The “golden talent” Lee Kang-in (22) had a great effect. World-class soccer players wore uniforms with Hangeul names on them. Local soccer fans also showed keen interest in Hangeul uniforms.
Lee Kang-in’s Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) team won 2-0 in an away match against Le Havre in round 14 of the 2023-2024 French League 1. With this achievement, PSG has won seven consecutive games in the league. It has maintained its lead in the league by recording 10 wins, three draws and one loss (33 points). Nice (29 points), which is competing for the lead in the same round, lost the match against Nantes, widening the gap between the two teams. PSG is one step closer to winning the league.
What stood out on the day was the PSG uniform. PSG players wore uniforms with Korean names marked on them for the first time in the club’s history. PSG has created special uniforms for its Korean fans, who have increased since recruiting Lee Kang-in. Earlier, PSG reported on its SNS that its players would wear Korean uniforms at the upcoming match against Le Havre. According to PSG, the number of Korean fans watching PSG’s home games has increased by a whopping 20 percent since Lee joined the club last summer. The number of Korean followers on PSG’s Twitter account has also increased by more than 22,000.
PSG also said, “The official store in Seoul, which opened in July, has the second-largest sales in the e-commerce sector.” 메이저 토토사이트
At the match against Le Havre, world-renowned players including Kylian Mbappe, Usman Dembele, and Gianluigi Donnarumma appeared wearing Korean-language uniforms. Local soccer fans were also paying keen attention to the unique uniforms. Earlier, the French Ligue 1 secretariat said on its SNS, “PSG will wear uniforms with special names under the theme of Korea at the upcoming event.” It also uploaded photos of PSG’s uniforms in Korean. Then, soccer fans wrote, “Pretty.” Some fans had Taegeukgi emojis.
Lee Kang-in played well in Majorca (Spain), his former team, last season. In recognition of his value, he wore a PSG uniform during the transfer market last summer. Lee’s transfer fee amounted to 22 million euros. This is the fifth largest amount in Asian player transfer fee. In addition, PSG showed strong trust by signing a five-year contract with Lee Kang-in. Indeed, Korean soccer fans’ interest was high. In August, during the pre-season, a sports viscera said, “PSG opened a new official store in Seoul, Korea. The most popular uniform is Lee Kang-in, a Korean player,” adding, “70 percent of the uniforms sold are Lee Kang-in.”
Since then, Lee Kang-in has become one of PSG’s representative faces. He has also frequently appeared as an official model for the new uniform. In September, PSG unveiled its third (third) uniform, and Lee Kang-in promoted it as a uniform model. He was with World Class Mbappe and Captain Marquinos. This led to the historic PSG Korean uniform. The League 1 secretariat also shed light on this by posting pictures of Korean uniforms even after the PSG-Le Havre match. “I feel like Lee Kang-in is home,” he said.
On the day, Lee played as left midfielder in the 4-3-3 formation. He played full-time without substitution, and had 43 cheek touches, one shot, and three dribbles. His pass success rate was 93 percent. He had no point of attack, but he displayed stormy dribbles during Mbappe’s finishing goal to contribute to the starting point. Naturally, he received good reviews. Fuscoord, a European soccer statistics site, gave Lee a high rating of 7.13. Footmob, another statistical media, also gave him a 7.0 rating. FascoScore gave him a 6.7. “He made a breakthrough when he scored the first goal. He defended the ball well and gave himself up for the team,” French media Footmercato said.
The joint goal between Lee Kang-in and Mbappe came in the 23rd minute of the first half. Lee Kang-in, who caught the ball near the halfway line, drove the ball without hesitation. Then he attacked to the right side and Dembele stabbed the pass toward the goal. Mbappe fired a fantastic curled shot to shake the net. PSG, who set the favorable atmosphere, tied Vitinha’s wedge goal in the 44th minute of the second half to score a two-point complete victory.
After the match, Lee Kang-in said through his club channel, “It was a tough game for us. But he played solid in defense, and goalkeeper Arnaut Tenas in particular did not allow a goal. We were able to take advantage of the opportunities we had to score the goals we needed. This is an important result and it will grow us up.”
This season, Lee has played in seven matches in the league, and has scored one goal and one assist. Contrary to expectations that he will stage an uphill battle to become a starting member, he is playing as a starting member, beating out world-class players. PSG coach Luis Enrique trusts Lee. Lee has also been on a good track, living up to expectations. Based on Huscoord.Com, Lee has a 7.18 rating for this season. This is equivalent to the sixth highest rating in his team.
Jerome Rothen, a former PSG legend, also praised Lee Kang-in. In an interview with RMC Sports in France, Rothen said, “Lee Kang-in is superior to Vitinha. He has good foot skills. In a game with many competitions, such as against AC Milan (Italy), you have to protect the ball.” Afterwards, Rothen said, “When Lee Kang-in played, he showed excellent foot skills.” Le10 Sport said, “Rothen did not change his opinion that Lee Kang-in should be used as the starting pitcher.”
As Lee Kang-in mentioned, PSG had a difficult game on the day. In the 10th minute of the first half, Donnarumma, the team’s main goalkeeper, was sent off directly. To handle the opponent’s long ball, Donnarumma raised his foot high, which hit the opponent as it was. The referee took out a red card. Donnarumma also left the stadium. He had to fight in 10 people without a single player for the rest of the time. However, a surprise hero appeared in PSG. Backup goalkeeper Arnautenas was the main character.
PSG fell to 9-22 on the day. However, they did not yield a single goal. Tenas showed a fantastic defense. Tenas made a whopping seven saves on the day. Among the countless saves, the highlight came in the 34th minute of the second half. Le Havre’s attackers shot into the PSG penalty box several times, and each time, Tenas blew himself away and blocked it. The Le Havre players wrapped their heads around them in disbelief. In the end, they won without allowing a single goal.
Fuscoord`s rating was 7.98. The rating was the same as that of Mbappe, who scored the finishing goal. Footmob also gave Tenas a good rating of 7.7. The French Ligue 1 secretariat also uploaded photos of Tenas and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi on its social media to congratulate him on his performance. Soccer fans also posted comments and gave Tenas a lot of compliments.
Tenas, a Spanish national, wore a PSG jersey in July. He is from Spain’s prestigious Barcelona Youth, and is behind Donnarumma, the starting goalkeeper. He made his surprise debut against Le Havre, and showed an even more remarkable performance.
PSG also touched the hearts of fans again. PSG players took a photo with their teammate Fabien Lewis’s uniform after the game. The message is “I wish Lewis a speedy recovery.” The PSG team posted on its social media “My thoughts are on the injured team.” Spanish midfielder Lewis started at the match against Le Havre on the day. However, he was substituted after injuring his shoulder during a competition for an aerial ball in the eighth minute of the first half. Lewis was in considerable pain. He was in a serious situation, as it was expected that he would miss the match for a long time. PSG players conveyed their sincere to Lewis to cheer him up even a little bit.
Lewis, who played for Napoli in Italy, transferred to PSG last year after being recognized as a top-rated midfielder in Serie A. He played 13 matches in this season, and scored one goal and two assists. He has strengthened his team by playing as a rotation member this season. However, due to this injury, he could take a break for a while.
Enrique brought up the 4-3-3 formation. Mbappe, Dembele, and Bradley Barcola played as three-top players. Lee Kang-in, Luis, and Vitinha played the midfield role. The four-back players were Carlos Soler, Danilu Pereira, Nordi Mukiele, and Archiraf Hakimi. Donnarumma kept the goal. However, the team faced variable conditions from the beginning of the game due to Luis’ injury and Donnarumma’s exit. Despite the tough situation, PSG secured three points. Midfielder Vitinha had the highest score of 8.54 based on Fuscoord. Donnarumma, who was sent off, only had a rating of 5.22.
