Lee Woon-jae

Early career, illness and return

Lee was selected for South Korea's squad at the 1992 Summer Olympics, but did not appear in the tournament.^[6] He made his senior international debut in 1994 and was included in the squad for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. In the final group match against Germany, the 21-year-old Lee replaced captain Choi In-young at half-time with South Korea trailing 3–0. He conceded no further goals as South Korea recovered to lose 3–2.^[7]

Lee later acknowledged that his conditioning deteriorated after the World Cup and that his weight rose above 93 kilograms (205 lb). After being omitted from the 1994 Asian Games squad, he lost nearly 10 kilograms (22 lb) at the urging of Olympic team manager Anatoliy Byshovets and returned to the under-23 team.^[8] He played in the March 1996 Olympic qualifying tournament, including the semi-final victory over Iraq which secured qualification for the Atlanta Games, but was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis soon after the tournament and was not selected for the Olympic finals.^[9][10] A later profile also reported that Lee suffered from hepatitis during his first seasons with Suwon, where limited playing time further slowed his recovery.^[11] During Lee's absence, Kim Byung-ji became South Korea's established goalkeeper, and Lee was omitted from the squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.^[11]

Lee returned to the senior team under Huh Jung-moo at the Korea Cup in June 1999.^[12] At the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, Huh started Kim Yong-dae in the opening match but turned to Lee for the remaining five, as South Korea finished third.^[13] His military service with Sangmu did not interrupt his international career, as he made twenty full international appearances during 2000 and 2001.^[12][14] He played in all three of South Korea's matches at the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, saving a penalty from Christophe Dugarry during a 5–0 defeat by France.^[15] At the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup, he saved two kicks in a quarter-final penalty shoot-out against Mexico, helping South Korea advance 4–2.^[16]

Competition with Kim Byung-ji and the 2002 World Cup

Lee's return produced a long-running competition with Kim for the national-team position. Contemporary accounts characterized Kim as the more instinctive and adventurous goalkeeper, while Lee was considered the more orthodox and stable choice and stronger in dealing with crosses.^[17] In January 2001, during Guus Hiddink's second match as manager, Kim carried the ball toward the halfway line and lost possession against Paraguay, after which Hiddink replaced him at half-time and subsequently omitted him from several training camps. Hiddink later said that Kim's conspicuous conduct had been the reason for his omission, although he also praised Kim's ability and recalled him later in 2001.^[18]

The incident did not, however, settle the position permanently. Kim started two of South Korea's final three pre-World Cup friendlies, against Scotland and France, while Lee started against England. Five days before the tournament opener, Hiddink said that the two were in similar form and that he might alternate them according to the opponent.^[19][17] Kim later said that he was informed on the morning of the opening match against Poland that Lee would start. Lee's greater stability and his form and concentration during the final training camp were subsequently cited as factors in Hiddink's decision.^[20][21] Although the media frequently described the two as rivals, Lee later characterized Kim as a senior player and mentor from whom he had learned.^[22]

Lee kept a clean sheet in South Korea's 2–0 victory over Poland and remained first choice throughout the 2002 FIFA World Cup, playing every minute of the team's seven matches and also keeping clean sheets against Portugal and Spain. In the quarter-final shoot-out against Spain, the first seven kicks were converted before Lee waited for Joaquín and dived to his left to make the only save. Hong Myung-bo converted South Korea's next kick, sending the team to the first World Cup semi-final reached by an Asian side.^[23] In the semi-final against Germany, Lee blocked Michael Ballack's initial shot, but Ballack scored from the rebound to give Germany a 1–0 victory.^[24]

Captaincy and the 2006 World Cup

Lee played all three matches as South Korea won the inaugural 2003 East Asian Football Championship.^[25] He was appointed captain for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup, keeping clean sheets in all three group matches before South Korea lost 4–3 to Iran in the quarter-finals.^[12][26]

On 19 December 2004, Lee saved a late penalty from Ballack as South Korea defeated Germany 3–1 in a friendly at Busan Asiad Main Stadium. Ballack had scored the winning goal from the rebound of Lee's initial save in the 2002 World Cup semi-final; the 2004 result was Germany's first defeat under manager Jürgen Klinsmann.^[24][27][28]

Lee appeared in all twelve of South Korea's qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, keeping six clean sheets as the team qualified for a sixth consecutive tournament.^[12][29] He was named Best Goalkeeper at the 2005 East Asian Football Championship despite South Korea finishing last.^[30] Calls for Kim's recall in 2006 briefly revived comparisons between the two, but manager Dick Advocaat retained Lee as first choice and captain and selected Kim Yong-dae and Kim Young-kwang as the other goalkeepers in the final squad.^[31]

At the World Cup, Lee captained South Korea in all three group matches. The 2–1 victory over Togo was South Korea's first World Cup win outside its own country.^[32] He then made a late one-on-one save from Thierry Henry to preserve a 1–1 draw with France.^[33] The final group match against Switzerland was recognized by the Korea Football Association as his 100th international appearance, making him the first South Korean goalkeeper to reach the milestone, although the 2–0 defeat eliminated South Korea from the tournament.^[34]

2007 Asian Cup and retirement

After the injured Kim Nam-il withdrew from the 2007 AFC Asian Cup squad, manager Pim Verbeek appointed Lee captain, citing his experience and the confidence placed in him by the squad.^[35] Lee played all six matches and kept four clean sheets, including scoreless draws through extra time in all three knockout matches.^[12] In the quarter-final shoot-out against Iran, he saved attempts from captain Mehdi Mahdavikia and Rasoul Khatibi as South Korea won 4–2.^[36] South Korea lost the semi-final to Iraq on penalties, but in the third-place match the ten-man team held Japan scoreless for 120 minutes before Lee saved Naotake Hanyu's sixth kick to secure a 6–5 shoot-out victory and automatic qualification for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup.^[37] He was subsequently voted goalkeeper of the AFC website's fan-selected Toshiba All-Star XI.^[38]

Later in 2007, Lee and teammates Lee Dong-gook, Kim Sang-sik and Woo Sung-yong admitted leaving the team hotel without permission and drinking during the Asian Cup's group stage. A KFA investigation found that Lee had gone out on two occasions and that the outing involving all four players occurred after the defeat by Bahrain.^[39] The KFA suspended all four from the national team for one year; Lee, whom it treated as the organizer, also received 80 hours of community service and a three-year ban from KFA-organized competitions, although the latter did not prevent him from playing in the K League.^[40] The Asian Football Confederation subsequently removed him from its shortlist for Asian Footballer of the Year.^[41]

After completing his community service, Lee was recalled when his national-team suspension expired in November 2008.^[42] He returned in a 1–1 friendly draw with Qatar and started South Korea's final six World Cup qualifiers, keeping four clean sheets as the team completed the final round unbeaten.^[12]

Lee was selected for his fourth World Cup squad in 2010, but lost the starting position to Jung Sung-ryong shortly before the opening match. The coaching staff later attributed the decision to Jung's stronger form in the final warm-up matches and his aerial ability against Greece.^[43] Jung played all four matches as South Korea reached the round of 16, while Lee remained an unused reserve. Lee announced his international retirement after the tournament and made a farewell appearance against Nigeria at Suwon World Cup Stadium on 11 August. He played the opening 28 minutes of the 2–1 victory before being replaced by Jung and received a formal retirement ceremony at half-time.^[44] The KFA currently credits Lee with 133 senior international appearances, although contemporary reports described the Nigeria match as his 132nd appearance and RSSSF recognizes 131 full internationals.^[45][44][12] The differing totals reflect whether several matches against non-national representative selections are classified as senior internationals.

Club

International

Television