South Island United have presented David Yoo as the first player to sign in the young history of the new OFC Pro League club.
The former Christchurch United player grew up in Canterbury, before having four seasons in Portugal and this season has been playing for Auckland City, including the FIFA Club World Cup against some of the biggest teams on the planet.
“David was one of the first names on our list,” says Chief Executive Ryan Edwards.
“He is a Southern lad through and through and has gained invaluable experience overseas and with Auckland City, so will be a massive asset for our new team.”
Yoo says he has enjoyed the most incredible season with Auckland City, playing in the OFC Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, but the lure of professional football in his home town was too good to pass up.
“It's a brand-new tournament and having a brand-new professional team in the South Island is obviously a good opportunity myself.
“It’s a huge moment for me to be first player to sign for the club and it's a nice feeling to be playing in front of my friends and family,” says Yoo.
At only 25 years of age, Yoo already has a lifetime of football memories to look back on and will be seen as one of the old hands in the squad, a role he is happy to take on.
“I have now played a few big games against teams like Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors, and hope I can bring that to the team.”
Yoo was born in South Korea, but moved to Christchurch as a baby and started playing football at an early age at Burnside AFC and FC Twenty11 before joining the Asia Pacific Football Academy (AFPA) as a 13-year-old.
When the AFPA merged into the Wellington Phoenix Academy, Yoo moved to the capital but his stay there was marred by growing pains that kept him out of football for most of the year.
He eased back into football with St Bede’s College in Christchurch, before his sister invited him to Auckland where he played for the Eastern Suburbs reserves.
“In Auckland, a Portuguese family friend saw me play and asked if I wanted to play in Portugal, so I did some trials and ended up getting a contract at Rio Ave.”
Yoo failed to break into the first team in the top tier, so moved to second-division club Padroense for three seasons. He also enjoyed short spells at Oliviera do Douro and Leça in the fourth tier, but his adventure was cut short by the Covid 19 pandemic.
“Everyone is football-mad in Portugal and things were going really well, but Covid shut down the country and the club had financial issues, so I had to go home.”
He joined Christchurch United for the 2024 season, after they had just come off their Chatham Cup win and Yoo was amazed how much the club had moved forward while he had been away.
He had an outstanding first season, and was voted MVP in the Southern League, but his 10 goals were not enough to qualify United for the National League, so he accepted an invitation to switch to Coastal Spirit for the remainder of the season.
When Auckland City asked him to join at the end of the year, Yoo jumped at the chance to play in the FIFA World Cup.
“Auckland City is a great club and they have dominated New Zealand football for many years, so I knew it would be hard to break into that team, but I was lucky that I had a really good OFC Champions League early in the year.”
Yoo ended up starting in every match at the FIFA Club World Cup, lining up against global super stars like Harry Kane and World Cup winners like Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi.
“To play against some of the best players in the world was a terrific feeling and I probably will never get an opportunity like that again.”
Yoo collected plenty of air miles on his Auckland City trips to the Solomon Island, the United States, as well as Abu Dhabi and Egypt for the Intercontinental Cup, and can now look forward to a lot more travel around the South Pacific for the OFC Pro League.
“I'm really excited about this new league, which will have many unknows, but knowing that the new Pro League is going to be a pathway for the next Club World Cup means that there will be a lot on the line.”
The former Christchurch United player grew up in Canterbury, before having four seasons in Portugal and this season has been playing for Auckland City, including the FIFA Club World Cup against some of the biggest teams on the planet.
“David was one of the first names on our list,” says Chief Executive Ryan Edwards.
“He is a Southern lad through and through and has gained invaluable experience overseas and with Auckland City, so will be a massive asset for our new team.”
Yoo says he has enjoyed the most incredible season with Auckland City, playing in the OFC Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, but the lure of professional football in his home town was too good to pass up.
“It's a brand-new tournament and having a brand-new professional team in the South Island is obviously a good opportunity myself.
“It’s a huge moment for me to be first player to sign for the club and it's a nice feeling to be playing in front of my friends and family,” says Yoo.
At only 25 years of age, Yoo already has a lifetime of football memories to look back on and will be seen as one of the old hands in the squad, a role he is happy to take on.
“I have now played a few big games against teams like Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors, and hope I can bring that to the team.”
Yoo was born in South Korea, but moved to Christchurch as a baby and started playing football at an early age at Burnside AFC and FC Twenty11 before joining the Asia Pacific Football Academy (AFPA) as a 13-year-old.
When the AFPA merged into the Wellington Phoenix Academy, Yoo moved to the capital but his stay there was marred by growing pains that kept him out of football for most of the year.
He eased back into football with St Bede’s College in Christchurch, before his sister invited him to Auckland where he played for the Eastern Suburbs reserves.
“In Auckland, a Portuguese family friend saw me play and asked if I wanted to play in Portugal, so I did some trials and ended up getting a contract at Rio Ave.”
Yoo failed to break into the first team in the top tier, so moved to second-division club Padroense for three seasons. He also enjoyed short spells at Oliviera do Douro and Leça in the fourth tier, but his adventure was cut short by the Covid 19 pandemic.
“Everyone is football-mad in Portugal and things were going really well, but Covid shut down the country and the club had financial issues, so I had to go home.”
He joined Christchurch United for the 2024 season, after they had just come off their Chatham Cup win and Yoo was amazed how much the club had moved forward while he had been away.
He had an outstanding first season, and was voted MVP in the Southern League, but his 10 goals were not enough to qualify United for the National League, so he accepted an invitation to switch to Coastal Spirit for the remainder of the season.
When Auckland City asked him to join at the end of the year, Yoo jumped at the chance to play in the FIFA World Cup.
“Auckland City is a great club and they have dominated New Zealand football for many years, so I knew it would be hard to break into that team, but I was lucky that I had a really good OFC Champions League early in the year.”
Yoo ended up starting in every match at the FIFA Club World Cup, lining up against global super stars like Harry Kane and World Cup winners like Angel Di Maria and Nicolas Otamendi.
“To play against some of the best players in the world was a terrific feeling and I probably will never get an opportunity like that again.”
Yoo collected plenty of air miles on his Auckland City trips to the Solomon Island, the United States, as well as Abu Dhabi and Egypt for the Intercontinental Cup, and can now look forward to a lot more travel around the South Pacific for the OFC Pro League.
“I'm really excited about this new league, which will have many unknows, but knowing that the new Pro League is going to be a pathway for the next Club World Cup means that there will be a lot on the line.”
