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Football: English football clubs chase Korea's Lee Chun-Soo

iveco
26 Jun 07, 23:21

Posted: 26 June 2007 1550 hrs

SEOUL: South Korean striker Lee Chun-Soo is in talks with up to five English Premier League clubs, with a deal imminent, according to his agent.

The Ulsan Tigers frontman has previously been linked with FA Cup holders Chelsea and their west London rivals Fulham, although the Korea Times said the Fulham deal was all but off the table.

Lee's agent Kim Min-Jae was cited by the paper saying talks were underway with three other Premiership teams.

He declined to name them but the paper suggested they were Portsmouth, who attempted to buy Lee last year, Wigan, who held talks with him in January, and West Ham.

Kim said Lee was close to signing a deal.

"A new team has offered a deal with better conditions than what Fulham had offered," said Kim.

"We can't just wait forever for Fulham to up their offer, so we are now pushing the negotiations further with the new team."

Fulham offered Lee a one-year deal worth 100,000 pounds (US$200,000) far below what the Korean had been expecting. Lee's agents asked for more but the club has so far refused to budge, the report said.

Fulham are sponsored by LG Electronics and Chelsea by Samsung Electronics, and a Korean player on either team would appeal from a marketing perspective.

Lee is considered one of Korea's best players and is a key plank of the national team as they prepare for the Asian Cup finals next month.

He previously played in Europe with Spanish club Real Sociedad after the 2002 World Cup, but failed to impress.

Several Koreans have successfully made the switch to English football, including Park Ji-Sung at Manchester United, Lee Young-Pyo at Spurs, Seol Ki-Hyeon at Reading and Lee Dong-Guk at Middlesbrough.

- AFP/yy
Jaeyoon
6 Jul 07, 11:35

Korea Defeats Iraq 3-0 Ahead of Asian Cup

By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter

The national football team showed brighter prospects for the upcoming Asian Cup, downing Iraq 3-0 in a friendly match, Friday.

In the game, a preparation match for those against Middle East countries _ Saudi Arabia and Bahrain _ in the first round of the regional cup, Lee Chun-soo scored one goal and had one assist.

Yeom Ki-hun's and Lee Keun-ho' first goals with the national squad lifted Korea to an easy win in the game played at Seogwipo World Cup Stadium.

South Korea is drawn into Group D with powerhouses Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and co-hosts Indonesia.

Defeating Iraq, which has also qualified for the Asian Cup and is grouped with Australia, Oman and Thailand, manager Pim Verbeek's side now has a 2-2 record in friendly matches this year.

Korea had a 1-0 win over Greece last February, but then suffered two consecutive losses to Uruguay in March and the Netherlands earlier this month.

Korea is the world's No. 51 team in the FIFA rankings, while Iraq is 84th.

Middlesbrough forward Lee Dong-gook started for the first time in an international match after one year and four months and led Korean team's offense in the first half, showing that his skills have not deteriorated.

After ceaseless attacks, South Korea had its first chance at goal in the fourth minute.

Captain and defender Kim Sang-sik of Seongnam Chunma headed a corner kick to Lee Dong-gook, whose right-footed volley was saved by the goalie.

Lee again fired a 30-meter mid-range shot in the seventh minute on crossing the halfway line but to no avail.

In the eighteenth minute of the first half, Lee crossed the ball to Ulsan Tigers striker Choi Sung-kuk, leaving him face-to-face with the goalkeeper one-on-one.

His right-footed shot was parried off the end of the goalie's hands.

In the semifinal of the Doha Asian Games, the favored South Korean squad lost to Iraq 0-1 in the only counterattack the team made despite Korea's domination of the game.

In the 32nd, a defensive Iraq finally attempted to strike back.

Three Iraqi players outnumbered one Korean defender, but goalie Kim Yong-dae's save rescued the team.

Entering the second half, as coach Verbeek had said before the game, he replaced striker Lee with last season's K-League leading scorer Woo Sung-young of the Ulsan Tigers.

Yeom opened the long awaited scoring six minutes into the second half.

Oh Bum-seok sent a cross in from right that was half-cleared by the Iraqi goalie. The ball fell to Yeom who slotted the ball into the net from the left of the area.

In the 80th, Lee Chun-soo added a second, heading in a cross from Oh into the right corner.

Five minutes later, Lee, attacking along the left flank, beat a defender and lobbed the ball to international match debutant Lee Keun-ho of Daegu FC, who fired home with a volley to seal the match.

South Korea will have one more friendly match with Uzbekistan on July 7 in Seoul and then fly to Indonesia for Asian Cup.

The Asian Cup will be held from July 7-29 in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.
Jaeyoon
6 Jul 07, 11:36

Originally posted by iveco:
Posted: 26 June 2007 1550 hrs

SEOUL: South Korean striker Lee Chun-Soo is in talks with up to five English Premier League clubs, with a deal imminent, according to his agent.

The Ulsan Tigers frontman has previously been linked with FA Cup holders Chelsea and their west London rivals Fulham, although the Korea Times said the Fulham deal was all but off the table.

Lee's agent Kim Min-Jae was cited by the paper saying talks were underway with three other Premiership teams.

He declined to name them but the paper suggested they were Portsmouth, who attempted to buy Lee last year, Wigan, who held talks with him in January, and West Ham.

Kim said Lee was close to signing a deal.

"A new team has offered a deal with better conditions than what Fulham had offered," said Kim.

"We can't just wait forever for Fulham to up their offer, so we are now pushing the negotiations further with the new team."

Fulham offered Lee a one-year deal worth 100,000 pounds (US$200,000) far below what the Korean had been expecting. Lee's agents asked for more but the club has so far refused to budge, the report said.

Fulham are sponsored by LG Electronics and Chelsea by Samsung Electronics, and a Korean player on either team would appeal from a marketing perspective.

Lee is considered one of Korea's best players and is a key plank of the national team as they prepare for the Asian Cup finals next month.

He previously played in Europe with Spanish club Real Sociedad after the 2002 World Cup, but failed to impress.

Several Koreans have successfully made the switch to English football, including Park Ji-Sung at Manchester United, Lee Young-Pyo at Spurs, Seol Ki-Hyeon at Reading and Lee Dong-Guk at Middlesbrough.

- AFP/yy

Lee Chun Soo played a good game against Iraq.