Lee Young-pyo Recalls 23 Years Ago: "Teammates Wouldn't Pass to Me Overseas"

Former football player Lee Young-pyo has opened up about the hardships he faced overseas 23 years ago.

On the KBS 2TV entertainment program 'Baedal Wasuda', aired on the 3rd, Lee Young-pyo shared anecdotes from his time playing in European leagues. He revealed that he lived abroad for a significant 16 years, from December 2002 to the summer of 2018, playing in the Netherlands, England, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Canada. Notably, he mentioned raising his three children in different countries, drawing attention from the hosts.

When asked if his three children had different nationalities, Lee replied, "They are all Korean." He explained, "Canada grants citizenship if you are born there. In my case, I deliberately had my third child born in Korea just a month ago. As a national team player, I believed parents and children should have the same nationality."

Lee recalled the early days of his move to the Netherlands, a time when playing in overseas leagues was not common in the early 2000s. "It was a time when Korea was still considered a backwater, and there was racism," he stated. "When I joined PSV, they wouldn't pass the ball to me. Whenever there was a chance to receive a pass, it should have come to me, but they would move away from me."

He continued, "It wasn't exactly ostracism, but rather that the players didn't fully trust me. The rhythm needed to be right, but when the ball came to me, my teammates would complain, saying, 'He's slow, the tempo is off.'" Lee shared that facing such cold shoulders actually motivated him, leading to increased concentration and skill improvement. "After a few months of that, we played against a strong rival team in the Netherlands," he recounted. "I scored one goal and had one assist, and we won 2-0. The very next day, my teammates started passing me the ball."

Co-host Cho Woo-jong expressed his pride, saying, "Whenever I travel with Young-pyo for broadcasts, whether at the airport or stadium, it's so rewarding when unfamiliar foreign players look at him with a mixture of awe and admiration, saying, 'I saw your play, and I even played on that team.' Even I feel proud standing next to him."

Netizens who watched the broadcast commented, "Lee Young-pyo is truly amazing," "It's heartbreaking to hear he faced such discrimination abroad," and "It's inspiring to see how he overcame it and became a legend."