South Korean footballer
Son Jun-ho (Korean: 손준호; born 12 May 1992) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder, most recently for Chinese Super League club Shandong Taishan. In May 2023, Son was detained for a suspected case of match fixing, and was subsequently released by the club.
Club career
Son Jun-ho would play for Youngnam University, before joining top tier club Pohang Steelers at the start of the 2014 K League Classic season.[2] He would make his professional debut on 26 March 2014 in a league game against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors that ended in a 3-1 victory.[3] Three days later he would go on to score his first goal in a league game on 29 March 2014 against Sangju Sangmu FC in a 4-2 victory.[4]
At the beginning of the 2018 K League Classic campaign, Son joined Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors on a four year contract.[5] He would make his debut in a AFC Champions League game on 13 February 2018 against Kashiwa Reysol in a match that ended in a 3-2 victory.[6] His league debut would come on 1 March 2018 against Ulsan Hyundai FC in a match that ended in a 2-0 victory.[7] This was followed by his first goal for the club 8 April 2018 in a league game against his old club Pohang Steelers, in a game that ended in a 2-0 victory.[8] After the game he would start to establish himself as a regular within the team and was part of the squad that went on to win the league title at the end of the season.[9] This would be followed by another league title at the end of the 2019 K League 1 campaign.[10] In the 2020 K League 1 campaign the club would achieve a double in winning the league and 2020 Korean FA Cup, while Son would personally win the Most Valuable Player award.[11]
On 13 January 2021, Son joined top tier Chinese football club Shandong Taishan for the start of the 2021 Chinese Super League campaign.[12] He made his debut for the club on 20 April 2021 in a league game against Chongqing Liangjiang Athletic that ended in a 2-0 victory.[13] He would immediately establish himself as an integral member of the teams midfield that went on to the win the 2021 Chinese Super League title and 2021 Chinese FA Cup.[14] This would be followed up by him winning the 2022 Chinese FA Cup with them the next season.[15] Fulham FC and Southampton were keen to sign the player during the winter transfer window after a good performance for Shandong Taishan F.C. but the deal fell through after a fee could not be agreed between the two sides.[16]
On 15 May 2023, Son was reportedly investigated by public security authorities in Liaoning due to match-fixing allegations involving former Shandong Taishan manager Hao Wei.[17] The following day, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that he had been detained for a suspected bribery case.[18]
International career
Son Jun-ho would make his first senior appearance for South Korea in a friendlies match on 27 January 2018 against Moldova, where he came on as a substitute for Kim Sung-Joon in a 1-0 victory.[19]
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