Under-15 coach trained South Korean striker for 2026 World Cup: who? | OneFootball

The eyes of the world are on the 2026 World Cup. The tournament brings together the best national teams and several of the best players in world football. One of them has a curious story linking him to Corinthians, more specifically to coach Edu Vergueiro, who leads Timão’s under-15 team.

Eleven years ago, in 2015, the coach posted on his Instagram that six athletes he had trained for two years in South Korea had become players for the South Korea under-14 national team. Today, one of those players is one of the country’s standouts and is playing in the World Cup: Kang-in Lee. In an interview with TMC, Edu spoke about his history with the attacking midfielder.

“I started working with Kang-in Lee in my first year there. It was memorable because it was my first professional experience as a coach and also my first outside Brazil. I spent eight months with him, right in my first year (in South Korea). He was already a player who stood out for his technical quality and game intelligence. He was very decisive even at that age, very creative. Whenever the team needed him, he was always the protagonist. The experience was very good. Of course, there was no way to say so early on that the boy would reach the level he has today, but you could see a lot of technical quality, refinement…”, he said.

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Born in Incheon, near Seoul, Kang-in Lee had always stood out in Asia. He was discovered at the age of six through the reality show “Fly Shoot Dori,” which aimed to bring together untrained children to form a team. From there, he joined Goal Club Sports, where he met the Brazilian coach in 2011. The club also offered training in other sports and had regional teams. The standout players were called up to a team that competed in higher-level tournaments. Edu Vergueiro was then the coach of the “under-12 national team.” Shortly afterward, at 11 years old, the player moved to Valencia.

“He was already a boy who was very highly regarded and talked about (because of the reality show), but he was still very young, so there was a lot he was still going to experience. We imagined that, if he kept developing, he could reach a high level. But exactly what level he would reach is very hard to predict. A lot happens in a player’s development,” he said.

The coach also recalled that Kang-in Lee’s farewell tournament with the club he played for was marked by the player’s intense performances, even though everything was already settled for his move to Spanish football.

“He was already being monitored, and when we went to that last competition, we already knew it would be his last. He already had a set date to go with his family to Spain. He himself played with a lot of determination; I believe deep down he wanted to win and leave a good impression, even as a way of giving back to the players who had been with him,” he recalled.

“During the time I was with him, I tried to pass on what I thought was important. It was important for him to have the autonomy to experience football in the way he believed in. He stood out a lot in the competitions we played in”, he explained.

“Our role in the youth ranks is to develop athletes to the point that they perform well enough to move from one category to another. But we know that in any competitive context, we go in to win—that’s natural. One of the first titles I won in my career, Kang-in was crucial in that competition. We were losing a match 1-0 until he took responsibility. He scored the equalizer. Then, from a set piece, he scored the second goal. And it was his last competition in South Korea. We became champions, he was the best player, and I ended up being chosen best coach”, he said.

Career

Although he completed the youth ranks at Valencia, it was at Mallorca that Kang-in Lee stood out, between 2021 and 2023, and took a leap in his career. Bought by PSG for 22 million euros, the player became a favorite of Neymar and much of the squad. In Paris, he won the Champions League and domestic titles.

For the South Korea national team, he has 11 goals and 14 assists in 48 matches played. The attacking midfielder featured at the 2022 World Cup and also at the current World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.