Opinion

Ji link up can send Kerr and Chelsea to next level

Europe should watch out as two of Asian football's biggest talents are now on the same side.

Ji So-yun Sam Kerr

Sam Kerr (left), Ji So-yun (right) Source: Getty Images

Fans are used to seeing Sam Kerr and Ji So-yun on opposite sides of the pitch when Australia and South Korea do battle but now, the prospect of two of the continent’s biggest stars both lining up for Chelsea will be something special.

"I'm definitely excited to play with Ji, I've played against her a lot of times,” said Kerr as the transfer was announced.

The striker knows full well what one of the best number tens in the world can do for both Chelsea and for her. 
Kerr is sure to enjoy playing alongside one of the best midfielders in the world, who created an average of almost three chances a game last season, and if her European career is anything like Ji’s then it will be worth watching. 

Ji moved to London in 2014 after establishing herself as one of the best players in Japan’s best team and left the Land of the Rising Sun after winning three consecutive league titles with INAC Kobe Leonessa.  

Her move west, shortly after being named as the Asian Footballer of the Year was big news in her homeland where she was already the biggest star.

If there were any concerns as to how the diminutive playmaker would settle in England then they were unfounded as she was named the Player’s Player of the Year in her first season, representing a great night for Chelsea as Eden Hazard won the men’s prize. 

A tally of 56 goals in 136 appearances ensured that Chelsea were keen to keep their Korean and Ji signed a new three year contract in August. She will, like Kerr, be at the club until 2022. 

When Kerr talks of Chelsea helping her reach the next level, she may have had the Seoul-born Ji, labelled as ‘The Korean Messi’ when she first arrived in Europe, in mind, at least in part. 

The comparisons to the Argentine genius were understandable even if it was not a tag that the Cristiano Ronaldo fan wanted. 

Ji scores plenty of goals and takes a mean free-kick and her vision and touch stand out.
She finds space in the tightest of situations and makes space for others, bringing them into play. The Messi thing has faded over time as Ji has carved out her own name in lights. 

In 2018 Ji started playing a deeper role that has seen her involved more with the build-up and she has been dictating play in both the English league and the Champions League while still contributing plenty of goals.

Being named in the league’s team of the year no less than four times shows just how impressive she has been.  

If Ji can come from Kobe to settle so quickly in London then Kerr should have few problems making the switch from Chicago.

Fans of the club will be thinking that Christmas has come early. Kerr’s deadliness in the area should be the perfect foil for Ji-s passing ability. 

It should be a meaningful relationship for Asia too.

To have two of the continent’s biggest stars in the same team should lead to more attention for the game in the east.

As Chelsea progress to what could be a title in England and also Europe, fans in Korea and Australia should be united in wanting the Blues to succeed. 

And to see Ji and Kerr succeeding on the highest stages can do no harm to the standing of the women’s game in Asia and will, hopefully, inspire others to take up the game.  

Sam Kerr won’t be thinking about that just yet. As she waits and watches Chelsea until January when she can make her debut, the Australian is going to have plenty of opportunities to see how her new team and Ji So-yun tick.

When she eventually does enter the arena, the rest of Europe should watch out as two mega talents from Asia are now on the same side.


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4 min read
Published 14 November 2019 9:20pm
By John Duerden


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