The under-15 coach has already trained a South Korean striker who will compete in the 2026 World Cup; know who you are

- By Lucas Barreiros/Central do Timão Editorial

The eyes of the world are focused on the 2026 World Cup. The tournament brings together the best teams, and several of the best players in world football, one of them has a curious story that links him to Corinthians, more precisely to coach Edu Vergueiro, who leads Timão's under-15 team.

11 years ago, in 2015, the coach published on his Instagram the news that six athletes he trained for two years in South Korea had become players on the South Korean under-14 team. Currently, one of these players is one of the country's highlights and is competing in the World Cup: Kang-in Lee. In an interview with TMC, Edu spoke about his history with the attacking midfielder.

"I started working with Kang-in Lee in my first year there. It was remarkable because it was my first professional experience as a coach and also the first outside Brazil. I had an eight-month experience with him, in my first year (in South Korea). He was an athlete who was already known for his technical quality and game intelligence. He was very decisive even at that age, very creative. At the moment the team needed it, he was always being the protagonist. The experience was very good. Of course, we can't to nail it so early that the boy would be the size he is today, but there was a lot of technical quality, refinement...", he said.

Reproduction/Instagram
Born in Incheon, near Seoul, Kang-in Lee has always been prominent in Asia. Discovered at the age of six through the reality show "Fly Shoot Dori", which sought to bring untrained children together to form a team. From there, he arrived at Goal Club Sports, where he met the Brazilian coach, in 2011. The club also offered training in other sports, and had regional teams. The highlights were called for a team that competed in higher level tournaments. The then coach of the "under-12 team" was Edu Vergueiro. Shortly afterwards, at the age of 11, the player moved to Valencia.

"He was already a boy who was already very well regarded and talked about (on the reality show), but he was still very young, so there was a lot that he would experience. We imagined that, if he continued to develop, he could reach a high level. But what level he would reach is very difficult to nail down. A lot happens in training", he said.

The coach also recalled that Kang-in Lee's farewell tournament with the club he defended was marked by intense games from the athlete, even though everything was already in order for him to go to Spanish football.

"He was already being monitored and when we went to this last competition, we already knew it would be the last. He already had a date set to go with his family to Spain. He himself played with a lot of desire, I believe that deep down he wanted to achieve and leave a good image even as a way of giving back to the athletes who worked with him", he recalled.

"During the period I stayed with him, I tried to convey what I thought was important. It was important for him to have the autonomy to experience football the way he believed. He was very prominent in the competitions we competed in", he explained.

"Our role within the youth categories is to develop athletes to the point where they have the performance to go from one category to another. But we know that in every competitive context, we enter to win, it's natural. One of the first achievements I had in my career, Kang-in was fundamental in the competition. We were losing a game 1-0 until he took responsibility. He scored the equalizer. Then, in a dead ball, he scored the second goal. And it was his last competition in South Korea. we became champions, he was the best player and I ended up being chosen as best coach", he said.

Career

Despite having completed the youth teams at Valencia, it was at Mallorca that Kang-in Lee stood out, between 2021 and 2023, and took a leap forward in his career. Bought by PSG for 22 million euros, the player fell in favor with Neymar and a large part of the squad. At Paris, he won the Champions League and national championships.

In the South Korean team, there are 11 goals and 14 assists in 48 games played. The attacking midfielder was at the 2022 World Cup and also at the current World Cup.
The post Under-15 coach has already trained a South Korean striker who will compete in the 2026 World Cup; find out who it is first appeared on Central do Timão.

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Source: Timao Central