The season has finally ended for those Korean stars who ply their trade in Europe. The two World Cup qualifiers earlier this month went pretty well with a 7-0 win in Singapore followed by a 1-0 victory over China in Seoul.
As an aside, three of the top five biggest attendances in the second round of qualification were recorded in Seoul. The capital’s World Cup Stadium has seen sellouts of 65,000 or so for all three games against Singapore, Thailand and China. It is seriously impressive that, seemingly regardless of the opponent, soccer fans in Korea come out in huge numbers to support the Taeguk Warriors. This passion needs to be harnessed for the greater good of the sport in the country, though this has been said many times over the years. And has been hard to replicate.
The win over China meant however that a busy European season has finally come to an end. The big stars can now have a very well-earned rest.
Perhaps the happiest of those will be Lee Kang-in. The 한국을 23-year-old has just finished his first season with Paris Saint-Germain. It was a successful one as he ended up lifting the French league championship as well as the cup. The attacking midfielder has started to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with in Paris.
The low point is obvious and came in February when he came under huge criticism for what happened at the Asian Cup in Qatar. For the very few who don’t know, Lee was involved in an apparent scuffle with Son Heung-min before the semifinal, which ended with the senior star dislocating his finger. With Korea then losing to Jordan in chaotic fashion the next day, it became a huge issue. After the tournament finished, Lee had to travel to London to apologize to Son in person.