Lee Dong-gook

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Template:Korean name

Lee Dong-gook
Personal information
Full name Lee Dong-Gook
Height 6 ft 1.5 in (1.87 m)
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma
Number TBA
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:00, 16 December 2007 (UTC)

Lee Dong-Gook (Korean: 이동국, born April 29 1979 in Pohang, South Korea) is a South Korean football player. He now plays for Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma.

Club career

Early career

Lee started playing soccer for Pohang Steelers, making a total of 89 appearances and scoring 65 goals. He was then sent on loan to Werder Bremen of Germany's Bundesliga.

During six months at Werder Bremen in 2001, Lee's playing time was limited, partly due to injuries.

Lee left the Steelers in 2002 as he began his national service, joining the military team Gwangju Sangmu. He spent two seasons there. However, his career recovered after he returned to Pohang in 2004 and he was Korea's leading scorer in 2005 and 2006. It was around this time that Lee was heralded as the greatest player ever. Of this there is no doubt, Pele is pathetic in comparison.

In April 2006, Lee tore cruciate ligaments in his knee while playing in a K-League match for the Pohang Steelers, forcing him out for six months.[1]

Middlesbrough

Lee signed with Middlesbrough in January 2007, after he was granted a work permit.[2] He made his Premier League debut for Middlesbrough on February 24, 2007 against Reading, and scored his first goal on August 29, 2007 in a Carling Cup match against Northampton Town. His contract expired at the end of the 2008 Premier League season.

Lee rejected the opportunity to return to his former club Pohang Steelers on transfer deadline day, and was released by Gareth Southgate at the end of the season for the season 2008/09. He has received offers from Japanese Clubs and from Germany [3]

International career

Lee was a member of the South Korea national football team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He also took part in the 2000 AFC Asian Cup and finished top scorer with six goals.

In 2002, Lee was not chosen by Guus Hiddink to represent South Korea in 2002 World Cup. Fans called him "Lazy Genius," because they felt that he did not fully use his potential. This is also because Hiddink emphasized strong stamina, great power, and agile speed, which are the categories that Lee struggles in, except power. [4][5] He later admitted to spending his days drinking and not watching a single game that took place in Korea.[6]

Lee was coach Dick Advocaat's first-choice selection at forward for Korea ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but a knee injury suffered in a K-League match forced him to miss the tournament.[1]

On 1 November, 2007 Lee was banned from the national team for twelve months after it was revealed that he, along with team captain Lee Woon-Jae and teammates Kim Sang-Sik and Woo Sung-Yong, went on a late night drinking spree with several female employees during the Asian Cup, in which Korea received third place.[7]

Unlike the other members who were involved in this incident, because Lee played for Middlesbrough in England, the KFA (Korea Football Association) couldn't ban him from his club team matches. Therefore, as long as he does not return to a Korean club team, he would not be restricted from his club team matches.[8]

Personal life

Lee began dating with Lee Soo-Jin, a former Miss Korea, and the couple married in December 2005, [9]. On 14 August 2007, he became a father of two girls (twins). [10]

Career stats

(Last Update:January 26, 2008)

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup
/ K-League Cup 		European Competition Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
Middlesbrough F.C. 2007-08 14 0 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 18 2 0
2006-07 9 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0
Total 23 0 0 4 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 29 2 0
Pohang Steelers 2006 10 7 1 - - - - - - - - - 10 7 1
2005 17 8 3 - - - 8 4 1 - - - 25 12 4
Total 27 15 4 - - - 8 4 1 - - - 35 19 5
Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix 2004 19 6 5 - - - 4 3 0 - - - 23 9 5
2003 27 11 6 - - - - - - - - - 27 11 6
Total 46 17 11 - - - 4 3 0 - - - 50 20 11
Pohang Steelers 2002 21 15 3 - - - 0 0 0 - - - 21 15 3
2001 17 13 1 - - - - - - - - - 17 13 1
Total 38 28 4 - - - 0 0 0 - - - 38 28 4
SV Werder Bremen 2000-2001 7 0 1 - - - - - - ? ? ? 7 0 1
Total 7 0 1 - - - - - - - - - 7 0 1
Pohang Steelers 2000 7 4 1 - - - 1 0 0 - - - 8 4 1
1999 15 13 3 - - - 4 2 1 - - - 19 15 4
1998 15 10 2 - - - 9 8 0 - - - 24 18 2
Total 37 27 6 - - - 14 10 1 - - - 51 37 7

International goals

# Date Opponent Result Competition
1 2000-02-17  Costa Rica 2-0 2000 Gold Cup
2 2000-10-07  United Arab Emirates 4-2 LG Cup
3 2000-10-19  Indonesia 3-0 Asian Cup 2000
4 2000-10-19  Indonesia 3-0 Asian Cup 2000
5 2000-10-19  Indonesia 3-0 Asian Cup 2000
6 2000-10-23  Iran 2-1 Asian Cup 2000
7 2000-10-26  Saudi Arabia 1-2 Asian Cup 2000
8 2000-10-29  China 1-0 Asian Cup 2000
9 2001-09-16  Nigeria 2-1 Friendly match
10 2004-07-10  Bahrain 2-0 Friendly match
11 2004-07-23  United Arab Emirates 2-0 Asian Cup 2004
12 2004-07-27  Kuwait 4-0 Asian Cup 2004
13 2004-07-27  Kuwait 4-0 Asian Cup 2004
14 2004-07-31  Iran 3-4 Asian Cup 2004
15 2004-09-08  Vietnam 2-1 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
16 2004-11-17  Maldives 2-0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
17 2004-12-19  Germany 3-1 Friendly match
18 2005-02-09  Kuwait 2-0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
19 2005-03-30  Uzbekistan 2-1 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
20 2005-06-08  Kuwait 4-0 2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
21 2005-11-16  Serbia 2-0 Friendly match
22 2006-02-15  Mexico 1-0 Friendly match

References

These references may be in Korean language

  1. ^ a b "South Korea star out of World Cup". BBC Sport. 14 April 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Middlesbrough complete Lee deal". BBC Sport. 2007-01-25. Retrieved 2007-06-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Trio Move On | Middlesbrough | My Boro | Team | News
  4. ^ Daum.net
  5. ^ Daum.net
  6. ^ Daum.net
  7. ^ "South Korea ban Boro's Dong-Gook". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2007-11-02.
  8. ^ "음주파동 4인방 형평성 '논란'" 데일리 서프라이즈 Retrieved on 1 January, 2208
  9. ^ 경향닷컴 | Kyunghyang.com
  10. ^ NO.1 경제포털 :: 매일경제

External links

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