With less than 100 days to go before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in August, the "Korean Messi" replied without thinking when asked if Lee Seung-woo wanted to play in the World Cup, "Of course I want to go."
At the time, Lee Seung-woo had 10 goals and 3 assists in 25 K-League games.
However, this performance did not go down well with South Korean coach Bento. He was not on the South Korean training roster in September, and he was still missing from South Korea's final domestic training session before leaving for Qatar at the end of October.
On October 27, Lee Seung-woo cut off his long hair and joined the Nonsan Military Training Center in Chungcheongnam-do for three weeks of basic military training.
It also means that Lee Seung-woo misses out on the Qatar World Cup altogether.
Celebrating a goal with Son
At the World Cup in Russia four years ago, Lee Seung-woo was South Korea's No. 10 and one of the most talked about "hopefuls" in world soccer.
Korean Messi
The young Lee Seung-woo's "talent overflows the screen" is not an exaggeration.
Under the influence of his father and brother, Lee Seung-woo grew up with soccer and became obsessed with it.
At the time, he participated in various junior tournaments in Korea, scoring goals like no other.
In the earliest days he played midfield, was fast and tenacious on the pitch.
Choi Kwang-won recalled, "I first met Lee Seung-woo when he was nine years old, a five-a-side tournament, and he was so good and hungry to win that I wanted to develop him into a striker at that time."
At that time, Lee Sung-woo could only kick with his right foot, and after Choi Kwang-won pointed out that his left foot was insufficient, Lee Sung-woo started practicing with his left foot.
"He's very perceptive, I teach him a thing or two and he masters it on his own."
In 2010, in the case of 12-year-old Lee at the "9-a-side Mini World Cup" in South Korea and the "Danone Cup" in South Africa, 12-year-old Lee was favored by Barcelona scouts.
When Lee Seung-woo and his family learned that Barcelona was interested in him, they nearly fainted with joy because he idolizes Lionel Messi.
After invitations from the 13-year-old Lee's family Madrid and German clubs, the 13-year-old Lee joined La Masia after a trip to Catalonia.
When he first arrived, Lee Sung-woo wasn't bothered by the unfamiliar surroundings, but became a newcomer InfantilA In his first season, he scored 39 goals in 29 games, breaking Lionel Messi's previous goal-scoring record.
In the summer of 2011, Lee Seung-woo held the prestigious youth tournament TorneodeCanillas in Spain scoring 13 goals in 10 games and picking up the 10-goal MVP.
Since then, Lee Sung-woo has gained an additional title - "Korean Messi".
He is also starting to become the center of attention in world soccer.
"Yes, my dream is to be the first Korean player to play in Barcelona's first team."
At that time, he was spirited.
dream of achieving one's goal comes to naught
The blessing is unmatched.
In April 2014, Barcelona was severely punished by FIFA for illegally bringing in young foreign players under 18 years of age.
Korean soccer has another star of hope in the form of Seung-Ho Baek and the "Japanese Messi", who was banned from playing for Barcelona until he turned 18.
A bolt from the blue.
You know, this stage is the age of the ball, there is no ball to play in Barcelona, the national brand ladder has become the only place where Lee Seung-woo can play in real life.
Lee Seung-woo represented South Korea at the U in 16 Asian Junior Championships in September 2014, and although he ultimately failed to win the title, it didn't stop Lee from hitting the high notes, scoring five goals and winning the Golden Boot and Golden Ball.
Quarter-final 2-0 eliminated Japan Japan's first world war, Lee Seung-woo opened two degrees, which staged a longitudinal half of the "Messi-style individual show".
After the game, then-Japanese center back Kenyo Tomoyasu said:
"Had there been no foul on him, it would have been a lost ball!"
However, due to the lack of systematic competition, Lee Seung-woo's performance fluctuated wildly.
Lee Seung-woo continued to wear No. 10 for South Korea at the U in 17 World Cup in 2015, but performed poorly.
In the group stage, South Korea beat Brazil 1-0 and drew with England 0-0 to top the table, before losing 0-2 in the 1/8 final against Belgium, with Lee Seung-woo conceding a penalty in the match.
On January 6, 2016, Lee Seung-woo finally celebrated his 18th Bar Mitzvah by posting a photo on Ins wearing Barcelona's No. 18 jersey with 18 exclamation points.
However, he didn't wait for his chance and didn't get much of a chance with Barcelona B, making only one appearance and losing his starting spot in the Youth Champions League.
In May 2017, at the U in the 20th FIFA World Cup in South Korea, Lee Seung-woo had an outstanding performance, scoring two goals, one of which was against Argentina.
But that didn't keep him at Barcelona, and in August 2017, Serie A club Verona officially announced the arrival of Lee Seung-woo for a transfer fee of €1.5 million.
Six years of dreaming about Barcelona, and in the end it fell through.
misfortune does not come singly
Trees move dead, people move alive, but Lee Sung-woo failed to reappear in Europe "fire" up.
Lee Seung-woo, who joined Verona due to the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup feud, also became the first Korean player to be imported from Serie A after 2002.
After signing a four-year contract, Barcelona added a buy-back clause to the contract, wanting to wait for Lee Seung-woo to come out and buy him back.
In his first season in Serie A, Lee Seung-woo made 14 appearances and scored one goal, becoming the second South Korean player to score in Serie A after Ahn Jung-hwan, who was unfortunately relegated by Verona.
Later in the season, Lee Seung-woo played another season in Serie B. He was still mediocre, scoring only one goal.
Barcelona have no intention of buying back.
In August 2019, Lee Seung-woo moved to St. Tilden, streaming from Serie A to the Bianconeri for a transfer fee of €1.2 million.
After a season and a half of poor performances with 2 goals in 17 appearances, Lee Seung-woo was sent on loan by St. Tilden to Portimão Man in the Portuguese Superliga, resulting in 0 goals in 4 games.
Lee Seung-woo went back to St. Tilden on loan and sat on the bench, and the two sides terminated the contract in November 2021, making the "Korean Messi" a free agent.
The club is upside down, so it's good to know that in Korea, there is still a place for him.
In June 2018, at the age of 20, he was named to South Korea's 23-man World Cup roster for Russia, becoming the team's youngest player.
Lee Seung-woo, who wore the No. 10 jersey, came on as a substitute in the group matches against Sweden and Mexico. South Korea exited the group early after two consecutive losses. He did not play in the final match, a 2-0 defeat to Germany.
In the Asian Games after the World Cup, Lee Seung-woo exploded again. In the final against Japan, he broke the deadlock with a left-footed shot in the third minute of extra time, eventually helping South Korea win the gold medal 2-1. He and Son Heung-yi received exemptions from military service as overage players.
In January 2019, Lee Seung-woo was called up to the South Korean team for the Asian Cup and the South Korean coach was replaced by Bento.
and Bento
In the final game of the group stage, Lee Seung-woo kicked a water bottle and dropped his towel on the bench.
Lee Seung-woo faded out of Bento's South Korea squad after the Asian Cup.
In June 2019, Lee Seung-woo was selected for the South Korean national team for the last time.
He then lost to South Korea's U23 team not participating in the U23 Asian Cup, which South Korea won and went on to the Tokyo Olympics.
Prior to the Olympics, Lee Seung-woo retaliated with a triple kick after being robbed by an opponent in warm-up matches for the South Korean Olympics and the Brazilian Olympics, and then topped off with an opponent.
As a result, he lost the Korean National Olympic team and missed the Tokyo Olympics.
Hometown Rebirth
Lee Seung-woo said it was Suwon FC that saved him.
In December 2021, K1's Suwon FC returned home after 10 years of drifting around Europe when he announced the signing of Lee Seung-woo.
The first season of the K-League has passed, and after the "disenchantment", Lee Seung-woo began to explode, scoring goals one after another. After scoring a goal, he danced to celebrate, causing widespread concern.
Because he dances like Zhao Si from Country Love, he has become the "Korean Zhao Si", and the Korean media calls him the "Soul Dancer".
In the 17th round match against Pohang Steelers, Lee Seung-woo scored a half-turned overhead kick that stunned all four teams, and FIFA officially reposted the video of the goal.
As his goal tally continued to grow, calls for him to be selected for the South Korean team grew louder and louder, but this TOEI fell on deaf ears:
"It's hard to evaluate a player who wasn't drafted due to technical and tactical considerations."
At the end of the season, Seung-Woo Lee had 14 goals and three assists.
On Oct. 21, South Korea announced its final training roster before heading to Qatar, and Lee Seung-woo remained unselected.
"I had high hopes of making the team that morning and into the morning."
On the 27th, Lee Seong-woo cut off his long hair and appeared at the Nonsan Military Training Center in Chungcheongnam-do in casual clothes. Although he was exempted from military service, he still had to undergo three weeks of basic military training and then do some volunteer work.
Lee Seung-woo said he was sorry to fall out of the Korean team, but he had no regrets because he did his best.
"I believe the coach should respect his decision."
Back in his hometown, Lee Seung-woo has grown up and become more mature.
Short Hair Enlistment
Lee Seung-woo's outstanding performance in the K-League has also attracted the attention of many overseas clubs. He is very interested in teams from Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and Japan, but Lee Seung-woo says he stays at Suwon FC as his first choice.
"Receiving the offer means a lot to me, I am very grateful and it proves my strength. I joined Suwon FC at the end of last year, after my stint in Europe, and at that time, I just wanted to be able to play more matches, and the club believed in me and gave me the opportunity to stay, and it will be my first choice."
Of studying abroad for the past 10 years, Lee Seung-woo said, "As a player representing Korea in the Euroleague, I worked hard and tried to do better in every game, and I did my best."
Teacher Choi Kwang-won thought that if he could play in the K-League until he was 18 and then go to Europe, he would have been able to grow more, but they had no choice at the time.
"In the history of Korean soccer, this is a very exciting transfer and a very good opportunity, and we had no choice."
However, since he is only 24 years old, he still has a lot of time left.
