Minnesota United’s South Korean duo of Sang Bin Jeong and Hoyeon Jung ranks as rare in MLS

MINNESOTA UNITED | ANALYSIS

Even after just a few days, it’s tempting to think of Minnesota United’s Korean duo as some kind of unit.

After all, Sang Bin Jeong and Hoyeon Jung are not only just the sixth and seventh South Koreans to play in Major League Soccer, but they are also the first two to play on the same team at the same time. They even have the same surname, though they spell it differently in English.

The similarities might end there.

Jeong, entering his third season in MLS, is clearly growing in confidence, as well as in English proficiency. Though the interview with both players was translated by Kathy Choih, who has been working with Jeong on his English, it’s clear the winger mostly understands the questions. (He says his goal for this season is to be proficient enough to do a postgame interview, which is all any sportswriter wants to hear.)

Jung, meanwhile, has been in Minnesota for less than a week. He comes across as exceedingly soft-spoken — although that might be natural for any player who’s sitting down to be interviewed by people he’s barely met, in a new language.

The 24-year-old midfielder has two seasons in the K-League under his belt. Minnesota loves his athleticism, work rate and range of passing; he profiles as a classic central midfielder, what soccer people would call a number 8 — perhaps less as a defensive midfielder, a number 6.

“He’s someone that I think represents a lot of the traits that we want in a player, certainly as to where they are in their career,” coach Eric Ramsay said. “I think the fact that he’s made this step and really pushed for this step is testament to the fact that he wants to demonstrate on a more global level that he’s a player that can really contribute for his country and hopefully take more steps in his career.”

Jeong and Jung have played once each for the senior South Korean national team, and they have played multiple times for the youth national teams.

Jeong, in contrast to Jung, is an attacker by trade and has played both as a wide forward and a wingback under Ramsay. The Loons continue to refine the role of the wingbacks in their setup; while they often defend as traditional fullbacks, they attack as forwards — especially players like Jeong and Bongokuhle Hlongwane, who can be dangerous on offense.

That’s why Jeong, though willing to play anywhere, is focused on the back of the net. “My biggest goal as a soccer player is scoring goals, whether it be assisting or actually making goals,” he said.

Jung’s goals are more modest. “I would like to be in as many games as possible,” he said.

Ramsay is well-known for being multilingual, but his language skills don’t extend to fluent Korean. Even so, he’s not worried about communication.

“I like to think that in football — this is a cliché — but there is a common language,” he said. “I love the fact that it’s the most multinational league in the world. I love the fact that we can occasionally put out 11 different nationalities in our lineup. What’s remarkable about it is a player like [Jung] can slot into the group immediately and can feel really welcome.

“And obviously, Sang Bin helps there for sure.”

Jeong said: “With another Korean player on the team, I must say that it’s nice to have another I can rely on, and being able to use the same language is comforting.”

Jung reached out to Jeong when he learned of the initial interest from Minnesota.

Luckily for the Loons, after two seasons in the Upper Midwest, Jeong is a good salesman. “I’ve been sharing a lot about Minnesota, and Hoyeon is surprised on how great I think Minnesota is,” Jeong said. “That’s how comfortable Minnesota is to me now.”

The process of getting work visas means the Loons, who departed Friday for a week at the Coachella Valley Invitational, might not have any of their newest signings when the season opens Feb. 22.

Defender Nicolás Romero is still in Argentina, waiting for his interview for a work visa. Now that he’s officially signed, Jung will head to an embassy in Canada as soon as possible, the most convenient place for him to be interviewed.

It means both will likely miss Minnesota’s final preseason games, making it doubtful that either — or any other new international signings, such as Loons target Owen Gene, a French midfielder — would play in the opening game of the year.

Minnesota’s two injured defenders, DJ Taylor and Kipp Keller, both participated partially in Thursday’s practice, though Keller appeared to be much further along in his recovery than Taylor.