# Lee Eul-yong

Lee Eul-yong (Korean: 이을용; born 8 September 1975) is a South Korean football coach, manager and former player.

## Early life

Lee was born in Taebaek, Gangwon, and attended high school in Gangneung. He continued his football career during his school days, but he failed to join a university football club. He stopped playing football for a while before receiving an offer to join semi-professional club Korea Railroad. His son, Lee Tae-seok, too is a football player.

## International career

Lee was part of the South Korean national team in the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Noted for his accurate kicks including free-kicks, he provided two assists against Poland and the United States, and scored a free-kick against Turkey. After the World Cup, he transferred to Trabzonspor with the help of Tınaz Tırpan.
In September 2006, after a match against Chinese Taipei, Lee announced that he would retire from the national team to focus on FC Seoul and also to make way for younger players in the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.

## Personal life
### Internet meme

Lee is well known by most South Koreans and other Asian football fans for a famous incident which is sometimes referred as "Eul-yong Ta (을용타)," and roughly translated as 'Eul-yong Strike/Smash'. The incident occurred during a match against China in the inaugural East Asian Cup in December 2003.
During the second half of the game, Chinese forward Li Yi kicked Lee in the shins immediately after he finished his pass. Visually upset with Li's violent play, Lee slapped Li on the back of his head. Li Yi started rolling on the pitch grabbing his head in an apparent exaggeration. For a while the entire Chinese and Korean squad ran toward the scene but further conflict did not occur, as the referee awarded a yellow card for Li and red card for Lee. Korea defeated China in the match, and Lee became the source of a popular internet meme after the incident.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of 23 October 2011
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | National cup | National cup | League cup | League cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Korea Railroad | 1995 | Semipro League | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | ? | ? |
| Sangmu FC (draft) | 1996 | Semipro League | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | ? | ? |
| Sangmu FC (draft) | 1997 | Semipro League | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | ? | ? |
| Sangmu FC (draft) | Total | Total | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | — | — | ? | ? |
| Bucheon SK | 1998 | K League | 14 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 3 |
| Bucheon SK | 1999 | K League | 17 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 1 |
| Bucheon SK | 2000 | K League | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 5 |
| Bucheon SK | 2001 | K League | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 |
| Bucheon SK | 2002 | K League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 |
| Bucheon SK | Total | Total | 90 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 38 | 0 | — | — | 137 | 11 |
| Trabzonspor (loan) | 2002–03 | Süper Lig | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 21 | 0 |
| FC Seoul | 2003 | K League | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 0 |
| FC Seoul | 2004 | K League | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| FC Seoul | Total | Total | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 28 | 0 |
| Trabzonspor | 2004–05 | Süper Lig | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| Trabzonspor | 2005–06 | Süper Lig | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | 34 | 1 |
| Trabzonspor | Total | Total | 55 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | 66 | 1 |
| FC Seoul | 2006 | K League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| FC Seoul | 2007 | K League | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | — | 32 | 1 |
| FC Seoul | 2008 | K League | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 |
| FC Seoul | Total | Total | 57 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 1 | — | — | 78 | 1 |
| Gangwon FC | 2009 | K League | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 |
| Gangwon FC | 2010 | K League | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 0 |
| Gangwon FC | 2011 | K League | 19 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 |
| Gangwon FC | Total | Total | 58 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 64 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 306 | 13 | 25 | 0 | 58 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 394 | 14 |

### International

    Results list South Korea's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Lee Eul-yong :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 29 June 2002 | Daegu, South Korea | Turkey | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2002 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | 29 September 2003 | Incheon, South Korea | Nepal | 8–0 | 16–0 | 2004 AFC Asian Cup qualification |
| 3 | 4 June 2006 | Edinburgh, Scotland | Ghana | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2015 | Cheongchun FC Hungry Eleven | Himself |
| 2020 | We Can Game | Himself |
| 2022 | Gundesliga | Himself |
| 2022–present | Kick A Goal Season 3 | Himself |

## Honours
### Player

Sangmu FC
* Korean Semi-professional League (Autumn): 1996, 1997
* Korean National Championship: 1996
Bucheon SK
* Korean League Cup: 2000+
Trabzonspor
* Turkish Cup: 2003
FC Seoul
* Korean League Cup runner-up: 2007
South Korea
* EAFF Championship: 2003
Individual
* K League All-Star: 2001, 2003, 2004

### Television personality

List of awards and nominations received by TV personality Lee Eul-yong :
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| SBS Entertainment Awards | 2022 | Leader of the Year Award | Kick A Goal | Won | |
* ↑ Shared with Ha Seok-ju, Kim Byung-ji, Kim Tae-young, Choi Jin-cheul, Choi Sung-yong, Hyun Young-min, Lee Young-pyo, Oh Beom-seok, Cho Jae-jin and Baek Ji-hoon