In the World Youth Championship final early yesterday morning, South Korea lost 3-1 to Ukraine and missed the championship. Just two hours before South Korea lost the title, Japan also lost in the Toulon Cup final. This is a tragic day for Asian football. But it is proud to reach the final at the world level.
Kang Ren Li
FC shooter found him
It is worth mentioning that South Korea and Japan also staged a direct dialogue in this U20 World Cup knockout. Finally, Japan, which failed to send all the main players of this age, lost to South Korea and stopped the first round of the knockout. South Korea's 18-year-old young player Li kangren won the Golden Globe Award in this event. The last time he won the award at the age of 18 can be traced back to Messi. The most impressive thing about him in this game is that when he faced Ecuador in the semi-final, he sent assists through a quick free kick to help South Korea beat his opponent 1-0 to advance to the final. In this final, Li kangren scored a penalty shortly after the opening, which made the Koreans see the hope of winning the title. Unfortunately, he was reversed by three goals by Ukraine.
What is unknown is that Li kangren was first discovered because of a variety show. After the 2002 World Cup between South Korea and Japan, South Koreans began to fall into a fever for football. In 2005, KBS television station of South Korea invited the famous singer Jin Zhongguo as the team leader and produced a variety show "FC little shooter" in which children play football. Kim Jong Kook is one of the original fixed hosts of 'running man' in Korea, which is very popular in China.
The program takes the route of entertainment and variety. Kim Jong Kwok is the team leader. Seven or eight children who have no football foundation but look lovely form FC small shooters to train and compete together. With the goal of 'the strongest in the country', these children began their journey. In the first game, FC young shooter lost 0-21 against Che van Gung football school team. Although these children have been defeated repeatedly, they have never given up and worked hard to learn football skills and team spirit. They didn't win their first victory until five months later. The program was very popular in South Korea at that time. The struggling spirit of the small players infected the audience and occupied the top 5 ratings in South Korea for a long time.
Li kangren was the contestant of FC little shooter in the third quarter of 2007. Li kangren appeared in the program as a 'plain player'. At that time, he was only 6 years old and was the captain of the game, but he showed outstanding talent. In one period, Li kangren scored two goals in a game, both with his left foot. One was a direct shot after receiving the ball on the sideline, and the other was a volley after the midfield breakthrough. With the ball, he also used the way of Marseille swing to pass.
And Wu Lei landed in La Liga at the same time
Not long after participating in the variety show, he was selected and signed by Incheon United echelon of Korean K League. At that time, Li kangren also shot a commercial advertisement with his idol Park Zhixing. It can be said that no one knows this little genius in Korea. In an activity in January 2011, Incheon United held a friendly match with Valencia echelon. With the recommendation of the coach and brokerage company, Li kangren won the trial training opportunity in Valencia. Finally joined the Youth Training Academy of this strong team in La Liga. After South Korea entered the U20 World Cup final, KBS decided to replay the third season of FC shooter recorded by Li kangren.
In the U12 echelon of Valencia, Li kangren helped the team beat Borussia Dortmund and entered the finals of the prestigious youth championship with an earth shaking direct free kick, which laid the groundwork for him to win extensive international attention. With such a potential star, Valencia president Anil & middot; Murphy became more and more excited. He provided Li kangren with a career contract in July 2018, including an eye popping liquidated damages clause of 80 million euros.
On the latest price list on the German transfer market website, Li kangren has tied with Wu Lei for the sixth place in Asia, reaching 10 million euros. In fact, they landed in La Liga at the same time. On January 28, 2019, 28 year old Wu Lei officially joined the La Liga Spaniard. On January 31, Valencia officially announced that Li kangren was promoted to the first team. Last year, the Spanish Football Association wanted to naturalize Li kangren, but he was rejected by the South Korean Teenager. He just wanted to play for South Korea. In March this year, Li kangren has also been selected into the list of South Korea's national team for the first time. His performance in the World Youth Championship will continue to open the way for the national team and the club to jump.