Lee Seung-woo
 Lee in 2012 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 January 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Suwon, South Korea | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker / Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Barcelona | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 2009–2011 | Incheon United | ||
| 2011– | Barcelona | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | |
| 2013–2015 | South Korea U17 | 18 | (13) |
| 2015– | South Korea U20 | 3 | (0) |
|
† Appearances (goals) | |||
| Lee Seung-woo | |
| Hangul | 이승우 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 李承佑 |
| Revised Romanization | I Seungu |
| McCune–Reischauer | Ri Sŭngu |
Lee Seung-woo (Hangul: 이승우, Hanja: 李承佑, born 6 January 1998) is a South Korean footballer who plays for Spanish club FC Barcelona Juvenil A as a striker or attacking midfielder.
He is currently regarded by some as one of the top young football players in the world.[1][2][3]
Club career
At age of 12, Lee caught the attention of FC Barcelona after he finished as the top scorer in the 2010 Danone Nations Cup, one of the most prestigious football tournaments for youth.[4] This event led to him joining the Spanish club. After joining FC Barcelona, Lee progressed through the youth ranks, scoring consistently and winning MVP awards at several tournaments. His achievements earned him the reputation as one of La Masia's top talents.
However, Lee and eight other La Masia academy players were banned for infringement of the FIFA Youth Eligibility Rules, after which the club was prevented from making any signings for one year, or two transfer windows. Until he turned 18 on January 6, 2016, Lee Seung-woo was not to play in any official matches. There are relatively great expectations on his shoulders and some fans will be waiting to see him play professionally, likely first with the Barcelona B Team, along with his current club and international team mate, Paik Seung-Ho.
Recently, he was promoted to train with the Barcelona B team. Once he is free to play again, Lee may train with the first team with Lionel Messi, as several Barcelona B players regularly do.[5] On July 6, 2015, it was announced by South Korean media that Lee was promoted to Barcelona B for the upcoming season.[6]
International career
Lee first made his international debut as a part of South Korea's U-16 team competing for the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship qualification, where he scored a hat-trick in 34 minutes against the team from Laos. He also scored a fourth goal later in the match.
In April 2014, Lee was a part of the South Korea U-16 team that placed as the runner-up at the Montaigu Tournament. Lee was named as one of the members on the Team of the Tournament. In September, he led South Korea to another runner-up finish, this time at the 2014 AFC U-16 Championship. His most notable performance came from the match against Japan during the semi-finals of the tournament. He netted a brace for the Korean Republic national football team, also known as the Taegeuk Warriors, with one goal driven directly to the net from the side of his team. He scored 5 goals and assisted four others in 5 total matches, earning the title as the MVP of the tournament. This performance helped South Korea land a berth in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
In 2015, Lee was the youngest member of South Korea's U-18 team that participated in the Suwon JS Cup.[7]
In the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, Lee was a stand-out performer, where he helped Korea with the match against Brazil. However, Korea eventually lost against Belgium in the Round 16 match. After the tournament, he returned to Barcelona where he was banned from training by FIFA. He shortly returned to Korea afterwards to train with the 2nd division side Suwon City until January 2016, when he will turn 18-years-old on the 6th of January and be able to participate in official matches for FC Barcelona again.
References
- ↑ "Barcelona fail to heed warning signs as Fifa cracks down on youth transfers". The Guardian. 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
- ↑ "Meet Seung Woo Lee". Grup14. 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-07-23.
- ↑ Gadd, Michael (3 February 2015). "Real Madrid launch raid for Barcelona wonderkid Seung-Woo Lee". Mail Online. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ Price, Steve The South Korean Prodigies Held Back by Barcelona's Transfer Ban These Football Times. January 26, 2016
- ↑ Chapman, Anthony (6 February 2015). "Barcelona forward talks shock Real Madrid move after rejecting Chelsea". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ "Teenager Seung-woo builds bridge between Korea and Barcelona". 12 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ↑ JIMÉNEZ, RUBÉN (2 March 2015). "Seung-Woo Lee, Asia's Messi". Marca.com. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
External links
- Lee Seung-woo – National Team Stats at KFA (Korean)