Lee Seung-woo joined Barcelona aged 12 but the hype led to an attitude that a move to Italy is now beginning to iron out

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2018 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who have qualified for Russia. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 14 June.

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Seoul Plaza is famous as the gathering ground for the red hordes during the 2002 World Cup and was the site of a meet and greet for the South Korean players on 21 May before the 2018 tournament. There have been a few changes in the intervening 16 years: there is a new City Hall that rises above the old, the slogan is no longer ‘Be the Reds’ but ‘We, the Reds’ and some of the current squad have gone from toddlers to Taegeuk Warriors.



At 20, Lee Seung-woo – once the great hope of Korean football – was the youngest of those suited and booted on stage. The blond highlights have gone, as has some of the cockiness, but there was still a glint in his eye and a tie knot looser than those of his team-mates. He offers something just a little different – which is why he may just make a name for himself this summer. His own name.

It is strange to talk of bygone eras for a player just out of his teens but Lee, who has three international caps, is not your normal youngster. For years, he was known as ‘The Korean Messi’. He isn’t any more but a new future awaits.

The comparisons with the Argentinian were inevitable. Lee moved to Barcelona aged 12 and was soon breaking Messi’s youth goalscoring records. The style was not dissimilar. Lee is fast, slight and loves to run at defenders. The hype heightened at the 2014 Under-16 Asian Championships. Lee took Thailand by storm, finishing as top scorer and MVP.

After he scored both goals against Japan in the quarter-finals, the second featuring a run that started from well inside his own half, the Japanese defender Tomiyasu Takehiro said what others had been thinking. “If you don’t foul him then you can’t stop him.” Syria tried in the semi-final but Lee scored one and made four in a 7-1 win. The stage was set for the final against North Korea – but they did stop him. Lee had more bruises than touches as the trophy went north.

The headlines down south continued. In 2015, Lee represented his country on home soil for the first time. His skills were there for all to see as was the attitude. He kicked an advertising hoarding in frustration and showed his displeasure at being substituted – unheard of in Korea even for senior players, who are expected to bow to their team-mates upon leaving the pitch.

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“I had problems with my touch and there were many things that I personally regret,” Lee said. “This is my first game on Korean soil in the Taegeuk jersey, but it was not satisfying.”

The attitude was as spiky as the hair. “In Korea, I’ve been told I lack maturity and physicality. But Barcelona just promoted me to their professional team. Over there, they see me differently. So I thank them.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lee Seung-woo celebrates after scoring during the 2017 U-20 World Cup in South Korea. Photograph: Alex Morton/FIFA/Getty Images

Former PSV and Spurs player Lee Young-pyo, a hero of 2002 and with over 100 international appearances, wrote on social media that attitude was as important as ability. Lee the younger hit back. “What he said was right,” he said. “But it would have been better if he had told me face to face.”

At Barcelona now, however, Lee may be more remembered for being partly responsible for the club’s transfer ban. In 2014, Fifa ruled his signing was one of a number that breached regulations. He was banned from competitive football until his 18th birthday in 2016 while Barça were hit by a transfer ban. When Lee returned, it was clear the first team was just too far away. In August 2017, he was sold to Verona for €1.5m, though the Spanish club have a buy-back clause.

The move to Italy has done him good and according to one Korean FA official, Lee now realises hype is not enough. A first goal, a fine volley from the edge of the area against Milan in May, came at a good time even if it did not stop Verona’s relegation.

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“Coach Shin Tae-yong has been waiting for Lee,” said former Korea goalkeeper Kim Byung-ji in May. “He looked good in the last couple of weeks in Italy and has the chance to show he is ready.”

Even so, Lee was something of a surprise call-up to the preliminary squad while injuries to fellow attackers Kwon Chang-hoon and Lee Keun-ho sealed his place in the final one. Now there is talk of Lee partnering Son Heung-min in the opening game against Sweden.

“He is quick and good at penetrating the opponent’s back line, so I think he can draw many fouls from our opponents,” said Shin, who was in charge of the Under-20 team at the 2017 World Cup and made Lee his attacking fulcrum. “Although he hasn’t played much in Italy, he has grown up.”

The potential has excited for years but this summer may be the time for him to finally forge his own identity.

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