Gangwon FC striker Lee Sang-heon is emerging as the best striker in the K-League at the beginning of the season under the guidance of his old mentor, coach Yoon Jeong-hwan. On the 7th, he scored multiple goals in the 6th round away game against Jeonbuk Hyundai in the 2024 K League 1, leading the team to a 3-2 victory, and took the sole lead in scoring with a total of 7 goals. Lee Sang-heon, who had already surpassed his personal season’s best record, expressed his greed by saying that he would score at least 10 goals to meet Coach Yoon’s expectations.
Lee Sang-heon has been a sought-after resource since his age-group national team days, but he failed to get a chance at the highly competitive Ulsan Hyundai (now Ulsan HD). At the end of 2016, coach Yoon Jeong-hwan, who was the Ulsan head coach at the time, called up prospect Lee Sang-heon from the youth team Ulsan Hyundai High School to the first team. However, they parted ways the following year when Coach Yoon took over as coach of J-League Cerezo Osaka. Coach Yoon noticed Lee Sang-heon’s goal-scoring ability and high soccer intelligence and requested to sign him from Cerezo, but the request was canceled due to Ulsan’s high transfer fee request.
Lee Sang-heon is a multi-player who can play a variety of positions in the offensive line, including striker, left winger, and attacking midfielder. His natural sense and skills are good, and he was evaluated as a player who can make a difference in the offensive zone with his instantaneous speed and dribbling.
He spent more time with other teams than with Ulsan. In 2018, he went on loan to Jeonnam Dragons and increased his value with 5 points and 2 assists in 21 games. After returning to Ulsan and playing two seasons, he wore the Busan I-Park uniform in 2021. He recorded 10 points and 7 assists in 69 league games over 3 seasons in Busan. However, under the leadership of Park Jin-seop, he was pushed out of the first team, and at the call of his old teacher Yoon Jeong-hwan, he signed a contract with Gangwon as a free agent this season. Lee Sang-heon said in his recruitment interview at the time, “I met Director Yoon for the first time in 8 years. “He had a great influence on team selection,” he said.
After reuniting with director Yoon Jeong-hwan, he is showing off his original talent to the fullest. He showed off such brilliant moves that he could have scored a hat trick if he had not been substituted in the game against Jeonbuk. In the 29th minute of the second half, when the team was leading 2-1 after scoring the first goal through a penalty kick, they quickly rushed to the goal line as soon as the ball was taken away by pressure from the opposing side, and they shot Yago’s pass again and hit the net. In Gangwon FC’s offensive system, which produces many promised pattern plays, Lee Sang-heon’s opportunities to score goals are expected to increase in the future.
With seven goals at the beginning of this season, Lee Sang-heon has already equaled the seven goals he scored in Busan during the 2022 season. He appeared at a press conference as the Distinguished Player after the Jeonbuk game and was asked how many goals he was aiming for in the future, saying, “I didn’t originally have a point goal. When coach Yoon Jeong-hwan told him to do more than 10, he thought that he wanted to do more than 10. “He scored 7 goals, but I will help him score more goals,” he replied.
The key point to watch is whether the race for top scorer with Lee Dong-kyung, who had a close relationship in Ulsan as a senior at Hyundai High School, will continue. Lee Dong-kyung is in second place in scoring with 5 goals, 2 goals behind. Lee Sang-heon said, “We are only focusing on the soccer we want to play. “I feel like I’m lucky enough to get a chance, so I’m going to do my best in the given mission.”
Lee Sang-heon received high expectations as a player in charge of Ulsan’s under-22 quarters ahead of the 2019 season, but missed the beginning of the season due to a stress fracture suffered in the preseason. Meanwhile, Lee Dong-kyung showed outstanding performance in the same position and was pushed out of the competition for the starting role.
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