Lee Chun-soo

In 1999, Lee was selected in the South Korea under-20 team for the Bangabandhu Cup. He scored five goals against Thailand under-23 in his debut game.[3] He also scored all two goals in the following game, which South Korea defeated Brazil XI 2–0. He also participated as a player of South Korea under-23 in the 2000 Summer Olympics, and scored the winning goal against Morocco in the second group match.[3]

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in South Korea, Lee played all seven games for South Korea. He played five games as a substitute until the quarter-finals, but he showed fast dribbling and active defense, becoming an important contributor of the South Korean team.[4] In the semi-finals against Germany, where he was on the starting line-up for the first time, he had greed about a goal without regard for teamwork, but his play made a memorable shot saved by Oliver Kahn.[4]

In that year, Lee also showed his talent at the K League by recording seven goals and nine assists in 18 games despite spending his first professional season.[5] Becoming a semi-finalist of World Cup and the top assist provider of K League at an early age, he was named the Asian Young Footballer of the Year by the Asian Football Confederation.[6] In July 2003, he joined the runners-up of the 2002–03 La Liga, Real Sociedad, becoming the first Korean to play in the La Liga. After a mediocre season, however, he was loaned to another La Liga club Numancia, and eventually returned to South Korea. He could not score in La Liga for two years.

Lee failed in Spain, feeling the difference of level between La Liga and K League, but he was still one of the best South Korean footballers. Though he joined Ulsan in mid-season, his performance proved to be invaluable to Ulsan's capture of the 2005 league. He especially scored a hat trick in the first leg of the championship finals. He was subsequently named the K League's Most Valuable Player on 28 December 2005. The next year, he left a memorable game against Gamba Osaka at the A3 Champions Cup. He played only 45 minutes of the game due to a cold, but scored a hat-trick.

At the 2006 World Cup, he scored Korea's first goal with a free kick against Togo in a 2–1 win.

In the summer of 2008, Lee joined Feyenoord of the Netherlands but failed to adapt to the country.

In July 2008 Feyenoord officially announced Lee's loan to Korean powerhouse Suwon Samsung Bluewings on a one-year deal. His stint was ill-received: he performed poorly, had clashes with the coaching staff, and was ultimately suspended from the K-League.

After a few months, Suwon released him and on 26 February 2009, he was loaned to the Chunnam Dragons until 31 July 2009. On 13 June 2009, he signed with the Dragons.[7] In the last week of June 2009, however, a secret contract was exposed. Feyenoord had also tried to transfer Lee to Al Nassr and Chunnam ultimately released him due to problems.

He also left Saudi Arabia while still under contract with Al Nassr. He eventually joined Omiya Ardija of Japan.

On 31 March 2013, he came back to the K-league after 1381 days with Incheon United in a game against Daejeon Citizen.[8] After a slow start, he finally got an assist against Ulsan Hyundai on 20 April 2013.[9] On 25 May 2013, he scored his first goal since his comeback against Busan IPark. While at the club, he took the role of veteran to lead the juniors and seniors as one team.[10]

On 5 November 2015, he announced his retirement as a player.

His final performance came in March 2016 in an international fixture between Korea and Lebanon. [11]

As of 1 May 2016

Results list South Korea's goal tally first.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
5 April 2000	Seoul	Laos	1 goal	9-0	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
7 April 2000	Seoul	Mongolia	1 goal	6-0	2000 AFC Asian Cup qualification
13 September 2001	Daejeon	Nigeria	1 goal	2-1	Friendly match
16 May 2002	Busan	Scotland	1 goal	4-1	Friendly match
8 September 2004	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	1 goal	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
29 January 2006	Hong Kong	Croatia	1 goal	2-0	2006 Carlsberg Cup
22 February 2006	Aleppo	Syria	1 goal	2-1	2007 AFC Asian Cup qualification
13 June 2006	Frankfurt	Togo	1 goal	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup
6 February 2007	London	Greece	1 goal	1-0	Friendly match
29 June 2007	Seogwipo	Iraq	1 goal	3-0	Friendly match