Lee Young-Pyo

Football player infobox
playername = Lee Young-Pyo
fullname = Lee Young-Pyo


height = height|m=1.77
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1977|4|23
cityofbirth = Hongcheon
countryofbirth = Republic of Korea
currentclub = Borussia Dortmund
clubnumber = 3
position = Left back
youthyears =
youthclubs = Konkuk University
years = 2000–2002
2003–2005
2005–2008 2008–
clubs = Anyang LG Cheetahs
PSV Eindhoven
Tottenham Hotspur Borussia Dortmund
caps(goals) = 67 (3)
82 (1)
70 (0)
03 (0)
nationalyears = 1999–
nationalteam = Korea Republic
nationalcaps(goals) = 96 (5)
pcupdate = 19:29, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 23:57, 31 May 2008 (UTC)Infobox Korean name
hangul=이영표
hanja=李榮杓 | rr=Yi Yeong-pyo | mr=Yi Yŏngp'yo

Lee Young-Pyo (Korean: 이영표; born April 23, 1977 in Hongcheon) is a South Korean football player, currently playing for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. He is also known to be a devout Christian, evident as he once said that a greater number of Christians on a team would make it better. [ [http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.beliefs.will.bring.success.says.south.korea.football.player./6564.htm Christian Beliefs Will Bring Success, says South Korea Football Player] , Retrieved Aug 18 2007]

Lee is recognized for his speed and dribbling skills.Fact|date=January 2008 His former manager Martin Jol once called him: "the best left-back in Holland, and one of the best left-backs in Europe today." [http://www.soccerphile.com/soccerphile/news/korean-soccer/lee-young-pyo.html John Duerden reports on Tottenham's new Korean star] , Retrieved Aug 18 2007] [http://proxy.espn.go.com/et/corr/corrview?id=367&leagueCup=eng.1&cc= What now for 'Berbs' and 'Bruce'?] , ESPN.com, Retrieved Aug 18 2007]

He has previously played for Tottenham Hotspur, Anyang LG Cheetahs in the Korean K-League and then spent two years with PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, earning high acclaim from PSV Coach Guus Hiddink, who had previously coached Lee and South Korea during the 2002 World Cup. Recognized as the best left-back in Holland after the 2004-2005 season, Tottenham signed him amidst heavy competition with several Serie A clubs. He transferred to Tottenham in August 2005.

In August 2006, AS Roma of Italy's Serie A tried to sign him, but he backed out at the last minute for "personal reasons." An Italian media report said religion played a part in his decision to reject the transfer offer. On August 31, 2006, Lee held a press conference in Korea and denied that religion was a factor in his decision. He said that moving to AS Roma would have been great for him in terms of football alone but he decided against it for personal reasons that he would not reveal, despite being pressed for answers by 50 attending reporters. [ [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200608/200608310020.html Lee Young-pyo Denies Jilting AS Roma Over Religion] , Retrieved August 18 2007]

Career

Anyang Cheetahs FC (2000–2002)

Lee attended Konkuk University in Seoul and began his professional career with the Anyang Cheetahs of the Korean K-League. He featured prominently during South Korea's World Cup run and established himself on the world stage during that tournament. [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/wc/player?id=21130&lang=en Lee Young-Pyo 2002 World Cup Player Bio] , ESPN.com, Retrieved Aug 18 2007] After a stellar 2002 World Cup, Lee followed Guus Hiddink and teammate Park Ji-Sung to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

PSV Eindhoven (2003–2005)

At PSV, Lee flourished under Hiddink's guidance and soon established himself in PSV's first team. Known for his endurance, technique, and ability in both defence and attack, Lee was widely regarded as the best left-back in the Dutch Eredivisie. Lee and his compatriot Park were instrumental in PSV Eindhoven's 2005 run to the Champions League semi-final, although to their disappointment, they were knocked out by AC Milan.

Despite PSV's persistent attempts to keep him, Lee moved to the English club Tottenham Hotspur in August 2005.

Tottenham Hotspur (2005–2008)

At Tottenham, Lee was an immediate hit and earned a spot on the Premier League's best eleven in his debut week. Tottenham coach Martin Jol, at the time of his signing on August 31, 2005, touted him as "the best left-back in Holland, and one of the best left-backs in Europe today." His form did however fluctuate in the 05/06 season, many seeing him, along with Canadian right-back Paul Stalteri as one of the reasons Tottenham did not qualify for the Champions' League, despite them being almost ever present in a defence which conceded the fourth lowest number of goals in that season.

In the beginning of 2006-07 season, Lee moved to right full-back due to Benoît Assou-Ekotto's impressive pre-season performance and an injury to regular right-back Stalteri. Lee then faced increased competition when Tottenham signed French defender Pascal Chimbonda on the final day of the transfer period. Lee also suffered a knee injury and then Tottenham offered his rights to AS Roma of Italy's Serie A, a move which never materialised.

Lee regained his place in the first team when Assou-Ekotto's form began to falter, most notably in a very poor performance against arch-rivals Arsenal. Lee came on as a half-time substitute in that match and was a notable improvement, and was again preferred by Jol for the starting eleven, until a season-ending knee injury sustained in a UEFA Cup Quarterfinal match against Sevilla on April 5. [ [http://www.football.co.uk/tottenham_hotspur/lee_injury_blow_for_spurs_244811.shtml Lee injury blow for spurs] , Retrieved Aug 9 2007]

The arrival of Gareth Bale in the summer provided further competition for the left back position. On August 9, 2007, Tottenham manager Martin Jol announced that Lee would be "fit for selection" in "one or two weeks", [ [http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/teamnews090807.html Welcome to Tottenhamhotspur.com - News Extra] , Retrieved Aug 9 2007] On August 18, 2007, Lee made his first start of the season against Derby County.

Borussia Dortmund (2008–present)

On 27 August 2008, Tottenham Hotspur announced that Lee had signed for German club Borussia Dortmund for an undisclosed fee.cite news
title = Tottenham offload Lee to Dortmund
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/t/tottenham_hotspur/7584570.stm
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2008-08-27
accessdate = 2008-08-27]

Personal life

He is married to a Korean journalist and has two young daughters. Fact|date=August 2008

Club career stats

Last update: 17 August 2008

References

External links

*FIFA player|177785|Young-Pyo Lee
*soccerbase|id=20761|name=Lee Young-Pyo
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=6441 FootballDatabase provides Young-Pyo Lee's profile and stats]