Head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has returned to Korea, but he is getting information on players playing in Europe through coach Andreas Herzog.
Mallorca drew 1-1 with Athletic Club (Bilbao) in the 32nd round of Spanish La Liga in the 2022-23 season held at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix in Mallorca, Spain on the 2nd at 2:00 am (Korean time). With the draw, Mallorca is in 12th place with 41 points, and Bilbao is in 7th place with 47 points.
Lee Kang-in,ㅋㅋㅋ벳 who played a big role in the last 3 league games, was also on the starting list for today’s game. On this day, Kangin Lee also flew. Lee Kang-in showed his strengths, such as depressurization and killer passes, and aimed at Bilbao’s goal. In the 8th minute of the first half, after catching the ball in his own half, he evaded 4 of his opponent’s defenders. The opponent was in a situation where they had no choice but to cut off the foul. The space pass in the 18th minute of the first half received applause from the fans.
Lee Kang-in dominated the game by going back and forth between left and center. In the end, he became the protagonist of the opening goal. In the 13th minute of the second half, Lee Kang-in escaped the pressure of the opponent’s defense on the left side and spread the ball to the right side. Amas Ndiaye caught it and sent an early cross to the goal. Bedat Muriki gave it a cutback, and Lee Kang-in, who was rushing, finished with his left foot and scored the opening goal.
With the score that day, Lee Kang-in recorded 10 attack points (6 goals and 4 assists) along with his 6th goal in the league. In addition, Lee Kang-in tried 6 dribbles that day and showed a 100% success rate, showing the appearance of a ‘dribble master’ without hesitation. Lee Kang-in recorded 69 dribbling successes this season. Based on the ‘sofa score’, it is a record that ranks third in La Liga, following Vinicius Junior (103 times) and Samuel Chuqueze (74 times).
There was someone watching Lee Kang-in, who showed perfect performance. It is the hair choke coach of the Klinsman division. The Korea Football Association (KFA) reported on the meeting between the two, saying, “Head coach Hairchoke, who moved to Spain, watched the match between Mallorca and Bilbao, inspected Lee Kang-in, and had time to communicate.”
For about 10 days from the 14th to the 24th of last month, the Klinsman division directly observed players active in Europe among the Korean national soccer team. Starting with Hong Hyun-seok (Ghent), Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur), Kim Min-jae (Napoli), Lee Jae-seong (Mainz), Jung Woo-young (Freiburg), and Hwang In-beom (Olympiacos) were checked. However, Lee Kang-in could not meet in person due to scheduling problems.
Director Klinsman also expressed regret and continued to follow him. Head coach Klinsman returned to Korea on the 26th and through an interview, expressed satisfaction, saying, “As a manager, I feel very proud to see Lee Kang-in’s good performance. He showed a good performance against Uruguay last time, and I am still very happy to play for my team and score goals.” .
Lee Kang-in is a player with a high possibility of becoming the crown prince of Klinsmann. Lee Kang-in was called by coach Klinsman during the A match in March and got a chance to start for the first time in 4 years through the game against Uruguay. In the match, Lee Kang-in played a big role with flashing movements. Along with his recent form, the possibility of being selected for the upcoming June A match has increased through this inspection.