South Korea's star forward Lee Chun-soo formally joined Dutch
club Feyenoord on Monday afternoon when he appeared at the
Rotterdam team's De Kuip stadium and practiced with his new
teammates.
Feyenoord technical manager Peter Bosz officially presented Lee
to the assembled press at De Kuip, and expressed his delight at
Lee's arrival.
"After the sale of Romeo Castelen and Royston Drenthe we had an
urgent need of a player on the left. In Lee, we now have someone
who can play on the flanks and behind the strikers," said Bosz.
Lee signed a four-year contract with Feyenoord with a transfer
fee of 2 million euros in late August. But his arrival had been
delayed as he was forced to wait for permission from South Korea's
foreign ministry before being allowed to leave the country and also
for work permit in the Netherlands.
This was the second time for Lee to go to Europe. Lee, who was
previously playing for Ulsan Hyundai of South Korea, had an
unpleasant stay in Spain's Real Sociedad in 2003.
"I thought long and hard about whether I should return to
Europe. But Feyenoord is a good team, this club is known throughout
the world," Lee told journalists. "I also knew that Chung-Gug Song
(of South Korea) has played here and I've seen a lot of Feyenoord's
matches on TV. That's why I wanted to play here and I opted for
Feyenoord."
Lee served in the South Korean national teams under Dutch head
coaches Dick Advocaat and Pim Verbeek. "I learned a lot from them
in terms of tactics, so I expect few problems when it comes to
adapting to the team," he said.
Lee is expected to be available for selection in Wednesday's
Dutch Cup second round tie against FC Utrecht.
Feyenoord is currently third in the Dutch first division league
standings.
(Xinhua News Agency September 25, 2007)