Lee Chun-soo

Lee Chun-soo (Korean: 이천수; born 9 July 1981) is a retired South Korean football player. He played as a forward for South Korea at 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Lee Chun-soo

Lee with Incheon United in 2013
Personal information
Full name	Lee Chun-soo
Date of birth	9 July 1981
Place of birth	Incheon, South Korea
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
2000–2001	Korea University
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2002–2003	Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	36	(15)
2003–2005	Real Sociedad	13	(0)
2004–2005	→ Numancia (loan)	15	(0)
2005–2007	Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i	48	(17)
2007–2009	Feyenoord	12	(0)
2008	→ Suwon Samsung Bluewings (loan)	3	(0)
2009	→ Jeonnam Dragons (loan)	7	(4)
2009–2010	Al-Nassr	16	(3)
2010–2011	Omiya Ardija	43	(8)
2013–2015	Incheon United	67	(5)
Total		260	(52)
National team^‡
1999–2000	South Korea U20	14	(20)
1999–2004	South Korea U23	21	(11)
2006	South Korea U23 (WC)	6	(0)
2000–2008	South Korea	78	(10)
Honours Representing  South Korea Men's football AFC Asian Cup 2007 Indonesia/Malaysia/Thailand/Vietnam Team Asian Games 2002 Busan Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 November 2015 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 1 May 2014

Lee Chun-soo
Hangul	이천수
Hanja	李天秀
Revised Romanization	I Cheon-su
McCune–Reischauer	I Ch'ŏnsu

Early life

While Lee attended Bupyeong High School, he was already being highly touted as the future of Korean football, along with Choi Tae-uk. Lee, Choi and another teammate Park Yong-ho were called the "Bupyeong-go Trio", leading their school to win South Korean three high school competitions in 1999.[2] Lee and Choi also played for South Korea at the 2002 FIFA World Cup after three years.

Playing career

Youth career

In 1999, Lee was selected in the South Korea under-20 team for the Bangabandhu Cup. He scored five goals against Thailand under-23 in his debut game.[3] He also scored all two goals in the following game, which South Korea defeated Brazil XI 2–0. He also participated as a player of South Korea under-23 in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and scored the winning goal against Morocco in the second group match.[3]

2002 World Cup

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea, Lee played all seven games for South Korea. He played five games as a substitute until the quarter-finals, but he showed fast dribbling and active defense, becoming an important contributor of the South Korean team.[4] In the semi-finals against Germany, where he was on the starting line-up for the first time, he had greed about a goal without regard for teamwork, but his play made a memorable shot saved by Oliver Kahn.[4]

Challenge in Spain

In that year, Lee also showed his talent at the K League by recording seven goals and nine assists in 18 games despite spending his first professional season.[5] Becoming a semi-finalist of World Cup and the top assist provider of K League at an early age, he was named the Asian Young Footballer of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation.[6] In July 2003, he joined the runners-up of the 2002–03 La Liga, Real Sociedad, becoming the first Korean to play in the La Liga. After a mediocre season, however, he was loaned to another La Liga club Numancia, and eventually returned to South Korea. He could not score in La Liga for two years.

Prime in K League

Lee failed in Spain, feeling the difference of level between La Liga and K League, but he was still one of the best South Korean footballers. Though he joined Ulsan in mid-season, his performance proved to be invaluable to Ulsan's capture of the 2005 league. He especially scored a hat trick in the first leg of the championship finals. He was subsequently named the K League's Most Valuable Player on 28 December 2005. The next year, he left a memorable game against Gamba Osaka at the A3 Champions Cup. He played only 45 minutes of the game due to a cold, but scored a hat-trick.

At the 2006 World Cup, he scored Korea's first goal with a free kick against Togo in a 2–1 win.

In the summer of 2008, Lee joined Feyenoord of the Netherlands but failed to adapt to the country.

In July 2008 Feyenoord officially announced Lee's loan to Korean powerhouse Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a one-year deal. His stint was ill-received: he performed poorly, had clashes with the coaching staff, and was ultimately suspended from the K-League.

After a few months, Suwon released him and on 26 February 2009, he was loaned to the Chunnam Dragons until 31 July 2009. On 13 June 2009, he signed with the Dragons.[7] In the last week of June 2009, however, a secret contract was exposed. Feyenoord had also tried to transfer Lee to Al Nassr and Chunnam ultimately released him due to problems.

He also left Saudi Arabia while still under contract with Al Nassr. He eventually joined Omiya Ardija of Japan.

On 31 March 2013, he came back to the K-league after 1381 days with Incheon United in a game against Daejeon Citizen.[8] After a slow start, he finally got an assist against Ulsan Hyundai on 20 April 2013.[9] On 25 May 2013, he scored his first goal since his comeback against Busan IPark. While at the club, he took the role of veteran to lead the juniors and seniors as one team.[10]

On 5 November 2015, he announced his retirement as a player.

His final performance came in March 2016 in an international fixture between Korea and Lebanon. [11]

After retirement

In 2005, he took a special seminar at Goyang Baekyang Middle School with Chung Mong-joon, president of the Korea Football Association.

In June 2014, he starred in the SNL Korea corner "GTA Soccer Game Winning Eleven" alongside Kim Min-kyo.

In December 2015, he appeared on the show 'Masked Singer" and displayed his singing skills.

As of March 2016, he is a commentator for JTBC3 Fox Sports.

Career statistics

Club

As of 1 May 2016

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2002	Ulsan Hyundai Horangi	K League 1	18	7	3	2	0	0	-		21	9
2003			18	8	0	0	-		-		18	8
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
2003-04	Real Sociedad	La Liga	13	0	2	0	-		6	0	21	0
2004-05	Numancia		15	0	1	0	-		-		16	0
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2005	Ulsan Hyundai Horangi	K League 1	14	7	1	0	0	0	-		15	7
2006			18	5	0	0	6	2	6	3	30	10
2007			16	5	1	0	10	2	-		27	7
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
2007-08	Feyenoord	Eredivisie	12	0	2	0	-		-		14	0
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2008	Suwon Samsung Bluewings	K League 1	3	0	0	0	1	1	-		4	1
2009	Chunnam Dragons		7	4	1	0	1	0	-		9	4
Saudi Arabia			League		Crown Prince Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2009–10	Al-Nasr	Saudi Premier League	16	3	0	0	0	0	-		16	3
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2010	Omiya Ardija	J1 League	16	2	2	2	0	0	-		18	4
2011			27	6	1	0	0	0	-		28	6
South Korea			League		KFA Cup		League Cup		Asia		Total
2013	Incheon United	K League 1	19	2	1	0	-		-		20	2
2014			28	1	0	0	-		-		28	1
2015			20	2	0	0	-		-		20	2
Total	South Korea		161	41	7	2	18	5	6	3	192	51
	Spain		28	0	3	0	-		6	0	37	0
	Netherlands		12	0	2	0	-		-		14	0
	Saudi Arabia		16	3	0	0	0	0	-		16	3
	Japan		43	8	3	2	0	0	-		46	10
Career total			260	52	15	4	18	5	12	3	305	64

International goals

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
5 April 2000	Seoul	Laos	1 goal	9-0	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
7 April 2000	Seoul	Mongolia	1 goal	6-0	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
13 September 2001	Daejeon	Nigeria	1 goal	2-1	Friendly match
16 May 2002	Busan	Scotland	1 goal	4-1	Friendly match
8 September 2004	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	1 goal	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
29 January 2006	Hong Kong	Croatia	1 goal	2-0	2006 Carlsberg Cup
22 February 2006	Aleppo	Syria	1 goal	2-1	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
13 June 2006	Frankfurt	Togo	1 goal	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup
6 February 2007	London	Greece	1 goal	1-0	Friendly match
29 June 2007	Seogwipo	Iraq	1 goal	3-0	Friendly match

Honours

Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i

• K League 1: 2005[12]
• Korean League Cup: 2007[13]
• Korean Super Cup: 2006[13]
• A3 Champions Cup: 2006[14]

Feyenoord

• KNVB Cup : 2007–08[15]

Suwon Samsung Bluewings

• K League 1: 2008[12]
• Korean League Cup: 2008[13]

Incheon United

• Korean FA Cup runner-up: 2015[13]

South Korea U23

• Asian Games bronze medal: 2002[16]

South Korea

• FIFA World Cup fourth place: 2002[17]
• AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007[18]

Individual

• K League 1 top assist provider: 2002
• K League 1 Young Player of the Year: 2002[19]
• K League 1 Best XI: 2002, 2005[19][20]
• Asian Young Footballer of the Year: 2002[6]
• K League 1 Most Valueable Player: 2005[20]
• A3 Champions Cup Most Valuable Player: 2006[21]
• A3 Champions Cup top goalscorer: 2006
• AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2007[22]
• Korean Goal of the Year: 2007[23]

References

1. "Korea Republic - Chun-Soo Lee - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
2. 박용호 은퇴, 이천수-최태욱 '부평고 전설의 3인방' 모두 떠났다 (in Korean). Sports-Q. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
3. "Lee Chun-soo's international statistics" (in Korean). KFA. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
4. <대표팀결산:한국축구 내가 이끈다> ⑥이천수. Naver.com (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 1 July 2002. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
5. Lee Chun-soo – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
6. "Asian Player of the Year". RSSSF. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
7. 이천수, 전남과 연봉계약.."상위 수준" (in Korean). Yonhap. 13 June 2009.
8. "1381일 만에 복귀전… "이천수 살아있네"". The Kyunghyang Shinmun. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
9. "이천수 '아직 죽지 않았어' 전북현대전서 어시스트". 뉴스천지. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
10. "Lee scored comeback goal". Segye Financial News. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
11. 김, 우종 (24 March 2016). "'아듀 풍운아여~' 이천수, 24일 레바논전서 은퇴식 '작별 인사'".
12. Lee, Seung-soo; Schöggl, Hans; Trevena, Mark (13 May 2020). "South Korea - List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
13. Lee, Seung-soo; Trevena, Mark (8 April 2020). "South Korea - List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
14. Nakanishi, Masanori; Lee, Seung-soo (14 June 2007). "East Asian Champions Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
15. van Seventer, Mark (1 September 2005). "Netherlands Cup (Amstel Cup) 2004/05". RSSSF.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
16. "Football Men's (Final Result) - Match Schedule". Busan Asian Games. Archived from the original on 10 January 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
17. "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan ™ - Matches - Korea Republic-Turkey". FIFA. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
18. Stokkermans, Karel (7 February 2019). "Asian Nations Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
19. 2002년 K-리그 시상식 21일 개최. Naver.com (in Korean). Yonhap News Agency. 20 December 2002.
20. 2005 삼성 하우젠 K리그 대상 열려, MVP에는 이천수. Naver.com (in Korean). Sportalkorea. 28 December 2005.
21. "Lee chun Soo, of South Korea's Ulsan Hyundai, receives 'MVP' at the closing ceremony of the A3 Champions Cup 2006 at the National Stadium, in Tokyo, Japan, on August 8, 2006". Alamy. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
22. "Fanzone". AFC Asian Cup. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
    "Official All-Star XI". BigSoccer. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
23. 축구팬 ‘그리스전 이천수 프리킥골이 올해 최고’ (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 28 December 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2020.

External links

• Lee Chun-soo – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
• Lee Chun-soo – National Team Stats at KFA (in Korean)
• Lee Chun-soo – FIFA competition record
• Lee Chun-soo at National-Football-Teams.com
• Lee Chun-soo at J.League (in Japanese)