Lee Chun-soo facts for kids
Lee with Incheon United in 2013
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| 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) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Bupyeongdong Middle School | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Bupyeong High School | |||||||||||||||||||||
| College career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | South Korea U20 | 14 | (20) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2006 | South Korea U23 | 28 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2008 | South Korea | 78 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lee Chun-soo | |
| Hangul |
이천수
|
|---|---|
| Hanja |
李天秀
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| Revised Romanization | I Cheon-su |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Ch'ŏnsu |
Lee Chun-soo (born July 9, 1981) is a famous South Korean football player who has now retired. He played as a forward, which is an attacking player, for the South Korean national team. He even played in two big tournaments, the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
Contents
Lee Chun-soo's Club Career
Lee Chun-soo started his professional football journey with the Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i team. He quickly showed his amazing skills.
Starting Strong at Ulsan Hyundai
In his first season in 2002, Lee scored seven goals and made nine assists in 18 games. An assist is when a player helps another player score a goal. He was only 19 years old then!
Because of his great performance, he was named the Asian Young Footballer of the Year. This award is given by the Asian Football Confederation to the best young player in Asia.
Playing in Europe: Spain and Netherlands
In 2003, Lee Chun-soo moved to Spain to play for Real Sociedad. This team had finished second in the Spanish league the year before. He was the first Korean player ever to play in Spain's top football league, called La Liga.
However, his time in Spain was a bit tough. He didn't score any goals in his two years there. He was even loaned to another Spanish team, Numancia, before returning to South Korea.
Later, in 2008, Lee got a second chance to play in Europe. He joined Feyenoord, a team in the Netherlands. But he found it hard to get used to playing there. He was then loaned to a South Korean team, Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
Returning to South Korea and Retirement
After his time in Europe, Lee Chun-soo played for a few other teams. He was loaned to Jeonnam Dragons in South Korea. Then he played for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and Omiya Ardija in Japan.
In 2013, Lee made a comeback to the K League, South Korea's main football league. He joined Incheon United. He played for them for a few years.
On November 5, 2015, Lee Chun-soo announced that he was retiring from playing football. His retirement was celebrated at a special ceremony in 2016.
Lee Chun-soo's International Career
Lee Chun-soo also had a very active career playing for the South Korean national teams. He represented his country at different age levels and in major tournaments.
Playing for Youth Teams
In 1999, Lee was chosen to play for the South Korean under-20 team. He scored five goals in his very first game against Thailand! He even scored two goals in a 2-0 win against Brazil.
He also played for the South Korean under-23 team in the 2000 Summer Olympics.
World Cup Appearances
Lee Chun-soo played in two FIFA World Cups for the South Korean national team.
In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was held in South Korea, he was mostly a substitute player. But when he played, he showed great dribbling skills and good defense. In a semi-final match against Germany, he had a memorable shot that the opposing goalkeeper saved.
Lee played an even bigger role in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was a starter in many games. He scored South Korea's first goal in the tournament with a fantastic free kick against Togo, helping his team win 2-1.
Lee Chun-soo After Retirement
After retiring from football, Lee Chun-soo has been busy with many different activities. He has appeared on television and works as a football commentator.
In 2014, he was on a TV show called SNL Korea. He also showed his singing skills on the show King of Mask Singer in 2015.
Since 2016, he has been a football commentator for JTBC3 Fox Sports. This means he talks about football games on TV. In 2021, he signed a contract with an entertainment company. He also participated in a special football match in 2024.
Television Appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Note(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Golden Eleven 2 | Himself | ||
| 2021 | Brad PT & GYM Carry | Himself | ||
| 2022–present | Mr. House Husband 2 | Himself | ||
| 2022 | Gundesliga | Himself |
Web Series Appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Ssangssang Invitational | Himself |
Lee Chun-soo's Career Statistics
Club Performance
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 2002 | K League | 18 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 21 | 9 | |
| 2003 | K League | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 8 | |||
| Total | 36 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 39 | 17 | |||
| Real Sociedad | 2003–04 | La Liga | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Numancia (loan) | 2004–05 | La Liga | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 2005 | K League | 14 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 7 | |
| 2006 | K League | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 30 | 10 | |
| 2007 | K League | 16 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | 27 | 7 | ||
| Total | 48 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 72 | 24 | ||
| Feyenoord | 2007–08 | Eredivisie | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Suwon Samsung Bluewings (loan) | 2008 | K League | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 4 | 1 | |
| Jeonnam Dragons (loan) | 2009 | K League | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 9 | 4 | |
| Al-Nassr | 2009–10 | Saudi Pro League | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 16 | 3 | |
| Omiya Ardija | 2010 | J1 League | 16 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 18 | 4 | |
| 2011 | J1 League | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 28 | 6 | ||
| Total | 43 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 46 | 10 | ||
| Incheon United | 2013 | K League 1 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 2 | ||
| 2014 | K League 1 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| 2015 | K League 1 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 2 | |||
| Total | 67 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 68 | 5 | ||||
| Career total | 260 | 52 | 15 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 305 | 64 | ||
International Goals
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 2000 | 9 | 2 |
| 2001 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2005 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 17 | 3 | |
| 2007 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 1 | 0 | |
| Career total | 78 | 10 | |
- Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 April 2000 | Seoul, South Korea | 1 |  Laos |
3–0 | 9–0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 2 | 7 April 2000 | Seoul, South Korea | 2 |  Mongolia |
5–0 | 6–0 | 2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 3 | 13 September 2001 | Daejeon, South Korea | 11 |  Nigeria |
1–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 4 | 16 May 2002 | Busan, South Korea | 23 |  Scotland |
1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | 8 September 2004 | Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 40 |  Vietnam |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 29 January 2006 | Hong Kong | 54 |  Croatia |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2006 Lunar New Year Cup |
| 7 | 22 February 2006 | Aleppo, Syria | 58 |  Syria |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 8 | 13 June 2006 | Frankfurt, Germany | 63 |  Togo |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2006 FIFA World Cup |
| 9 | 6 February 2007 | London, England | 68 |  Greece |
1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly |
| 10 | 29 June 2007 | Seogwipo, South Korea | 71 |  Iraq |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
Lee Chun-soo's Awards and Honours
Lee Chun-soo won many awards and honours during his football career, both with his clubs and with the national team.
Player Awards
Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i
- K League 1: 2005
- Korean League Cup: 2007
- Korean Super Cup: 2006
- A3 Champions Cup: 2006
Feyenoord
- KNVB Cup: 2007–08
Suwon Samsung Bluewings
- K League 1: 2008
- Korean League Cup: 2008
Incheon United
- Korean FA Cup runner-up: 2015
South Korea U23
- Asian Games bronze medal: 2002
South Korea
- AFC Asian Cup third place: 2007
Individual Awards
- K League All-Star: 2002, 2006, 2007, 2013
- K League 1 top assist provider: 2002
- K League Rookie of the Year: 2002
- K League 1 Best XI: 2002, 2005
- AFC Youth Player of the Year: 2002
- K League 1 Most Valuable Player: 2005
- A3 Champions Cup Most Valuable Player: 2006
- A3 Champions Cup top goalscorer: 2006
- AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament: 2007
- Korean FA Goal of the Year: 2007
Television Personality Awards
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KBS Entertainment Awards | 2022 | Top Excellence Award in Reality Category | Mr. House Husband 2 | Won |
See also
In Spanish: Lee Chun-soo para niños
