Ben Somerford


Former Middlesbrough hit-man Lee Dong-Gook is creating debate in his native Korea, following a blistering start to the K-League season which has seen him pressing for a national team recall ahead of the 2010 World Cup. After a couple of forgettable years, 30 year-old Korean forward has turned on the style this season, smashing in 15 goals in 17 games with K-League high-flyers Jeonbuk Motors.

And while his controversial national team career has been on hold of late following on from his drunken antics at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Lee's K-League form this year is hard to ignore. Yet current Taegeuk Warriors boss Huh Jung-Moo is doing just that by not picking him and this has created a fierce debate in Korea, especially with the World Cup just around the corner.

To put all this into context, Lee has always been a big star in his native country, especially in his younger years at K-League club Pohang Steelers. As a teenager he was a stunning selection for the 1998 World Cup squad in France but in 2002 was overlooked by Guus Hiddink, having been dubbed the ‘Lazy Genius’ by the Korean public.

In 2006, Lee looked like he was back on track as Dick Advocaat (the Korean boss at the time) had him penciled in as his number one striker. But the star dramatically suffered a knee injury before the tournament and missed out.

Then months after the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Lee’s fall from grace was complete when it was revealed he had been out late at night during the tournament drinking with a few other teammates and a number of female national team employees. They would all be banned from the national team for 12 months.

In the meantime, the striker endured a difficult two-year spell at English Premier League side Middlesbrough where he struggled to make an impact before returning to Korea for more misery at Seongnam Ilhwa.

Having left Seongnam at the end of 2008, Jeonbuk took a punt on Lee and he has proven a worthy gamble with outstanding form making him the comfortable leader in K-League golden boot race. Thus the beginning of the debate about his return to the Taegeuk Warriors set-up which is currently raging in Korea.

The national team boss Huh (who has a history of not selecting older players) said recently, “I am not sure Lee Dong-Gook could do better than other players. He should check the reasons why he missed the FIFA World Cup in 2002, and could not succeed in the Premier League.

“He should move more sharply. Lee definitely has a sense of goalscoring, but should we believe that he could score against world-class strong teams? No-one can be sure about that.

“I know that Lee scores many goals, but he does not create his own opportunities. He needs to show more sharp movements instead of just standing.”

And while the strength of Jeonbuk’s midfield, which includes Brazilian gun Eninho and Korean international Choi Tae-Uk, could go some way to explaining Lee’s success, it is hard to really argue with 15 goals in 17 games.

Jeonbuk boss Choi Kang-Hee responded to Huh’s claim earlier this month by saying, “I think that they have not watched Lee on the pitch of late.

“Had they watched him scoring his second goal in a round of 16 match of the FA Cup against FC Seoul and his third gaol against Gwangju Sangmu, they could not have said so.

“I am surprised by the notion that Lee is just standing in front of goal, not creating opportunities.”

Choi added, “I am the one who watches him play everyday and know him more than anyone. He has evolved. Please do not be prejudiced against him.”

To add fuel to the fire of the debate, Suwon Bluewings’ 2008 K-League title winning boss Cha Beum-Kun, who will coach the K-League All-Star side to face the Japanese J.League All-Star team in the annual international Jomo Cup in early August, has also not selected Lee. The Jomo Cup is always a good opportunity for K-League stars to showcase their abilities to the national team boss at a high level and for Lee to miss out is a shame.

Cha claimed, “I have thought about Lee for the All-Star team. I cannot pick him because I submitted the squad a few weeks ago. I think a good player like Lee should be in the squad. I have time, so I will watch him.”

The Jeonbuk boss responded to that by saying, “Lee was just as consistent two weeks ago.”

The Korean public seem split on his national team future as well, a poll recently taken on ‘Whom do you want to see in the 2010 World Cup?’, giving Lee the sixth most votes. Nevertheless, the man in the middle of the drama, remains focused on making his first World Cup in 12 years.

Lee recently said, “I have some time until the 2010 South Africa World Cup. I think I can get a good result if I perform well in the K-League.”

Indeed his current form is hard to ignore, but if he keeps it up, it will be impossible to ignore.

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