Ki gears up for football at Celtic FC

South Korean football star Ki Sung-yueng, who recently joined Scotland’s Celtic FC, said he hoped to contribute to his new team’s success by helping his teammates score and knocking in a few goals himself.

“I am really proud of playing for Europe’s leading club,” said Ki at a press conference in downtown Seoul. “I will do my best to get accustomed to the Scottish league as soon as possible and contribute to the team’s victory.”

The 20-year-old, who signed with Celtic FC of Scotland’s Premier League for a four year contract last week, has appeared in 17 international matches, including World Cup qualifiers, earning the Asian Young Player of the Year award by the Asian Football Confederation.

“We believe that he is an extremely talented player with amazing potential,” said Peter Lawwell, the European team’s chief executive who came here to give Ki his new Celtic uniform. “We see Ki is a highly technical player. The coach likes players who can control the game, control the ball, and we think Ki is able to do this,” he said during a press conference.

Ki said that he should be physically ready to make his Scotland debut in January. “I’ve been off form since the K-League ended last month but I’m trying to improve my condition as soon as possible to play as many games this season.”

He said that as a midfielder he will focus on helping his teammates score goals but also hoped to get five to six goals in a season.

Yonhap