Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Adelaide: A-League champions Adelaide United have bolstered their squad with a former AFC Champions League winner, signing 33-year-old Korean midfielder Kim Jae-sung
Kim, who became an Asian champion with Pohang Steelers in 2009, joins the South Australian club two weeks before their opening ACL Group Stage match against Japan’s Gamba Osaka.
He joins the Reds after a recent spell with Korea’s Jeju United, and is set to line up against his former teammates when they travel to Adelaide for a Group H fixture on March 15.
In a career spanning over a decade and taking in spells with Jeju, and Pohang, as well as Sangju Sangmu and Seoul E-Land FC, the 16-time Korea Republic international has never previously played club football outside of his homeland.
The signing adds welcome experience to an Adelaide side which has struggled to re-create the form of their double-winning 2015-16 season, winning just two of 18 league matches and sitting on the bottom of the A-League table.
Kim will be joined in Adelaide by another new singing, with striker Eli Babalj returning to the club he last appeared for in January 2016
The 24-year-old, who has played twice for Australia, returns to the professional football after overcoming a long-term knee injury, which ended his loan spell at the club.
Photo: adelaideunited.com.au