Yoo Young-a

Yoo Young-a 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.