Happy Wanderer: Bolton's clever but quiet South Korean
star Chung-Yong Lee
Brought into the Barclays Premier League at short notice
and stuck on the bench after a 12-hour flight from South Korea,
Chung-Yong Lee did what any jet-lagged young man might do in those
tense final moments before making his first appearance in English
football. He fell asleep.
Lee can laugh about it now. He can smile as he recalls his first
touch as a Bolton
player, stumbling over the ball and landing flat on his face after
waking up to be told he was going on as a substitute against
Sunderland
on the first day of the season, less than 48 hours after arriving
in England.
'That's the first time I've ever fallen over the ball but I
couldn't control my body, to be honest with you,' he says through
an interpreter at Bolton's training ground. 'I was really sleepy so
I don't know how I played that game. I didn't expect to be selected
because of jet lag and I was very surprised to be told I was going
on. I'd fallen asleep on the bench.
'I arrived from Seoul close to midnight on the Thursday and our
manager at the time, Gary Megson, was waiting for me at the hotel.
I was deeply moved by his actions so I did my best for him.'
Although Lee's best may have not been good enough on that
occasion, he has certainly made an impact since then. The latest of
seven South Koreans to play in the Premier League, the 21-year-old
from Seoul is already proving himself to be one of the best.
He might not look the part; shy by nature and surprisingly
lightweight, he does not come across as a professional athlete. But
this is the rising star of Korean football, set to land a lucrative
deal with Nike that will see him replace Ji-Sung Park as the face
of their national team in World Cup year.
Lee: Doing his talking on the pitch
The interpreter may be among the minority of Koreans who
are still not familiar with the man they call Blue Dragon - a
translation of Chung-Yong - but his wife has accompanied him to the
interview clutching some fan mail from their daughter.
It is not often Lee upstages Park. Certainly not on the
occasions they have got together at the
Manchester United winger's home in Cheshire since the youngster
joined Bolton on a three-year contract from Seoul FC for £2.2m last
summer.
'We have a meal together, talk a lot and play video games
together,' says Lee. 'Our favourite game is Pro Evolution Soccer.
Ji-Sung Park plays Manchester United and I play Bolton. Up to now,
he has won a lot!
'I always wanted to be like him and play in the Premier League,
so it's a privilege to be around him. He gives me bits of advice
and has also told me where all the best Korean shops are in
Manchester.'
On some days, Lee will sit at home and study DVDs of himself in
action. He is not as robust as Park to withstand the rigours of
Barclays Premier League football and believes it is the best way of
learning to evade the challenges.
'I have to compete somehow because I'm not stronger than them,'
he says. 'I play back DVDs and try to study challenges against me
to beat them next time.
'It's a very demanding league and it's necessary to have a good
body. But to have a good body does not mean that you can play
football well. The most important thing is to have a football
brain. That has been proved by the best players around the world.
My stamina and body are quite OK.'
Adapting: Chung-Yong Lee admits he is having to
think about his game in a bid to beat the Premier League's more
robust challengers and avoid injury
It is a philosophical attitude he also took to his move
to Bolton. FC Seoul encouraged what was a prestigious transfer for
Korean football but there was an element of risk in changing
countries and cultures so close to the World Cup. Lee doesn't see
it that way.
'I don't worry because I like being challenged,' he says. 'If I
succeed, that's good. If I fail, to everyone else it might be a
failure in my life, but I don't look at it as a failure. I see it
as an experience.
'Everything seems to be hard when you take a negative attitude
as a foreign player. But I take a positive attitude.'
Lee has earned a reputation as a deep thinker at Bolton. Megson
summed up what proved to be the last of his signings before making
way for Owen Coyle in January by saying: 'He looks like he's 14 and
he's got a lot of stature to gain, but he's a really brainy
player.'
It was an ironic description considering Lee dropped out of
middle school in Korea to pursue his football career and risk
accusations of cowardice because it meant he could not carry out
his military service.
He said: 'I was young and just wanted to be a footballer. I
wasn't interested in anything else.
'It's often regarded as unmanly behaviour if you do not serve as
a soldier. As I grew up, I realised it can be a very serious matter
for football players in South Korea because everybody has to serve.
There is no escape. But I could focus on a football career.'
Lee admits to feeling lonely at times since he moved to England.
His long-term girlfriend has stayed at home to study and his
parents can only get enough time away from the family sewing
business to visit him every three months.
He has enjoyed some memorable moments in England, not least the
sublime back-heel to help set up an equaliser against
Tottenham in October. But nothing comes close to matching the
first of his five goals, a late winner against Birmingham
on only his third top-flight appearance for Bolton, when his
parents were sat in the stands.
'That was the happiest moment in my life,' he says. 'It was my
first goal in the Premier League and in front of my parents as
well, so I was really happy.
'I don't have any friends visiting me. Because I'm adjusting to
the British culture, I've found it very exciting. Sometimes it can
be a bit boring but I think it suits my personality because I'm
quite shy.
'Even though I sometimes miss Korea, it's not as though I want
to go back there.'
