‘Multiplayer’, a term commonly used in soccer, refers to a player who can play multiple positions. And here is a ‘multiplayer’ who is not a player directly on the field, but plays a variety of roles in the football world. It is SBS Sports commentator Lee Joo-hyun.

Like most domestic commentators, he is also a commentator from ‘elite players’. Taking advantage of his experience of going through the field in the past K3 League and Thailand, he is currently broadcasting French Ligue 1 as a member of SBS SPORTS, starting with K-League broadcasting in 2017.

Among other names calling him, there is also the ‘representative and manager’ of the independent club Lower Knight. Inspired by subunite, one of the most expensive gems on earth, it was established with the meaning of ‘find hidden players like subunite and connect them to a good team’. There, he takes on the role of a coach and agent for all who dream and love football.

I heard the story of Lee Joo-hyun, a ‘soccer world multi-player’ who started as a soccer player and is actively working as an agent, commentator, and club representative and manager.

Soccer player Lee Joo-hyun

He is active under various names such as commentator, sub-night representative and manager, but he started as an elite soccer player. After attending Deokcheon Elementary School and Bugok Middle School, he graduated from Dongbuk High School, which was the FC Seoul U-18 team at the time. However, he suffered an ankle injury in his third year of high school before going to college, and later entered Howon University, but he could not continue the life he wanted as a soccer player.

After much consideration, he decided to enlist in the military. It was the path he chose with the determination to quit football. However, he unexpectedly succeeds in regaining his driving force to continue his career there. After regaining his confidence, he knocked on the door after being discharged from the K3 League.

Life as a soccer player, which started over with the confidence gained during the military service, was not easy. He began to feel impatient with his lack of progress as a player and went into a slump again. Feeling the need to change his mood, he advances to Thailand, a little unfamiliar place, and ends his short career there. He directly heard the beginning and end of ‘Soccer Player Lee Joo-hyun’ from him.

Q. How did you start to become a soccer player?

I went to a running competition as a school representative and took second place in the 100m competition, and naturally, a scouting offer for the soccer club came. But when the offer came, he didn’t. Afterwards, as a hobby, he played games and scored goals at the soccer club he attended every weekend, learning the fun of his soccer and convincing his parents to start it.

Q. What kind of player was Lee Joo-hyun, a soccer player in his elementary and middle school days?

There were times when I was in my prime, times when I was at rock bottom, I went to the national team when I was young, became the top scorer, won many awards, and won national championships. I have a lot of winning experience. I was a hard worker.

Q. After entering Dongbuk High School, what part did you feel the difference between academy soccer and professional football?

The downside of the academy was that I had to give a lot of grades. As a result, there was a lot of coercive atmosphere, and since it was not a professional team, it was not systematic. Northeast High School had a well-made environment in which to exercise.

Q. After that, you will go to Howon University. How was your life at Howon University?

It was terrible. When I was in high school, I played all the games of seniors in high school. Naturally, I believed that there was a possibility of going to college or being nominated first, and I saw it positively and ran, but I injured my ankle in my senior year of high school. The team’s grades weren’t getting better, I wasn’t doing well, and there weren’t many schools I could go to while withdrawing from college.

Then, after receiving a call from the coach of Howon University, I decided to go on to college. However, I was in a good team called Dongbuk High School, and when I went there, I was in a rural area, and the environment was very different from Seoul. There was also a difference in the goals of the players. I lost a lot of motivation in that area.

Q. Why did you enlist in the military early at the age of 21?

At the time, his motive was Son Heung-min, and by the time Son Heung-min went from Hamburg to Leverkusen, there were many articles saying that he was on a winning streak. It was sad to see that. Athletes I worked with went pro and went to a lot of good universities, but I had a difficult time at home and regretted going to Howon University. (During Dongbuk High School) I received support from FC Seoul and Howon University, but it cost more than Dongbuk High School. I chose to enlist because it was difficult to live at home and the bar I was aiming for was not coming out.

Q. Did you not let go of your dream even after enlisting?

To be honest, I didn’t want to play soccer until I was first class. Then, I felt the happiness I felt while playing soccer as a child while in the army. Since most of the military are ordinary people who did not participate in elite sports, I was the best at soccer, to the extent that I (former player) would say ‘playing Son Heung-min’. It was the happiness that came from there. And when I became a corporal, my family got better and I said that I would apply at home if I wanted to play soccer again, and from then on, I started exercising again.

Q. It was an unfamiliar place to enter Southeast Asia after being discharged from the military. What was the trigger?

After being discharged from the military, he started working out at Seoul United through a rumor. However, even after going to the K3 League, it was the same as before enlisting. I think I was impatient with the thought that there was no progress even after going to Seoul United. I also wanted to play abroad. I thought that Southeast Asia was the only overseas team that could realistically challenge. A veteran player who was in the Chuncheon Citizen Soccer Team is a player who has been active in Southeast Asia. He looked at my workout style, made recommendations, and arranged for an agent.

Q. How was the football fever in Thailand?

it was good. As you probably know when you go, Bangkok is very downtown. He likes soccer enough to wear the uniform of his favorite team, and when there is a Premier League or soccer game, a culture of drinking beer and watching soccer has developed. I think the environment itself is more comfortable than domestic.

Q. What is the most memorable match while playing in Thailand?

There was a cup competition match, but the opponent got a violent foul and a fight broke out. He also excelled on the bench. My fists and feet were flying like a gang fight, but suddenly a double side kick passed. It was a Korean colleague who did taekwondo. The opposing player collapsed and the match was eventually stopped. It was even in the newspaper the next day.

Q. What made you decide to retire?

The season was out due to a cheekbone depression injury. Also, in the process of renewing his contract, the team was moved as the salary negotiations he wanted did not go well. It was the first time that there were no Koreans there. The accommodation was good, but I felt like I couldn’t hold on because I wasn’t prepared because I had to eat and sleep alone. If it wasn’t for that, I think he could have gone to a better team. Being alone, what am I going to do if I quit this job? got me thinking

He described the life of ‘soccer player Lee Joo-hyun’ as ‘weed’. He may not be remembered by anyone, but it is because he achieved all the careers he dreamed of. After finishing his career as a ‘weed’ player, he began preparing for the next step as ‘human Lee Joo-hyun’.

Agent Lee Joo-hyun

One of the paths he chose after deciding to retire early as a soccer player was as an agent. But he says he’s ashamed to call himself an agent. This is because he did not formally study agent work. It started by sending players abroad using the infrastructure and human resources of Southeast Asia, where he spent his days as a player.토스카지노

At first, it was simply because I wanted to help players who were in the same situation as myself in the past. He started to build relationships with various players, and now he is in charge of managing star players such as Jo So-hyun (Tottenham Hotspur FC Women) and Kim Jeong-mi (Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels). He heard directly from him the life of ‘agent Lee Joo-hyun’, who he chose after being a soccer player.

Q. Why did you choose to work as an agent?

Originally, I started because I wanted to help the players rather than trying to work as an agent. I used the word agent because it is a job that a person with a job does, and I don’t say agent anywhere. They say that it is possible to cooperate in this area simply because there is some infrastructure overseas, but they do not claim to be a professional agent.

Q. What can you introduce to people dreaming of being an agent or curious people?

A sports agent, in terms of a celebrity, becomes that person’s manager. I think the purpose of what the players want should be resolved through an agent. Whether it’s salary negotiations, the transfer process, bringing in advertisements, or bringing in sponsors, shouldn’t everything be made with this player? I think that’s a great agent.

Q. You are also in charge of the management of Cho So-hyun. What is the trigger?

It is a relationship made by player Lee Jae-sung. In 2020, I went to see the game of Lee Jae-sung, who is playing for Holstein Kiel. There, I met Cho So-hyun, and after the game, I proposed to him at a meal at Lee Jae-seong’s house. In the case of Cho So-hyun, she represented women’s soccer and was well-known, so I thought she might be getting an agent job on good terms at the time, but I heard that wasn’t the case. Sohyeon also accepted my suggestion, and we started working together from then on.

Q. It’s about helping players. Have you ever felt proud or rewarded while working as an agent?

A friend who worked out until college didn’t have a team, so I was introduced through the coach, but after talking to him, he was willing to go to Southeast Asia. If you exercise together, you can feel how much (this player) will work, and although it was very weak, I tried it because I had the will and desire. It was difficult to find a team in Thailand. My parents liked it too. I was proud when I received fruit for the first time and saw my parents genuinely happy regardless of the amount.

The life of Joo-Hyun Lee, commentator, representative of Subnight and general manager, continues in Part ②.