida and Yuto Nagatomo’s performances in the Champions League. As a professional athlete it’s important to make these kind of media appearances and show your presence. And yet, it was very conflicting for me to analyze other players and talk about matches I didn’t play in.
| Three days after I was told about the deal I signed the contract. Only in Europe could things come together that quickly
- Jong Tae-Se
|
 |
When I was playing for Bochum, being able to play in the knockout phase of the Champions League was like a dream because it was practically another dimension, it was hard for me to accept where I was. Even though I talked big and went overseas to challenge myself, in the prime years of my playing career I found myself playing in 2. Bundesliga, where the technique isn’t as good as in Japan.
And yet the team and the fans gave me such a warm sending-off that I was almost ashamed to face them. Even though I keep saying how my dream is to win the Champions League and the World Cup, I haven’t been able to live up to my potential. That has been the last year and a half for me.
I can’t even count how many times I thought about what would happen if I returned to Japan. But if I went back every time I thought about it, people would always talk about me behind my back. And I would have left nothing but bad memories of my time at Bochum.
But to transfer like this to a first division team isn’t just a pleasure for me, but I hope that it will make everyone who has supported me happy as well. I think that my talents have been
recognized, and that my year and a half at Bochum hasn’t been wasted.
| To transfer like this to a first-division team isn’t just a pleasure for me, but I hope that it will make everyone who has supported me happy as well
- Jong Tae-Se
|
 |
My family, my friends, my relatives, Japanese fans, South Korean fans, North Koreans... with every one's joy comes even higher expectations. Finally, I’ve accomplished one of my goals.
But even though I say all that and have been at Koln for two weeks, I’ve yet to appear in a match. Compared to when I wasn’t appearing in second-division matches, I’m far more comfortable. This is the stage I’ve been longing for.
It’s regrettable that I haven’t played yet, and I’m anxious to know what my manager is really thinking, but my dream stage being right before my eyes has pushed those negative thoughts away. There’s no greater pleasure than this. Until now I’ve only been able to watch players far younger than me play on this pitch, and now I’m on the sideline.
I’ve only felt this sensation once before, in my first year at Kawasaki Frontale. The J-League I yearned to play in as a child was there before me. Once again, I can approach soccer with those sincere feelings.
Looking toward another new dream, I hope I can steadily fly toward the sun. Lately I’ve been thinking about something a lot.
All of the Japanese around me who are playing abroad are incredibly elite players. They’ve played on every level of the national team and been famous since they were youth players. There are a few who won the national high school tournament.
| When I was an amateur player, I didn’t have good results, or a good social status, or connections. And now I’m sharpening my blade against [Japan's elite] - Jong Tae-Se
|
 |
When I was an amateur player, I didn’t have good results, or a good social status, or connections. And now I’m sharpening my blade against players like them. I can’t count how many years it’s been since then, but I got here by compensating for my faults with steady and persistent effort.
And that’s what I want to show everyone, how this ‘weed’ went from being nothing to playing at an elite level. Yeah, that’s what I’ve been thinking about.
Within the bulb of every talented, brilliant, elegant flower, there’s something that makes it come to full bloom like everyone expects it to. And growing up as a weed with ordinary roots, if you can give people happiness like a clover does, your dreams can fly in the wind like a dandelion and travel far, and inspire other flowers to bloom.
I’m the second kind of flower, I think. I hope I can make everyone happy.
Translation by Dan Orlowitz
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