Song Ui-young

He came on as a substitute in the 56th minute, and played the remainder of the match which eventually ended 1–1 (3–4 on penalties) in a win for the Singapore Selection team.

Song often spearhead the attacking players in the false nine position.

Song Ui-young (born 8 November 1993), better known as Song, is a Singaporean professional footballer who plays primarily as an attacking-midfielder for Singapore Premier League club Lion City Sailors and the Singapore national team.

Born in South Korea, he plays for the Singapore national team.

Mainly an attacking-midfielder, he is also capable of playing as a central-midfielder, winger, striker or as a defensive-midfielder occasionally.

Arguably one of the most accomplished midfielders in the Singapore Premier League, he is known for his high work rate and superb technical abilities.

He moved to Singapore in 2011 to join Home United – now known as the Lion City Sailors.

He has established himself as one of the best attacking-midfielders in Southeast Asia.

Song was born in Incheon, South Korea and spent most of his childhood between school and football.

Song was known as a quiet child during his schooling days, but stood out for his footballing skills and passion for the sport.

He was scouted in his final year of elementary school to join Cheong Wang Middle School, a school renowned for its footballing programme.

Song also moved to the dormitory as the school premises were situated in the Gyeonggi-do province, away from Incheon where he lived.

At the age of 13, Song began training with the school team of Cheong Wang Middle School.

In the final year of middle school, Song was made the team captain and his head coach also put in a recommendation during his graduation for him to attend his high school education at Yeouido High School, which was known for its affiliations with K League Classic club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Having excelled at youth level for his academy, by the recommendation of his coach from Yeouido High School, Song left South Korea at the age of 17 to pursue footballing opportunities in Singapore.

Song's move to Singapore was eased by the presence of Home United's coach, Lee Lim-saeng in which Song said that his academy’s coach knew him.

Lee used to work as an assistant coach in Suwon Samsung and the academy was under Suwon Samsung so both coaches knew each other.

He also work under assistant coach Baek Jong-seok, whom he shared an apartment with.

Song subsequently joined Home United's youth team, which participates in the Prime League, before being promoted to join the first team which competed in the S.League.

On 12 July 2012, Song made his debut appearance for the Protectors in the uniformed derby against Warriors.

He played a total of 46 minutes in his first competitive match for the club, which subsequently ended in a 0–3 loss for his side.

Former Home United coach Philippe Aw who managed the Singapore Selection side for the 2016 Sultan of Selangor Cup, selected Song in the 18-man squad for the cup tie that took place at the Shah Alam Stadium on 7 May 2016.

Alongside Shahril Ishak, he enjoyed a prolific start to the 2018 Singapore Premier League campaign before encountering an injury that ruled him out for the latter half of the season.

Song also played a pivotal role in helping the club to a second-place finish, scoring a total of 20 goals over the entire season, securing Home United with a play-off slot for the AFC Champions League as well as its highest ever AFC Cup finish in the quarter-finals.

On 1 November 2018, it was reported that Song had rejected interest from Indonesian giants Persija Jakarta.

Despite being offered a deal worth US$20,000 per month from the Indonesian club, Song chose to remain with Home United, stating his hopes of representing Singapore internationally in the future.

He also signed a two-year contract extension with the Singapore-based club.

On 14 February 2020, Home United was purchased, privatised and officially renamed as Lion City Sailors by Singaporean billionaire, Forrest Li.

Song remained with the rebranded side, representing the club for the 2020 Singapore Premier League season.

During the 2021 season, Song was quick to express his delight at the influx of fresh talent, which he explained helped boost the quality and intensity of training sessions.

However, the arrival of Lopes also meant he had to give up his number 10 shirt.

Under new manager Kim Do-hoon, Song was part of the Lion City Sailors side that won the 2021 Singapore Premier League which qualified them for next season AFC Champions League group stage.

He ended the season scoring 7 goals in 15 appearances.

In Song's first game of the 2022 season, he helped his side to win the 2022 Singapore Community Shield.

He went on to score six goals and provided five assists in 31 appearances for the club.

During the 2022 AFC Champions League group stage matches, Song scored a header from Maxime Lestienne's cross which resulted the Sailors to a 3–0 victory against K League 1 club Daegu FC.

Against the Chinese club, Shandong Taishan, he scored a goal and provided a assist and was named 'Man of the Match'.

In the reverse fixture against Daegu, Song scored a goal again but the Sailors eventually lost the match.

In May, it was reported that Daegu and Suwon FC is interested in signing Song and had made an offer.

Song has scored 78 goals and provided 23 assists in 226 appearances across 12 seasons, leaving the Sailors as their all-time top goalscorer with 32 goals in all competitions.