Yoo Young-a (Korean: 유영아; ; born 15 April 1988) is a retired South Korean footballer who played as a forward. She currently works as a coach for Seoul City Amazones WFC. As one of the so-called '1988 line' along with Jeon Ga-eul, Cho So-hyun, Kim Do-yeon, Kwon Hah-nul, and Lee Eun-mi, she is considered part of a 'golden generation' of Korean women's football.
Club career Yoo's club career began in 2009 with the military team Busan Sangmu, competing in the newly established WK League. In the same year, the team won the silver medal at the World Military Women's Football Championship, losing 1–0 to Brazil in the final. While playing for Busan, Yoo earned a reputation as one of the WK League's top goalscorers, ranking second for goals scored in 2010 and 2012.
Ahead of the 2014 season, Yoo transferred to Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels. Yoo was the first player to score ten goals in the 2014 WK League, contributing to a 13-game unbeaten run for Incheon. The club went on to win the league title and Yoo was once again among the season's top goalscorers. The Red Angels lifted the WK League trophy again in 2015 and 2016, with Yoo scoring one of the team's four goals in the 2016 championship final.
As Yoo was gradually spending more time on the bench at Incheon, she made the move to Gumi Sportstoto in 2017 as the team aimed to reach their first championship final, having made it as far as the playoff in 2016. Yoo was attracted by the prospect of this challenge and hoped that playing for Gumi would allow her more freedom on the pitch. The Sportstoto coaching staff saw Yoo as the club's "final puzzle piece", being a positive influence in the locker room as well as bringing her experience and goalscoring talent. Sportstoto were unable to achieve their aims in the league but they did achieve their first ever title at the 16th National Women's Football Championship in 2017. The team went on to defend their title the following year, with Yoo picking up the tournament's MVP award.
After three years with Sportstoto, Yoo transferred to Seoul City along with Park Eun-sun. Seoul manager Yoo Young-sil hoped that as veteran players, Yoo and Park would be the "mental pillars" of the largely young and inexperienced squad. Yoo announced her retirement from football in 2024, making her final appearance for Seoul in the club's round 26 home match against Sportstoto on 12 September.
International career Yoo played for South Korea at the 2005 AFC U-17 Women's Championship, scoring in the side's group stage victory against Thailand.
In 2009, Yoo represented her country at the Summer Universiade in Belgrade, scoring two goals in South Korea's opening group stage match against Germany. South Korea went on to win the tournament after beating Japan 4–1 in the final.
Yoo made her first senior international appearance at the qualifying tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics, scoring a goal in her debut match. She was part of the squad that progressed to the round of 16 at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, and won the bronze medal at the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014. Yoo made 87 senior appearances in total for South Korea, scoring 32 goals.
Career statistics
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea20076120081220094420101272011912012002013502014161120151522016612017133Total8732
Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yoo goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Yoo Young-aNo.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1Masan Stadium, Changwon, South Korea India4–05–02008 Summer Olympics qualification280th Birthday Stadium, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Malaysia2–014–02008 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification35–04Tainan County Stadium, Tainan, Taiwan Guam2–09–02010 EAFF Women's Football Championship qualification58–06Tainan County Stadium, Tainan, Taiwan Hong Kong1–07–02010 EAFF Women's Football Championship qualification7Tainan County Stadium, Tainan, Taiwan Chinese Taipei2–06–02010 EAFF Women's Football Championship qualification8Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan Chinese Taipei4–04–02010 EAFF Women's Football Championship9Ajinomoto Stadium, Tokyo, Japan Japan1–21–22010 EAFF Women's Football Championship10Shuangliu Sports Centre, Chengdu, China Vietnam1–05–02010 AFC Women's Asian Cup112–0125–013University Town Stadium, Guangzhou, China Jordan4–05–02010 Asian Games14Tianhe Stadium, Guangzhou, China North Korea1–11–32010 Asian Games15Jinan Olympic Sports Center, Jinan, China Thailand2–03–02012 Summer Olympics qualification16Tasos Markos Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus New Zealand2–04–02014 Cyprus Women's Cup17GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus Scotland1–01–12014 Cyprus Women's Cup18Thống Nhất Stadium, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam China1–11–22014 AFC Women's Asian Cup19Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon, South Korea Thailand3–05–02014 Asian Games2017 September 2014Namdong Asiad Rugby Field, Incheon, South Korea India2–010–02014 Asian Games215–0228–0239–024Munhak Stadium, Incheon, South Korea Maldives9–013–02014 Asian Games2511–026Hsinchu County Stadium, Zhubei, Taiwan Guam2–015–02015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification27Bao'an Stadium, Shenzhen, China China1–23–22015 Four Nations Tournament28Paralimni Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus Belgium1–11–12015 Cyprus Women's Cup29Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre, Foshan, China Vietnam3–05–02016 Four Nations Tournament30Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea India6–010–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification31Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea Hong Kong2–06–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification32Kim Il Sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea Uzbekistan4–04–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification
Honours
Busan Sangmu World Military Women's Football Championship silver medal: 2009, 2010, 2012
Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels
WK League: 2014, 2015, 2016
Gumi Sportstoto
National Women's Football Championship: 2017, 2018
South Korea Universiade
Summer Universiade gold medal: 2009
South Korea Asian Games bronze medal: 2010, 2014
Individual
National Women's Football Championship MVP: 2018
References
External links
Yoo Young-ah at KFA