Will Lee Soon-min (29, Gwangju), the ‘late-born Taegeuk mark’, inject vitality into the Klinsmann?
The selection of Lee Soon-min in the final roster for this September’s European away match can be said to be ‘unconventional’. Soon-min Lee, who attended Yonggang Middle School, Baekam High School, and Yeungnam University, was an unknown who had never represented his age group. In fact, it hasn’t been long since he distinguished himself in the K League. After joining Gwangju in 2017, he was properly used by the manager in 2021.
It was Gwangju coach Lee Jeong-hyo who helped Lee Sun-min to explode his potential late. Last year, when the team was relegated to K-League 2 (Second Division), Lee Soon-min’s multi-talented abilities were actively utilized. Lee Soon-min was like a ‘master key.’ During his time at Yeungnam University under coach Kim Byeong-soo, he developed into a right fullback, but switched to a central midfielder in the pros. Like Kim Nam-il, who was nicknamed ‘Vacuum Cleaner’ during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, he played a role in wiping out opponents in the midfield.
Lee Sun-min is spreading his wings big under Gwangju coach Lee Jeong-hyo. Soon-min Lee said, “Coach Lee emphasizes, ‘Own the space, not the ball.’ He always tells me the location in detail and says, ‘If you are in a good space in advance, the ball will come by itself.’ Those words helped me a lot.”
Then he caught the eye of coach Cha Du-ri. Sunmin Lee was actually a ‘listed’ resource when Coach Cha worked as a technical advisor. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who sparked controversy over his ‘outing’ in the U.S. and Europe by attending to personal schedules and his own birthday that had already been scheduled for a long time after the A match last June, watched the 10 K-League 1 games at the stadium after taking charge of the A national team. There was no Gwangju match. In the end, Coach Cha and others worked hard to find a hidden gem named Lee Soon-min.
Lee Sun-min’s ‘eight-colored’ charm was revealed in the expedition to Ulsan on the 3rd just before the start of the A-match period. His main position is central midfielder, but since Timo is out due to injury, he has taken on the role of center back. On this day, he also maintained the last line of defense, and after playing defensive midfielder, he was switched to left fullback when Lee Min-ki was out due to injury in the 35th minute of the first half. Even though he changed positions three times in one game, he did his best to attract attention. In particular, in the second half, he completely blocked Ulsan’s ‘speed racer’ Eom Won-sang, leading the team to a 2-0 victory.바카라사이트
In the national team A, there is competition with Park Yong-woo (30, Al Ain). Among the 11 midfielders in Klinsmann, only Park Yong-woo and Lee Soon-min can be considered defensive players. The remaining midfielders have a strong tendency to attack. In fact, Park Yong-woo also debuted for the A national team during his A match last June. In terms of his experience, there is not much difference from Lee Sun-min. Therefore, if Lee Sun-min also demonstrates the charm he showed in the K League, he is expected to be able to fully appeal his presence to Coach Klinsmann.