Lee Chung-yong (; ; born 2 July 1988) is a South Korean

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a winger for

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

club Ulsan HD and is a South Korean international. He is nicknamed "Blue Dragon", which is a literal

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

of his given name "Chung-yong". He joined

FC Seoul FC Seoul () is a South Korean professional Association football, football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of Football in South Korea, South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS G ...

, his first club in the 2004 season. Ever since his early debut at the age of 18 for the South Korean side

in the 2006 season of

K League K League () is South Korea's professional football league. It includes the first division K League 1 and the second division K League 2. Clubs competing in the K League have won a record total of twelve AFC Champions League Elite, AFC Champions ...

, Lee has gathered much attention from domestic football fans of South Korea in general, particularly because in South Korean football, where new players mostly make their entrance into professional clubs through a draft system, dropping out of middle school to sign a contract with a top division football club was a very rare case. In January 2009, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' named Lee as one of the top 50 rising stars in football.

Early life

Lee Chung-yong's football career started at the age of 11. Although considered to have started too late by some, his enormous talent was evident and his reputation grew among the Seoul youth football development community.

Club career

FC Seoul

In 2003,

, then known as Anyang LG Cheetahs in its modern incarnation, then manager Cho Kwang-rae began focusing on developing a youth academy within the team. Lee, who, at the time, was attending Dobong Middle School caught the eye of a scout and manager Cho decided to attend his match. After watching only the first half, he was certain Lee had a massive potential, and decided to sign him on the spot. Subsequently, Lee dropped out of the school and joined FC Seoul. Dropping out of middle school could mean a lot later in his life since Korea does not draft middle school dropouts for its military.

at the time signed a handful of youngsters this way, with the most prominent ones being Lee Chung-yong himself, Ko Yo-han, Koh Myong-jin and Song Jin-hyung. He was a substitute in the 2004 League Cup, In 2006, he debuted in the

. For the next several years, Lee honed his skills in the FC Seoul reserves alongside close friend and international teammate Ki Sung-yueng. In 2007, Şenol Güneş, famous for coaching the third-placed Turkey national squad in the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, joined FC Seoul as manager. After watching the youngsters Koh Myong-jin, Ki Sung-yueng and Lee Chung-yong carefully, he recognized the players' significant abilities and aimed to use them as important elements in the FC Seoul first team. That season, Lee Chung-yong began to break into the first team, playing in 15 league matches and scoring three goals. The following year, in 2008, he cemented his place as a regular for FC Seoul, playing 22 league matches, scoring five goals. Both he and Ki Sung-yong won many domestic league fans for their link-up play and individual qualities so much so that they were both given the affectionate moniker "Ssang Yong" or "Double Dragon", a play on their given names. In the 2009 season, Lee continued his good form and he completed a hat-trick of assists in the opening game of the season against Chunnam Dragons on 7 March 2009. On 4 April 2009, he scored the winning goal in a match against Seoul's fierce rival,

Suwon Samsung Bluewings The Suwon Samsung Bluewings () are a South Korean Association football, football club based in Suwon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in December 1995, they have won the K League on four occas ...

Bolton Wanderers

FC Seoul confirmed that Lee Chung-yong had agreed a deal to join

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. A statement from FC Seoul said: "The contract will be signed officially after a work permit is issued." On 29 July 2009, it was announced that he had been granted a work permit allowing him to complete a £2.2 million transfer from FC Seoul. He had already agreed personal terms on a three-year contract with Bolton the previous week and also underwent a successful medical. The transfer was officially confirmed on 14 August 2009, Lee was reported as stating "I am looking forward to this new chapter in my career and cannot wait to play my first game for my new club." With Gary Megson's dismissal in December 2009, he became his last full signing for the club. He made his first Bolton appearance on 15 August 2009 when coming on as a substitute for Gavin McCann in the 1–0 defeat against

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

at the

Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

and scored his first goal, the winning goal of the match in a 2–1 victory against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

on 26 September. He was named

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

in the match against

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

, providing teammate

Ricardo Gardner Ricardo Wayne Gardner (born 25 September 1978), commonly known as Bibi, is a Jamaican former professional footballer. He works as assistant coach at Portmore United. A left winger, he could also play in the centre of midfield or at left wing-b ...

with an assist. As a result of these good performances, Lee was named in the ESPN Soccernet Team of the Week twice in a row. His good form in his first season continued weeks later, after the international break, as he assisted Ivan Klasnic's first goal in the 3–3 draw against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

at the

. He was consequently named 'Man of the Match' by Sky Sports for his significant attacking presence and dribbling prowess: "The South Korean was a constant thorn in City's side and looks to be a real find for Gary Megson." At the end of his first season, Lee won a triumvirate of awards including Bolton Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, and best newcomer awards. There was interest from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

after the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, but Lee stated that it was likely that he would remain at

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

for the 2010–11 Premier League, and on 25 November he signed an extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until 2013. During a pre-season friendly against Newport County on 30 July 2011, Lee suffered a broken leg after a challenge from Tom Miller. It was initially reported that the injury would rule Lee out for a minimum of nine months, but by early September, Bolton were hopeful that the player would return before the end of the season. Towards the end of April 2012, Lee started training with the Bolton first team again and was hopeful of playing a game or two before the season concluded. On 4 May 2012, manager Owen Coyle ruled out a return for Lee that season, but just two days later Lee returned to action as a second-half substitute for

Martin Petrov Martin Petyov Petrov (; born 15 January 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger, most notably for VfL Wolfsburg, VFL Wolfsburg, Atlético Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Manche ...

in Bolton's 2–2 draw with

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

, and received a standing ovation from the home crowd. On 29 May 2012 it was confirmed that Lee had signed an unannounced new contract the previous summer, extending his stay at the Reebok to the end of the 2014–15 season. Every game Lee had scored in for Bolton, Bolton had won. This streak was broken however on 27 October 2012 as Bolton lost 2–1 to

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

with Bolton's goal coming from Lee. In the 2012–13 season, Lee was eased back into the first-team fold as he worked his way back to full fitness. After such a serious injury, it took Lee several months to regain the sharpness that he had displayed in his first two seasons with the club. However, during the second half of the season, Lee appeared to be getting closer to the form which marked him out as one of South Korea's top footballing talents. He finished the season with a respectable return of four goals and seven assists in the Championship. Lee remained in the Championship with Bolton for the 2013–14 season. He scored in each of the last two games of the season as Bolton finished 14th in the table.

Crystal Palace

On 2 February 2015, transfer deadline day, Lee signed for

side Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee with Barry Bannan going the other way on loan. Lee's contract ran until June 2018. He scored his first goal for the club against Shrewsbury Town in the League Cup on 25 August 2015. He scored his first league goal for Palace with a 30-yard volley at the 90th minute to defeat Stoke City 2–1 on 19 December 2015. In June 2018, Lee was released by Crystal Palace on the expiry of his contract. Bolton attempted to re-sign their former player, but Lee failed to get a work permit, cancelling the move. This was the second time in 2018 Bolton had failed to sign Lee, as in February he had agreed to join on loan, only for Crystal Palace

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

, Dougie Freedman (who previously managed Bolton whilst Lee played there) to cancel the loan deal after it had been agreed, due to an injury to Bakary Sako. Lee was packing to travel to Bolton when informed of this.

VfL Bochum

On 6 September 2018, Lee signed for 2. Bundesliga side

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season with an option for extension thereafter. He scored a goal and provided six assists during 23 appearances in the 2018–19 2. Bundesliga. The German football magazine '' kicker'' gave him the 26th-highest score in its statistics about all 2. Bundesliga players.

Ulsan Hyundai

On 4 March 2020, Lee signed for

club

Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan HD FC (), formerly Ulsan Hyundai FC, is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in 198 ...

. In December, he won the

2020 AFC Champions League The 2020 AFC Champions League was the 39th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 18th under the current AFC Champions League title. Ulsan Hyundai won their second Cham ...

with Ulsan. In 2022, he helped them win the 2022 K League 1 during which he was also given the K League 1 MVP Award and was included in the K League 1 Best XI for the second time in his career. Since moving to Ulsan Hyundai, he has been helping the team with his skills that he has complied with. He has played as a starting player much less frequently, but he has recently led his team to three consecutive league wins by coming in as a substitute and showing himself as a playmaker.

International career

Lee's international career started as part of the South Korea under-20 squad in the

2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 16th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup (formerly called the FIFA World Youth Championship), hosted by Canada from 30 June to 22 July 2007. Argentina defeated the Czech Republic in the title game by the scor ...

. Despite impressing against quality opposition including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, South Korea failed to make the cut for the next round. Lee's individual performances, however, were enough to impress many neutrals and rumored to have caught the eye of many European scouts. After his under-20 tenure, Lee was part of the unsuccessful national under-23 team for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. When Olympics were being held, Koreans nominated Lee as the most anticipated player among Korean football players. His first under-23 match was against

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, 17 October 2007. On 31 May 2008, Lee was given his national team debut by manager Huh Jung-moo in the

2010 FIFA World Cup qualification Qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oc ...

match against

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

. He would score his first national team goal against the same team in the return leg at home on 5 September 2008 in

Seoul World Cup Stadium The Seoul World Cup Stadium (), the Sangam Stadium, is a stadium used mostly for association football matches. The venue is located in 240, World Cup-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and opened on Nov ...

. Lee Chung-yong was one of the most consistent and important players in South Korea's successful seventh consecutive qualification for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

and eighth overall, an Asian record. On 17 June 2010, Lee scored an injury time goal in the first half against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in the

. Lee scored again in the round of 16 match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

's 2–1 defeat. He was named in the top 10 rising stars of the

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

. On 15 October 2013, Lee made his 50th appearance for the Korean national team in a friendly match against

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

. Lee provided two assists as Korea won the game 3–1. One month later, Lee captained the side in a friendly against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and scored the winning goal with an 87th-minute header. It was his first international goal in more than three years, his last coming in the 2010 World Cup. Lee was selected for the South Korea squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

in Brazil. He started all three games as Korea were eliminated at the group stage. In the last minutes of the game against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, he made a late challenge on Anthony Vanden Borre, ruling the Belgian out for injury for the rest of the tournament as a result. Lee was included in South Korea's squad for the

2015 AFC Asian Cup The 2015 AFC Asian Cup was the 16th edition of the men's AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial international association football, football tournament organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). It was held in Australia from 9 to 31 January 201 ...

. However, during the team's first match against

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

, he sustained a hairline fracture of the right tibia and was unable to participate in the remainder of the tournament. Lee was included in South Korea's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup but did not make the final selection.

Personal life

Lee married his middle-school girlfriend at Hotel Shilla in Seoul on 12 July 2014. Lee said he shuns alcohol and smoking, and even refrains from drinking coffee. Upon arriving in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he reportedly spent two to three hours a day studying English and attended English classes to improve his speaking ability.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Results list South Korea's goal tally first.''.

Honours

FC Seoul *

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Results Finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statistics is tha ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Crystal Palace *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

runner-up: 2015–16 Ulsan HD *

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Korea Cup The Korea Cup (, Korea Cup International Football Tournament) was an international Association football, football tournament held annually in South Korea from 1971 to 1999. History The Korea Cup was created with the name ''President of Sout ...

runner-up:

South Korea U20 * AFC Youth Championship third place:

South Korea *

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

runner-up:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual *

top assist provider:

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* K League 1 Best XI:

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

* Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year: 2009–10 *Premier League Player of the Year by Northwest Football Awards: 2010 * Korean FA Fans' Player of the Year: 2013 * K League 1 Most Valuable Player:

References

External links

*
Lee Chung-yong – National Team Stats
at Korea Football Association * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Chung-yong 1988 births Living people Footballers from Seoul Men's association football wingers South Korean men's footballers South Korea men's youth international footballers South Korea men's under-20 international footballers South Korea men's under-23 international footballers South Korea men's international footballers South Korean expatriate men's footballers South Korean expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Germany FC Seoul players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Ulsan HD FC players K League 1 players Premier League players English Football League players Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 AFC Asian Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 AFC Asian Cup players VfL Bochum players 2. Bundesliga players 2019 AFC Asian Cup players Olympic footballers for South Korea AFC Champions League Elite–winning players 21st-century South Korean sportsmen