The Lekhwiya attacking midfielder talks about his football journey to the QSL, personal aims, title contenders, his toughest opponent, Laudrup and the South Korean National team. 

The prolific attacking midfielder has started the season strong with 6 goals and 5 assists from the first 10 games. In fact, he is the only midfielder among the top 5 scorers of the season so far and yet the Korean international looks hungry for more.

With the temporary break in the season due to the 2014 Gulf Cup of Nations, QSL Online sat with Nam to find out more about his past, how he has become one of the team’s most important components and what he hopes for his future. 



Tell us about your own journey into the beautiful game.
Well actually it was a friend of my fathers who spotted my potential when I was just 8 years old. He was close to the technical director of a good soccer team in Korea and he persuaded my father to move me to another school which was closer to the Club.
 
So how did you end up representing Reading in England?
When I was 16 I was part of a government programme that sent a group of three promising players from Korea abroad to play at good clubs and gain more experience.

The striker Seol Ki-hyeon had already gone to Reading, so I too was sent there to try and follow in his footsteps.

My experience at Reading F.C. was very useful, at the time the club was in the Premier League. It opened my eyes to the game, I got to see and play against many good teams. The game in England is very fast and you have very little time on the ball. My stamina improved dramatically and what impressed me was the intensity of the training in the UK. They trained as if it were a real game.



How did you end up in the Qatar Stars League?
The South Korean government programme at Reading only lasted one year, the club wanted to keep hold of me but at the time the UK government would not allow foreign youngsters to sign to clubs without national experience. So I couldn’t get a work permit and so I sadly didn’t join.

I left for France and whilst I was there I had a trail and signed my first professional contract in France with Valenciennes F.C. My debut was on 8 August 2009 against AS Nancy and I am currently the youngest Asian player to play in Ligue 1, I was 18.

But I found it difficult at the time to get enough games, whilst I was in France the former Lekhwiya head coach Djamel Belmadi tried on several occasions to get me to Qatar. Eventually I agreed. I could see that he had built a good team.

Were you ever afraid that perhaps you might get overlooked when it came to national selection if you didn’t play in Europe or Korea?
A lot of people criticized me for leaving France and said that I just came to Qatar for the money but the truth is that the level of Qatari football is pretty good. The real reason I came is that at the time I was young and it was difficult to break into the first time at Valenciennes. I really wanted some “game time” under my belt and that’s why I made the move, plus I saw that the QSL had some good players.

I was worried that the fans and National team selectors might forget me but luckily Hong Myung-Bo became the coach of the Olympic team at the time and he gave me a chance at the London Olympics in 2012 and so the fans remembered me and supported me.

I knew that in France the less I played, the more I would feel discouraged and possibly lose confidence and so I decided that it would be better to come to Qatar instead.

Now I am back in the National team and I think this will also improve my performances for Lekhwiya because I get to test myself against the best players from various countries. So I am very happy at the moment and it is an honour for me, as a player it is a dream come true.



Last season you had some of the best statistics in the league, do you still think you can improve and if yes, then in which areas?
Normally I don’t try to overanalyse my game; I just try to improve naturally, according to my intuition. Last season I had some injuries and I even had to have surgery on my throat but this season I haven’t had any problems and my main focus is to play as many games as possible, be more consistent and stay away from injuries.

The one area I really want to improve is my running off the ball. I want to cause problems for opposition defences with my runs when I don’t have the ball.

Who are the biggest challengers for the title this season? And who has been the toughest player you have played against in the QSL?
For sure Al Sadd is our biggest rival, they have many strong points. Lekhwiya is quite a young team whilst Al Sadd has a good mix of young and more experienced players.

The toughest player has to be Khalfan Ibrahim Khalfan and also Nadir Belhadj; these two players are very dangerous and have a lot of energy. Lekhwiya had a pre-season friendly against PSG and we invited Nadir Belhadj to play with us and that is when I noticed how good he is.

This season you seem to be playing in a more advanced position, has Laudrup instructed you to do this?
With the previous coach I was instructed to try and link the play between our attack and midfield. This meant I was often playing with my back to goal and just passing it backwards but now Laudrup wants me to go forward more often when I have the ball, which is why it may seem that I am higher up the pitch but really I am still in the same position as I was before.

How are you finding things with Laudrup at the helm?
I am playing as an attacking midfielder. To be honest this encouragement from Laudrup is great because I am naturally an attacking player, so I am enjoying my role more and he has given me extra confidence.
 
What would you like to say to the Korean community of Qatar?
When I play in the stadiums I sometimes see Korean flags and fans and this encourages me and makes me want to play better so I would like to invite the Korean community to come to the stadiums more. But to be honest I would like to invite anyone in the local area to come and see us and cheer the team. I think the quality of the game improves when there are more fans in the stadium.

 

What is your favoured position on the pitch?
As a youngster I was playing as the second striker and this is my natural position, with Lekhwiya we play a 4,2,3,1 formation.  We quite often dominate the possession in matches and so I often find myself very close to that “second striker” position that I favour any way.
 
Have you ever thought of going back to England or perhaps somewhere else in Europe?
Perhaps one day but right now I am very happy at Lekhwiya, I am still young I am only 23. I came to Qatar to gain more experience and improve my confidence. Lekhwiya is a very good team and I am feeling that we can do good things this season.
 
How do you keep yourself busy in Qatar?
There are a few other Korean footballers here in Qatar and I like to go eat out with them.