Min-jae Kwak

Min-jae Kwak (Korean: 곽민재, born 25 August 2000) is a South Korean footballer who plays for Canadian Premier League club Vancouver FC.

Min-jae Kwak
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-08-25) 25 August 2000
Place of birth Suwon, South Korea
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Winger, Left-back
Team information
Current team
 Vancouver FC
Number 17
Youth career
South Bay Force
2012–2014 Strikers FC Academy
2015–2017 Pateadores Academy
2017–2018 Sporting Arsenal
2018–2019 Strikers FC Academy
2019–2020 HNK Gorica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019 TNT FC
2020–2021 California United Strikers FC 20 (4)
2022 AC Syracuse Pulse 20 (4)
2023– Vancouver FC 25 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 6, 2023

Early life

Born in South Korea, Kwak lived in Fiji for eight months,[1] before moving to the United States at age 12, moving to Orange County, California.[2] Shortly after arriving in the United States, he was invited to trial with the LA Galaxy academy, but did not make the program.[3] He began playing with South Bay Force before moving to the Strikers FC Academy, before moving to Pateadores Academy, Sporting Arsenal, before returning to Strikers Academy.[1][4][5]

In September 2019, he joined the youth side of Croatian club HNK Gorica, after having participated in a camp for South Korean players with the club.[6][7][8] He scored in a exhibition game with the first team against Lekenik FC.[9]

Club career

In 2019, he played with South Korean side TNT FC.[10]

In September 2020, he signed with National Independent Soccer Association club California United Strikers FC, after having trained with the club since January.[5] In March 2022, he joined another NISA club, AC Syracuse Pulse.[4] That season, he was named to the NISA Best XI, after having scored four goals and adding an assist.[11][12]

In March 2023, he signed with Vancouver FC in the Canadian Premier League,[13][14] becoming the second Korean-born player to play in the CPL.[15] With Vancouver, he was converted by head coach Afshin Ghotbi, who was an assistant coach with the South Korea national team at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, to play left-back.[3] In May 2023, he was named to the CPL Team of the Week for the first time, after helping his team earn a clean sheet in their match that week.[16] He scored his first goal on June 2 against Pacific FC.[17]

Career statistics
As of match played October 6, 2023[18]
Club Season League Playoffs National Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
California United Strikers FC 2020–21[1] NISA 30——3[lower-alpha 1]060
2021[1] 174——??174
Total 204000030234
AC Syracuse Pulse 2022[1] NISA 2041010—224
Vancouver FC 2023 Canadian Premier League 251—10—261
Career total 659102030719
  1. Appearances in the NISA Legends Cup

References
  1. "Minjae Kwak NISA profile". National Independent Soccer Association. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022.
  2. "Rooted in the Community: Min-jae Kwak found a second home in Vancouver". Vancouver FC. 12 October 2023.
  3. Nava, David (2 May 2023). "Minjae Kwak, industrious and tenacious". Vancouver FC.
  4. @saltcityunion (11 July 2022). "Player Spotlight Series💡 Minjae Kwak" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. Scavuzzo, Diane (3 September 2020). "California United Strikers announce signing Minjae Kwak". Soccer Today.
  6. Vidalina, Marko (9 September 2019). "Korejski talenti u juniorima: Kwak i Kang, dobrodošli u Goricu!" [Korean junior talents: Kwak and Kang, welcome to Gorica!] (in Croatian). City Portal.
  7. Žbulj, Damir (10 September 2019). "I Korejci potpisali za Goricu" [The Koreans also signed for Gorica]. VG Danas (in Croatian).
  8. Klobučarić, Goran (10 September 2019). "Južnokoreanci Kwak i Kang novi članovi Gorice" [South Koreans Kwak and Kang are new members of Gorica]. Kronike Velike Gorice (in Croatian).
  9. Klobučarić, Goran (18 September 2019). "Gorica uveličala proslavu 90 godina Lekenika" [Gorica magnified the celebration of 90 years of Lekenik]. Kronike Velike Gorice (in Croatian).
  10. "올해 최대 20명의 선수를 해외 프로구단에 입단시키는게 목표입니다" [The goal is to recruit up to 20 players to overseas professional teams this year]. 8층 풋살장 아저씨. 14 March 2022.
  11. "NISA Announces 2022 Best XI". National Independent Soccer Association. 16 November 2022.
  12. "Experience from around the globe added to new pro soccer team in Langley". Langley Advance Times. 13 March 2023.
  13. Jacques, John (8 March 2023). "Vancouver FC Adds Wingers Nicky Gyimah And Min-Jae Kwak". Northern Tribune.
  14. "Vancouver FC signs two pacey international wingers". Total Soccer News. 8 March 2023.
  15. "Vancouver FC add international wingers Nicky Gyimah and Min-jae Kwak". Canadian Premier League. 8 March 2023.
  16. Nava, David (23 May 2023). "Vancouver FC's Minjae Kwak and Tyler Crawford named to week 6 CPL Team of the Week". Vancouver FC.
  17. Gangué-Ruzic, Alexandre. "Highlights:Vancouver FC vs. Pacific FC (June 2, 2023)". OneSoccer.
  18. Min-jae Kwak at Soccerway
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