Asiad men's football captain asks teammates to lean into sense of urgency

Lee Gi-hyuk, captain of the South Korean men's football team at the Asian Games, said Monday he has called on his teammates to lean into their collective sense of urgency.

Lee, 26, is the oldest player for the under-23 national team at the Asian Games. The men's football tournament at the Asian Games is for players 23 years or younger, with each country allowed to carry up to three players over that age limit.

Lee, versatile defender for Gangwon FC, is joined by a pair of 24-year-olds in the over-age group: Celtic FC midfielder Yang Hyun-jun and Swansea City midfielder Eom Ji-sung.

"I had a meeting with the head coach (Lee Min-sung), and he told me he wanted me to become the leader of this group," Lee Gi-hyuk said before a training session at Toyota City Sports Park in Toyota, some 25 kilometers east of the main host city of Nagoya. Korea will begin their quest for a fourth consecutive gold medal with a Group D opener against Qatar at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Nagoya City Mizuho Park Rugby Field in Nagoya.

"I sensed this was a great opportunity for me to help my teammates as the oldest guy here. So I accepted captaincy right away," Lee added.

Lee, Yang and Eom also represented Korea at this year's FIFA World Cup, where the senior men's team got knocked out in the group stage with one win and two losses.

Lee, who played all three matches in his World Cup debut, said he will try to apply lessons learned from the experience to the Asian Games and share his knowledge with the rest of the team here.

"I want to make sure the things I learned at the World Cup will not be wasted," Lee said. "And if I can share my experience with others, then I think it will make our team better."

Specifically, Lee said he wants his players to bank on their desperation for the Asian Games gold.

Korean male athletes that win an Asian Games gold medal receive an exemption from the mandatory military service. For athletes in professional sports such as football, an Asian Games gold means an uninterrupted career path that can also take them to big European clubs on lucrative deals. Some of Korea's best players of this generation, including Son Heung-min and Lee Kang-in, received their military exemptions by winning Asian Games titles.

"At the World Cup, many of my older teammates had Asian Games experience, and they told me playing on the sense of urgency for the gold is really important," Lee said. "I delivered the same kind of message to my team here."

Lee himself is willing to do whatever it takes to help the team, even if it means a position switch.

He played as a center back at the World Cup, but he has also handled big minutes as a left back and a central midfielder for his K League 1 club, Gangwon FC. He revealed that coach Lee asked him to take on the role of a holding midfielder against Qatar on Tuesday.

"The coached wanted me to be the steady presence in the middle, linking up with attacking players and helping out defenders," Lee Gi-hyuk said. "As captain, I believe I also have to be the leader on the pitch to make life easier for our team. I think my job is to maintain good balance for the team."