During Klinsmann’s two European away A matches in September, a late tackler was born. This time, it’s midfielder Lee Soon-min (29) of the K League 1 Gwangju FC.
Lee was named to Jürgen Klinsmann’s roster for the September European tour.
It was a rare opportunity for an unknown player who had never represented his country at his age group to play alongside European stars such as Son Heung-min (Tottenham) and Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich).
Born in 1994, Lee led Gwangju to promotion from the K League 2 last year and has been a key midfielder in the K League 1 this season.
Due to his steady performance, he was selected as a member of Team K-League, a K-League all-star squad, last month and scored the winning goal in the Coupang Play friendly against Atletico Madrid (AT Madrid-Spain).
He was also selected to the A national team and earned his first Taekwondo mark, and is having the best year of his soccer career.
Lee is expected to compete with Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) for the defensive midfield spot in the national team.
With Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos), Lee Dong-kyung (Ulsan), and Hong Hyun-seok (Gent) also in the mix, it will be tough to get a starting spot. 온라인바카라
However, Klinsmann is hopeful that Lee’s selection will bring about a change in the national team.
“Lee Soon-min has been a consistent performer in the K League,” Klinsmann said, “and the inclusion of these new players will be the beginning of a change to fulfill our goal of winning the Asian Cup.”
If Lee continues to perform as well as he did against AT Madrid, he has the potential to make an impact on the national team.
Furthermore, Lee’s call-up should inspire other players in the K League.
Also known as a singing soccer player, Lee Soon-min is a “rapper” who performs under the name “wero”. He gained attention for his hip-hop performance at the K-League Grand Awards ceremony at the end of last year.
He often tells his own stories in his songs, and his first Taekwondo mark makes for a good subject.
“I’m glad that I was able to achieve the honor of receiving my first flag with a team called Gwangju,” he said through the club, adding, “It’s unreal. I will do my best to shine for the team and the country with the pride of being a Gwangju player.”