Lee Woon-jae
Lee with Suwon Samsung Bluewings in 2009
Personal information
Full name Lee Woon-jae[1]
Date of birth (1973-04-26) 26 April 1973
Place of birth Cheongju, Chungbuk, South Korea
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1986–1988 Cheongju Daeseong Middle School
1989–1991 Cheongju Commercial High School
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1995 Kyung Hee University
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–2010 Suwon Samsung Bluewings 267 (0)
2000–2001 → Sangmu FC (draft)
2011–2012 Jeonnam Dragons 63 (0)
Total 330 (0)
International career
1994–2002 South Korea U23 32[lower-greek 1] (0)
1993 South Korea B
1994–2010 South Korea 133 (0)
Medal record
Representing  South Korea
Men's football
Summer Universiade
Silver medal – second place1993 BuffaloTeam[2]
AFC Asian Cup
Bronze medal – third place2000 LebanonTeam
Bronze medal – third place2007 Indonesia/Malaysia
/Thailand/Vietnam		Team
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place2002 BusanTeam
EAFF Championship
Gold medal – first place2003 JapanTeam
Silver medal – second place2010 JapanTeam
East Asian Games
Gold medal – first place1993 ShanghaiTeam[3]
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Lee Woon-jae
Hangul
이운재
Hanja
李雲在
Revised RomanizationI Un-jae
McCune–ReischauerI Unjae

Lee Woon-jae (Korean: 이운재; born 26 April 1973) is a South Korean former football goalkeeper. He was part of South Korea's 1994, 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup campaigns. He was the only Asian player nominated for the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century (2001–2011).[4]

International career

Lee was a part of the South Korean national team for the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was substituted into the game against Germany for main goalkeeper Choi In-young and did not concede a goal in 45 minutes. After the 1994 World Cup, he suffered from tuberculosis and hepatitis and worried that his playing career might end. Luckily, he made a recovery and came back to the national team in 1998.[5]

Lee was selected for Guus Hiddink's squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as the first-choice goalkeeper after the rivalry against Kim Byung-ji. He appeared all of seven matches until the third place play-off, and kept three clean sheets against Poland, Portugal and Spain in the tournament. He made the history of South Korean football in the quarter-finals against Spain. After the match was ended without a goal until extra time, Lee blocked Spain's fourth shot taken by Joaquín in the penalty shoot-out. South Korea defeated Spain 5–3 on penalties, becoming the first-ever Asian team to advance to the semi-finals in the World Cup.[6][7] South Korea finished fourth place in the tournament.

Lee captained South Korea at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in place of the injured Kim Nam-il. He kept clean sheets in all of South Korea's games in the knockout stage and saved a total of three penalties in shoot-outs (two against Iran and one against Japan). He was selected as the goalkeeper of the All-Star XI. However, he was suspended from the national team for a year, because he sneaked out from his hotel room and went on a drinking binge in an Indonesian bar along with teammates Kim Sang-sik, Woo Sung-yong and Lee Dong-gook before the match against Bahrain, which South Korea lost.

Lee is one of two players (the other being Rigobert Song of Cameroon) to be selected for four World Cups from 1994 to 2010. He is one of seven players from Asia to play in four different World Cups. He played his last game for the national team in a friendly against Nigeria on 11 August 2010 in a 2–1 victory and subsequently retired from international football.

Style of play

Nicknamed the "Spider Hand" in South Korea,[8] Lee is regarded as one of the greatest South Korean goalkeepers of all time. He didn't have good height and rapid pace, but showed great judgment and the harmonies with defenders.[8] He was also noted for his predictive ability and this made him strong on the penalty shoot-out. In shoot-outs of his K League career, he won 92% of matches (11 out of 12) and saved 45% of shots.[9] (26 out of 58)

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[10]
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Suwon Samsung Bluewings1996K League 120?[lower-alpha 1]?10——130
1997K League 70?[lower-alpha 1]?100——170
1998K League180?[lower-alpha 1]?160——340
1999K League27000120—1[lower-alpha 2]0400
2002K League1904000?[lower-alpha 3]?—230
2003K League41010———420
2004K League2300030——260
2005K League1703090602[lower-alpha 4]0370
2006K League1301010——150
2007K League25010100——360
2008K League28000110——390
2009K League2505010501[lower-alpha 5]0370
2010K League120202070—230
Total2670170760180403820
Sangmu FC (draft)2000Semipro League?? ?[lower-alpha 6]?—— ?[lower-alpha 7]???
2001Semipro League???[lower-alpha 6]?——?[lower-alpha 7]???
Total????——????
Jeonnam Dragons 2011K League3002040——360
2012K League330?[lower-alpha 1]?———330
Total6302040——690
Career total 3300190800180404510
  1. 1 2 3 4 Appearance(s) in Korean FA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearance in Korean Super Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance(s) in Asian Club Championship
  4. ↑ One appearance in A3 Champions Cup, one appearance in Korean Super Cup
  5. ↑ Appearance in Pan-Pacific Championship
  6. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Korean National Championship
  7. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Korean President's Cup

International

  • Appearances and goals by national team and year[11]
    National teamYearAppsGoals
    South Korea 199430
    199510
    199920
    200080
    2001120
    2002150
    2003140
    2004150
    2005150
    2006160
    200780
    200820
    2009130
    201090
    Career total1330
  • Appearances and goals by competition
    CompetitionAppsGoals
    Friendlies550
    Minor competitions120
    EAFF Championship90
    CONCACAF Gold Cup30
    AFC Asian Cup qualification70
    AFC Asian Cup150
    FIFA Confederations Cup30
    FIFA World Cup qualification180
    FIFA World Cup110
    Total1330

    • Filmography

    Television

    Year Title Role Note(s) Ref.
    2015 Cheongchun FC Hungry Eleven Himself
    2018 Escape Nest Season 3 Himself
    2019 Let's Eat Dinner Together Himself Episode 133
    2022 Gundesliga Himself [12]

    Honours

    Suwon Samsung Bluewings

    Sangmu FC

    South Korea U23

    South Korea B

    South Korea

    Individual

    See also

    Notes

    1. ↑ Includes seven appearances against non-national teams, and nine appearances as an overage player (six appearances in Asian Games, three appearances in friendlies).

    References

    1. ↑ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
    2. 1 2 "FOOTBALL". Universiade '93-Buffalo -Results-. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
    3. ↑ 동아시아축구 대표 확정. Naver.com (in Korean). The Hankyoreh. 30 March 1993. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
    4. ↑ "The World's best Goalkeeper of the 21st Century". IFFHS.de. IFFHS. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
    5. ↑ 가난과 폐결핵·간염 극복…그는 불굴의 거미손이었다 (in Korean). Ilyoseoul. 27 June 2006.
    6. ↑ "Korean dream lives on". BBC Sport. 22 June 2002. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
    7. ↑ Hayward, Paul (23 June 2002). "Korean miracle spoilt by refereeing farce". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
    8. 1 2 [스포츠 화제] '국대 골키퍼의 대명사' 김병지-이운재 20년 우정 (in Korean). Joongang Sisa Magazine. 17 August 2016.
    9. ↑ [집중분석] 이운재는 왜 승부차기에 강할까? (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 15 July 2010.
    10. ↑ Lee Woon-jae – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
    11. ↑ "Lee Woon-jae at Korea Football Association" (in Korean). KFA. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
    12. ↑ Ji, Seung-hoon (14 April 2022). WC 레전드 VS 강철 군대 격돌...'군대스리가', 5월 첫방 (공식). Naver.com (in Korean). YTN. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
    13. ↑ Lee, Seung-soo; Schöggl, Hans; Trevena, Mark (13 May 2020). "South Korea – List of Champions". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    14. 1 2 3 Lee, Seung-soo; Trevena, Mark (8 April 2020). "South Korea – List of Cup Winners". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    15. ↑ Fujioka, Atsushi; Halchuk, Stephen; Stokkermans, Karel (25 March 2020). "Asian Champions' Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    16. ↑ Fujioka, Atsushi (21 July 2002). "Asian Super Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    17. ↑ Nakanishi, Masanori; Lee, Seung-soo (14 June 2007). "East Asian Champions Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    18. ↑ Saaid, Hamdan (26 February 2009). "Pan-Pacific Championship". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    19. ↑ (축구/실업선수권)상무, 강릉시청 꺾고 우승감격. Naver.com (in Korean). The Dong-A Ilbo. 6 July 2001.
    20. ↑ "Football Men's (Final Result) – Match Schedule". Busan Asian Games. Archived from the original on 10 January 2003. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
    21. ↑ Morrison, Neil (20 December 2019). "East Asian Games". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    22. ↑ Stokkermans, Karel (7 February 2019). "Asian Nations Cup". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    23. ↑ Stokkermans, Karel (20 December 2019). "East Asian Championship". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
    24. ↑ 안정환 시즌 MVP (in Korean). The Dong-A Ilbo. 10 November 1999.
    25. ↑ 2002년 K-리그 시상식 21일 개최 (in Korean). Yonhap. 20 December 2002.
    26. ↑ 나드손, 외국인 첫 MVP! (in Korean). YTN. 16 December 2004.
    27. 1 2 이운재, MVP 영예...신인상은 이승렬, 감독상은 차범근 감독 (in Korean). Sports Chosun. 9 December 2008.
    28. ↑ 동아시아컵축구 이운재 최우수 골키퍼상 (in Korean). Yonhap. 7 August 2005.
    29. ↑ "Fanzone". AFC Asian Cup. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
      "Official All-Star XI". BigSoccer. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
    30. ↑ 수원, 7년 만의 FA컵 우승…MVP 이운재 (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. 9 November 2009.
    31. ↑ "The best Asian team at the FIFA World Cup announced!". Asian Football Confederation. 7 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
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