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This is a Korean name; the family name is Lee.

Lee Dong-Gook
Personal information
Full name	Lee Dong-Gook
Date of birth	April 28, 1979 (1979-04-28) (age 28)
Place of birth	Pohang, Republic of Korea
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position	Striker
Club information
Current club	Middlesbrough
Number	18
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1998–2002 2000–2001 2002–2004 2004–2007 2007–	Pohang Steelers → Werder Bremen (loan) Gwangju Sangmu Pohang Steelers Middlesbrough	89 (33) 07 0(0) 50 (15) 35 (14) 17 0(0)
National team2
1998–2007	Korea Republic	71 (22)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:59, 11 November 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 12:00, 24 January 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Lee Dong-Gook (Korean: 이동국, Hanja: 李同國/李東國, born April 29, 1979 in Pohang, South Korea) is a South Korean football player, currently playing for Middlesbrough as a striker. He is also known as the Lion King among his fans.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Early career 1.2 Middlesbrough 2 International career 3 Career stats 4 International goals 5 References 6 External links

Lee started playing soccer for Pohang Steelers, making a total of 89 appearances and scoring 33 goals. He was then sent on loan to Werder Bremen of Germany's Bundesliga.

During six months at Werder Bremen in 2001, Lee's playing time was limited, partly due to injuries.

Lee left the Steelers in 2002 as he began his national service, joining the military team Gwangju Sangmu. He spent two seasons there. However, his career recovered after he returned to Pohang in 2004 and he was Korea's leading scorer in 2005 and 2006.

However, he suffered a serious knee injury, which required immediate surgery and at least six months of rehabilitation. Many said his absence was a big loss for the Korean team. He recovered in late 2006.^[1][2]

Lee was signed by Middlesbrough in January 2007, after he was granted a work permit.^[3] He made his English premier league debut for Middlesbrough on February 24, 2007 against Reading. He scored his first goal on August 29, 2007 in a Carling Cup match against Northampton Town in the 66th minute.

Lee was a member of the South Korea national football team at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He also took part in the 2000 Asia Cup and finished top scorer with six goals.

In 2002, Lee was not chosen by Guus Hiddink to represent South Korea in 2002 World Cup. Fans called him "Lazy Genius," because they felt that he did not fully use his potential. This is also because Hiddink emphasized strong stamina, great power, and agile speed, which are the categories that Lee struggles in, except power. ^[4][5] He later admitted to spending his days drinking and not watching a single game that took place in Korea.^[6] On 1 November 2007 he was banned from the national team for twelve months after it was revealed that he, along with team captain Lee Woon-Jae and teammates Kim Sang-Sik and Woo Sung-Yong, went on a late night drinking spree during the Asian Cup, in which Korea performed poorly.^[7]

(Last Update:August 30, 2007)

All-Time Club Performance

Club	Season	League			FA Cup			League Cup			European Competition			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Middlesbrough F.C.	2007-08	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	4	1	0
	2006-07	9	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0	0
Total		12	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	15	1	0
Pohang Steelers	2006	10	7	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	10	7	1
	2005	25	7	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	7	4
Total		35	14	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	35	14	5
Gwangju Sangmu Phoenix	2004	23	4	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	4	5
	2003	27	11	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	27	11	6
Total		50	15	11	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	50	15	11
Pohang Steelers	2002	21	7	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	21	7	3
	2001	17	3	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	17	3	1
Total		38	10	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	38	10	4
SV Werder Bremen	2000-2001	7	0	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	?	?	?	7	0	1
Total		7	0	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	7	0	1
Pohang Steelers	2000	8	4	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	4	1
	1999	19	8	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	19	8	4
	1998	24	11	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	24	11	2
Total		51	23	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	51	23	7
Career Totals		193	62	20	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	196	63	20

#	Date	Opponent	Result	Competition
1	2000-02-17	Costa Rica	2-0	2000 Gold Cup
2	2000-10-07	United Arab Emirates	4-2	LG Cup
3	2000-10-19	Indonesia	3-0	Asian Cup 2000
4	2000-10-19	Indonesia	3-0	Asian Cup 2000
5	2000-10-19	Indonesia	3-0	Asian Cup 2000
6	2000-10-23	Iran	2-1	Asian Cup 2000
7	2000-10-26	Saudi Arabia	1-2	Asian Cup 2000
8	2000-10-29	China PR	1-0	Asian Cup 2000
9	2001-09-16	Nigeria	2-1	Friendly match
10	2004-07-10	Bahrain	2-0	Friendly match
11	2004-07-23	United Arab Emirates	2-0	Asian Cup 2004
12	2004-07-27	Kuwait	4-0	Asian Cup 2004
13	2004-07-27	Kuwait	4-0	Asian Cup 2004
14	2004-07-31	Iran	3-4	Asian Cup 2004
15	2004-11-17	Maldives	2-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
16	2004-12-19	Germany	3-1	Friendly match
17	2005-02-09	Kuwait	2-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
18	2005-03-30	Uzbekistan	2-1	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
19	2005-06-08	Kuwait	4-0	2006 FIFA World Cup Qual.
20	2005-11-16	Serbia	2-0	Friendly match
21	2006-02-08	LA Galaxy	3-0	Friendly match
22	2006-02-15	Mexico	1-0	Friendly match

• Lee Dong-Gook career stats at Soccerbase
• Simba Lee Dong-Gook
• Lee Dong-Gook

v • d • e South Korea squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup

1 Kim Byung‑Ji • 2 Choi Sung‑Yong • 3 Lee Lim‑Saeng • 4 Choi Yong‑Il • 5 Lee Min‑Sung • 6 Yoo Sang‑Chul • 7 Kim Do‑Keun • 8 Noh Jung‑Yoon • 9 Kim Do‑Hoon • 10 Choi Yong‑Soo • 11 Seo Jung‑Won • 12 Lee Sang‑Hun • 13 Kim Tae‑Young • 14 Ko Jong‑Soo • 15 Lee Sang‑Yoon • 16 Jang Hyung‑Seok • 17 Ha Seok‑Ju • 18 Hwang Sun‑Hong • 19 Jang Dae‑Il • 20 Hong Myung‑Bo • 21 Lee Dong‑Gook • 22 Seo Dong‑Myung • Coach: Cha Bum‑Kun (Kim Pyung‑Seok)

v • d • e Middlesbrough F.C. – current squad
1 Schwarzer • 2 Young • 3 Arca • 4 O'Neil • 5 Riggott • 6 Pogatetz • 7 Boateng • 8 Woodgate • 9 Mido • 10 Rochemback • 11 Aliadière • 14 Huth • 15 Shawky • 17 Tuncay • 18 Lee • 19 Downing • 21 Turnbull • 22 Jones • 26 Bates • 27 Cattermole • 31 Wheater • 32 Steele • 33 Taylor • 35 Owens • 36 Hutchinson • 38 Hines • 40 Grounds • 41 Walker • 42 Craddock • Manager: Southgate