South Korea's star forward Lee Chun-soo formally joined Dutch club
Feyenoord yesterday afternoon when he appeared at the Rotterdam team's De Kuip
stadium and practiced with his new teammates.
Feyenoord technical manager Peter Bosz officially presented Lee to the
assembled press at De Kuip, and expressed his delight at Lee 's arrival.
"After the sale of Romeo Castelen and Royston Drenthe we had an urgent need
of a player on the left. In Lee, we now have someone who can play on the flanks
and behind the strikers," said Bosz.
Lee signed a four-year contract with Feyenoord with a transfer fee of 2
million euros in late August. But his arrival had been delayed as he was forced
to wait for permission from South Korea's foreign ministry before being allowed
to leave the country and also for work permit in the Netherlands.
This was the second time for Lee to go to Europe. Lee, who was previously
playing for Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea, had an unpleasant stay in Spain's Real
Sociedad in 2003.
"I thought long and hard about whether I should return to Europe. But
Feyenoord is a good team, this club is known throughout the world," Lee told
journalists. "I also knew that Chung-Gug Song(of South Korea) has played here
and I've seen a lot of Feyenoord's matches on TV. That's why I wanted to play
here and I opted for Feyenoord."
Lee served in the South Korean national teams under Dutch head coaches Dick
Advocaat and Pim Verbeek. "I learned a lot from them in terms of tactics, so I
expect few problems when it comes to adapting to the team," he said.
Lee is expected to be available for selection in Wednesday's Dutch Cup second
round tie against FC Utrecht.
Feyenoord is currently third in the Dutch first division league standings.
