17-year-old soccer whiz kid Lee Seung-woo may have been the most popular South Korean athlete who has never played in South Korea, but that will change when Korea’s under-18 national soccer team hosts the Suwon JS Cup tournament later this month. Starting April 29th, Korea will host the 4-team tournament featuring France, Belgium and Uruguay.
All eyes will be on Lee Seung-woo, who has been groomed by Spain’s FC Barcelona, one of the most worldly iconic professional soccer teams in the world, since he was only 13. Even though he has yet to become a professional player, Lee rose to stardom in South Korea last year, partly in thanks to playing for a glamorous European team, after his stunning goal versus arch rival Japan in an under-16 tournament in Thailand. Before that game against Japan, Lee, already popular for his swagger and outlandish hairstyle, had told the Korean press that “beating a team at the level Japan would be easy.”
At the Suwon JS Cup, Lee will have his first chance to play in front of the South Korean fans since leaving the country to play with Barcelona when he was just 13 years old. Lee was bombarded with reporters who swarmed him at the airport when he arrived from Barcelona last Wednesday for the tournament.
In 2010, Barcelona’s then international youth scout Albert Puig saw Lee score 12 goals in a youth tournament in South Africa. With Puig’s recommendation, Barcelona lured the then 13-year-old from his middle school team in South Korea. He has since been training at La Masia (Barcelona’s youth academy) while being home schooled simultaneously.
Unlike in the U.S. where student-athletes play for their schools before taking a crack at the pros, professional soccer teams in Europe develop young athletes by operating their own respective youth teams for different age groups. In a way, the European youth developmental system is comparable to Major League Baseball’s farm system (minor leagues), but age groups for youth soccer teams in Europe start for children as young as 4 years old.
Since joining Barcelona’s youth developmental team, Lee has been touted by the media in Europe as the “second coming of Lionel Messi” for his natural talent and potential. Messi, also the product of Barcelona’s renowned La Masia (literally translates to “farmhouse” in Spanish), is considered by many as the greatest player in history of the sport despite his young age at 27, after winning the Ballon d’Or, an annual award given to a player who has been voted as by journalists, national team coaches and captains, for times between 2009 to 2012.
Only a few players who graduate Barcelona’s youth academy eventually sign professional contracts with the team. But it seems that Barcelona’s front office considers Lee a standout prospect, as evidenced by the team’s effort to keep him while its rivals have tried to lure the youngster away. Lee and Barcelona are currently serving a ban which prohibits Lee from playing competitive games (sans national team and exhibition games) even at youth level until he turns 18, but the player has stressed that his plan is to stay put.
Even after the Suwon JS Cup, Lee will stay in South Korea until October to prepare for the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. He will return to Barcelona after his national team duties are cleared, at which point he would only be a couple of months away from being eligible to play in competitive matches for Barcelona again starting in January.
All eyes will be on Lee Seung-woo, who has been groomed by Spain’s FC Barcelona, one of the most worldly iconic professional soccer teams in the world, since he was only 13. Even though he has yet to become a professional player, Lee rose to stardom in South Korea last year, partly in thanks to playing for a glamorous European team, after his stunning goal versus arch rival Japan in an under-16 tournament in Thailand. Before that game against Japan, Lee, already popular for his swagger and outlandish hairstyle, had told the Korean press that “beating a team at the level Japan would be easy.”
At the Suwon JS Cup, Lee will have his first chance to play in front of the South Korean fans since leaving the country to play with Barcelona when he was just 13 years old. Lee was bombarded with reporters who swarmed him at the airport when he arrived from Barcelona last Wednesday for the tournament.
In 2010, Barcelona’s then international youth scout Albert Puig saw Lee score 12 goals in a youth tournament in South Africa. With Puig’s recommendation, Barcelona lured the then 13-year-old from his middle school team in South Korea. He has since been training at La Masia (Barcelona’s youth academy) while being home schooled simultaneously.
Unlike in the U.S. where student-athletes play for their schools before taking a crack at the pros, professional soccer teams in Europe develop young athletes by operating their own respective youth teams for different age groups. In a way, the European youth developmental system is comparable to Major League Baseball’s farm system (minor leagues), but age groups for youth soccer teams in Europe start for children as young as 4 years old.
Since joining Barcelona’s youth developmental team, Lee has been touted by the media in Europe as the “second coming of Lionel Messi” for his natural talent and potential. Messi, also the product of Barcelona’s renowned La Masia (literally translates to “farmhouse” in Spanish), is considered by many as the greatest player in history of the sport despite his young age at 27, after winning the Ballon d’Or, an annual award given to a player who has been voted as by journalists, national team coaches and captains, for times between 2009 to 2012.
Only a few players who graduate Barcelona’s youth academy eventually sign professional contracts with the team. But it seems that Barcelona’s front office considers Lee a standout prospect, as evidenced by the team’s effort to keep him while its rivals have tried to lure the youngster away. Lee and Barcelona are currently serving a ban which prohibits Lee from playing competitive games (sans national team and exhibition games) even at youth level until he turns 18, but the player has stressed that his plan is to stay put.
Even after the Suwon JS Cup, Lee will stay in South Korea until October to prepare for the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. He will return to Barcelona after his national team duties are cleared, at which point he would only be a couple of months away from being eligible to play in competitive matches for Barcelona again starting in January.
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