Nam Tae-Hee

Nam Tae-Hee
남태희

Personal information
Full name	Nam Tae-Hee
Date of birth	(1991-07-03) 3 July 1991
Place of birth	Jinju, South Korea
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder / Winger
Club information
Current club	Lekhwiya
Number	25
Youth career
2007–2009	Hyundai High School
2007–2008	Reading
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2009–2011	Valenciennes	37	(0)
2012–	Lekhwiya	49	(21)
National team‡
2002–2003	South Korea U13	3	(0)
2004–2005	South Korea U15	9	(0)
2007–2008	South Korea U17	15	(2)
2012–	South Korea U23	1	(1)
2011–	South Korea	11	(0)
Honours Olympic Games Bronze 2012 London Team
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 Febraury 2014. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2013

Nam Tae-Hee (born 3 July 1991 in Busan) is a South Korean footballer currently playing for Qatari side Lekhwiya SC.

He is a versatile midfielder and can play as attacking midfielder or central midfielder.

Career

Nam played in the U.K. professional football club Reading's Youth Academy^[1] before in August 2008 his first professional contract signed in France with Valenciennes FC.^[2] He played his debut on 8 August 2009 against AS Nancy^[3] and is currently the youngest Asian player to play in the Ligue 1 at age 18.^[4]

In the winter break of the 2011-12 season, Nam agreed to leave Ligue 1 for Qatar Stars League giant Lekhwiya SC on 26 December 2011.^[5]

Lekhwiya

Nam made his debut on 1 January 2012 against Al Kharitiyath.^[6] He scored his first league goal from a free kick on 19 January 2012.^[7]

He made his AFC Champions League debut on 7 March 2012, scoring the only goal against Saudi Al Ahli.,^[8] thereby scoring the first ever goal for Lekhwiya in any regional competition.

International career

Nam is current member of the South Korea national under-20 football team and was formerly member of the U-13, U-15 and U-17.^[4] He made his senior national team debut on 9 February 2011 in a friendly against Turkey.

He was also a part of the 2012 Olympics squad that won the bronze medal.

Club career statistics

as of 4 Febraury 2014

Honours

International

South Korea U23

• Summer Olympics
  • Bronze: 2012

Background

Nam is hailed as the 'Korean Messi' by Valenciennes fans and has also been touted as a 'magician' and 'wonderkid'.^[4] He was Most Valuable Player three times in his youth career in the National Championships in South Korea.^[4] Nam became the youngest Korean footballer to play in a professional league in Europe as a result of this game.^[4] He is known for his very energetic playing style.

References

1. ↑ Nam Taehee – Reading FC
2. ↑ Valenciennes Profile
3. ↑ Ligue 1: FC Valenciennes – AS Nancy-Lorraine Spielbericht
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Nam Tae-hee debütiert als jüngster koreanischer Fußballer bei einem europäischen Erstligisten" (in German). VfL Wolfsburg. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28. 
5. ↑ "Lekhwiya replace Akram with Korea’s Nam Tae-Hee". Qatar Stars League. official website. 26 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-01. 
6. ↑ "AL KHARITIYATH VS. LEKHWIYA 1 - 1". Soccerway.com. 1 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 
7. ↑ "LEKHWIYA VS. AL AHLI 1 - 0". Soccerway.com. 16 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 
8. ↑ "Nam stunner propels Lekhwiya". dohastadiumplusqatar.com. 7 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-03. 

External links

• France League Player Profile at ligue1.com

v t e South Korea men's football squad – 2012 Summer Olympics – Bronze Medalists 1 Jung Sung-Ryong 2 Oh Jae-Suk 3 Yun Suk-Young 4 Kim Young-Gwon 5 Kim Kee-Hee 6 Ki Sung-Yueng 7 Kim Bo-Kyung 8 Baek Sung-Dong 9 Ji Dong-Won 10 Park Chu-Young 11 Nam Tae-Hee 12 Hwang Seok-Ho 13 Koo Ja-Cheol 14 Kim Chang-Soo 15 Park Jong-Woo 16 Jung Woo-Young 17 Kim Hyun-Sung 18 Lee Bum-Young Coach: Hong Myung-Bo