Reporter Han Bing reported from Che Fangen in the 1980s, to Hiddink's promotion of 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 stayed in the ocean for 40 years, and has achieved a leap from quantitative change to qualitative change.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="3" > [based in Germany, radiating Europe].</h1>
Korean football stayed in the West, and the earliest breakthrough was made in Germany.
In 1978, Che Fangen joined Darmstadt, transferred to Frankfurt in the summer of 1979, then joined Bayer Leverkusen, 10 years of bundesliga, making him the first Korean and even Asian player recognized by the five major leagues, and it is precisely because of his success that he laid the foundation for latecomers, and Germany has also become a foreign base for Asian players.
Like Yang Chen, who led the first wave of Chinese foreign countries, although Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-woo and Song Jong-kook were promoted by Hiddink and became famous in the Dutch First Division, the largest number of South Korean players traveled to Europe was 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 Korean foreign players, the total number of foreign players 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, while the Premier League's Son Heung-min, La Liga's Lee Gang-jin, Ligue 1's Hwang Yi-su, Yoon Il-hyun, Seok Hyun-joon and the Russian Premier League's Hwang In-fan are outstanding representatives of Korean football in the past decade.
However, South Korean players in Europe, not all smooth sailing, from An Zhenhuan, Che Duli, Hong Zhenghao, Park Joo Yong, Lee Qinglong, Lee Tianxiu, and then to the "Barça Sanjie" who was pinned high hopes, they failed to really play a piece of the world and give full play to their potential, especially the "Barça Sanjie" headed by Lee Seung-woo, once considered to be able to dominate the Korean football world for the next ten years, but after the three adults, the development has not been satisfactory.
In contrast, Son Heung-min, who was first not noticed by Korean football, started from the grass roots of the German league and grew all the way to a world-class star, not only becoming an absolute main force at Tottenham, but also the only Asian player to enter the world's top 15.
At present, South Korean foreign players have traveled to the European Legion, forming an old, middle-aged and young echelon, Son Heung-min is the year of the fight, the younger generation has huang Xican, who was upgraded from Red Bull Salzburg to Red Bull Leipzig, Huang Renfan of the Kazan Ruby of the Russian Super League, Lee Gang-in, who has played a famous role 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.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="22" > [Asian League, Second Tier].</h1>
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.
Korean football stays in the west, in a word, both Europe and Asia. Traveling in Europe is to improve the standard, in addition to making money, you can also prove your own strength, and the Korean K League is also a first-class league in Asia.
In theory, South Korea can also be like Japan, the formation of a national team composed entirely of players in Europe, but in recent years, it has always been the "three-legged stand" of players in Europe, Asia and local players, and the players in Europe 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 mainland for many years and relies on foreign players.
Of course, compared with the current situation that Japan has become a blowout in recent years, but in fact, there are not many footholds in the five major leagues, Korean players are more realistic, that is, if they compete with European, American and African players who are obviously better than themselves in all aspects, it is difficult to be as successful as Son Heung-min, so they will spread to European second-rate leagues, or stay in Asia to make money, while also maintaining their status by competing with high-level foreign aid.
South Korean players, based on the local league to cultivate young talents, give priority to the export of young players to Europe to cultivate the ability, to the Asian league to export mature players to maintain the state, the strategy of staying in the "two legs" of the west is not necessarily a better suitable for the growth of East Asian players. 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.