Lee Chun-soo
Lee Chun-Soo is a retired football player from South Korea. In 2002, he joined Ulsan Hyundai FC.
He played as a forward for the national team during the 2002 World Cup, the 2004 Summer Olympics, and the 2006 World Cup.
Football career
While Lee attended Bupyeong High School, he was already being highly touted as the future of Korean football, along with Choi Tae-Uk.In 2002, Lee scored seven goals in the K-League and made the World Cup squad. After the World Cup, he moved to Real Sociedad of Spain, becoming the first Korean to play in the Spanish La Liga. After a mediocre season, however, he was loaned to fellow Spanish side Numancia, before returning to Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i of South Korea's K-League.
Though Lee joined Ulsan mid-season, his performance proved to be invaluable to Ulsan's capture of the 2005 league, scoring a hat trick in the first leg of the finals. He was subsequently named the K-League's Most Valuable Player on 28 December 2005.
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. 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. After a slow start, he finally got an assist against Ulsan Hyundai on 20 April 2013. 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.
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.
Life after football
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.
Club statistics
Honours
Club
Ulsan Hyundai FC- K League 1: 2005
- A3 Champions Cup: 2006
- Super Cup: 2006
- League Cup: 2007
South Korea
- FIFA World Cup fourth place: 2002
International goals
Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
5 April 2000 | Seoul | 1 goal | 9-0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification | |
7 April 2000 | Seoul | 1 goal | 6-0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification | |
13 September 2001 | Daejeon | 1 goal | 2-1 | Friendly match | |
16 May 2002 | Busan | 1 goal | 4-1 | Friendly match | |
8 September 2004 | Ho Chi Minh City | 1 goal | 2-1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification | |
29 January 2006 | Hong Kong | 1 goal | 2-0 | 2006 Carlsberg Cup | |
22 February 2006 | Aleppo | 1 goal | 2-1 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification | |
13 June 2006 | Frankfurt | 1 goal | 2-1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup | |
6 February 2007 | London | 1 goal | 1-0 | Friendly match | |
29 June 2007 | Seogwipo | 1 goal | 3-0 | Friendly match |