Hupu July 01, 2019 "Football" newspaper reporter Han Bing wrote an analysis of the general situation of South Korean players staying in the Ocean, and believes that from Che Fangen in the 1980s to Hiddink promoting the tide of staying in the Ocean after the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and then to the new era with Son Heung-min as the banner, South Korean football has achieved a leap from quantitative change to qualitative change after 40 years.
Korean football stayed in the West, and the earliest breakthrough was made in Germany. He joined Darmstadt in 1978, moved to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer of 1979 and then joined Bayer Leverkusen. In the 10 years of the Bundesliga, he became the first Korean and even Asian player recognized by the five major leagues, and it was precisely because of his success that he laid the foundation for the latecomers, and Germany also became a base for Asian players to stay abroad. Although Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-woo and Song Jong-kook were promoted by Hiddink to become famous in the Dutch First Division, the largest number of South Korean players in Europe is Germany.
After Che Fangen, in the early years, there were Hwang Sun-hung, Kim Sung-sung, Lee Dong-kook, An Zhenhuan (formerly translated An Zhenhuan), Che Duli; after the 2010s, there were Gu Zizhe and Hong Zhenghao; and then Son Heung-min came out of nowhere, becoming the flag of Korean football on a par with Che Fangen. Today's South Korean foreign players, the total number of foreigners in Europe is 25, including 6 in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga, including Hwang Hee-chan, Kwon Chang-hoon, Jeong You-young, Lee Jae-seong and other famous players. The Premier League's Son Heung-min, La Liga's Lee Gang-jin, Ligue 1's Hwang Yi-joo, Yoon Il-hyun, Seo Hyun-joon and the Russian Premier League's Hwang In-bum are all outstanding representatives of Korean football in the past decade.
However, the South Korean players in Europe are not all smooth sailing, from An Zhenhuan, Che Duli, Hong Zhenghao, Park Joo Yong, Lee Qinglong, Lee Tianxiu, and then to the "Barca Sanjie" who has high hopes, they have not really been able to play a piece of the world and give full play to their potential. In particular, the "Barça Sanjie" headed by Lee Seung-woo was once considered to be a figure who could dominate Korean football for the next decade, but the development of the three has been unsatisfactory since they reached adulthood. In contrast, Son Heung-min, who was not noticed by Korean football at the beginning, started from the grass-roots level of the German league and grew all the way to become a world-class star. Not only is he an absolute main player at Tottenham Hotspur, he is also the only Asian player to enter the world's top 15.
At present, South Korean foreign players have traveled to the European Legion and formed an old, middle-aged and young echelon. The younger generation includes Huang Xican, who was promoted from Red Bull Salzburg to Red Bull Leipzig, Huang Renfan, who was a Kazan Ruby in the Russian Super League, Lee Gang-in, who has already played in Valencia in La Liga, and Jeong You-young, who began to be valued in the South Korean national team. Although it is inferior in numbers to Japan, it has formed a scale effect. In addition, in the european lower leagues, there are more than 60 young Korean players in the training level.
Unlike Japanese players who use Europe as the main destination for staying in the west, Korean players stay in the west, and some choose the Asian league. The Japanese league is the largest base for Korean players to stay abroad, of which 12 are in the J1 league, 8 are in the J2 league, 6 are in the J3 league, in addition, the Chinese Super League, the Saudi league, the Qatar league, there are also many Korean players. Kim Young-kwon, Chu Se-jong, Kwon Chun-tae, Hwang Seok-ho, Kim Seung-kyu and Kim Jin-hyun in the J-League, Jeong Yoo-young, Nam Tae-hee, Koo Ji-chol, Jang Hyun-so, Kim Jin-so of the West Asian League, and Kim Shin-woo, Sun Joon-ho and Kim Hyun-jae in the Chinese Super League constitute South Korea's Asian power to stay in the west.
Unlike in Europe, South Korean players in Asia are divided into two ranges, and there are historical reasons to play in Japan, while playing in Chinese and West Asian leagues is a "high salary temptation". Nevertheless, they have joined in leagues with relatively high Asian standards, and their own strength and form can be guaranteed.
South Korean football in the West can be called Both Europe and Asia, travel to Europe is to improve the standard, in addition to making money, you can also prove its own strength, and South Korea's local K League is also a first-class league in Asia.
In theory, South Korea can form a national team composed entirely of players from Europe like Japan, but in recent years, it has always been a "three-legged stand" of players from Europe, Asia and Home. The european players are represented by Son Heung-min, although the standard is higher, but the special distribution of Korean players has caused the reality that the national team has been based on the local area for many years and relies on foreign players.
Of course, compared with the current situation that Japan has left the Ocean in recent years, but in fact, there are not many footholds in the five major leagues, Korean players are more realistic. That is to say, if you compete with European, American and African players who are obviously better than themselves in all aspects in the five major leagues, it is difficult to succeed like Son Heung-min. So they will spread to the European second-rate leagues, or stay in Asia to make money, while also being able to stay in shape by competing with high-level foreign players.
Korean football is based on the local league to cultivate young talents, give priority to the export of young players to Europe to cultivate the ability, export mature players to the Asian league to maintain the state, and stay in the foreign "two legs" to walk the strategy, may not be a more suitable for the growth of East Asian players of the two models. After all, asian players who can win the competition in Europe's five major leagues and stand firm are always in the minority, and how to let players get full experience and promotion in their limited careers is the key. Sitting on the bench in Europe or staying in the top asian leagues, which is more suitable for the development of players? This question, Korean football already has its own answer.
(Editor: Yao Fan)