"I need to learn while sticking around."
Joo Min-gyu (34) and Lee Myung-jae (31, Ulsan HD), two veteran national team players who are wearing the national flag side by side after desperate efforts, also have stars they want to meet. They are Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham Hotspur), the captain of the Korean national soccer team. Joo expects to meet as the same striker, and Lee Myung-jae as the partner who works together. Joo Min-gyu, who is the oldest player in the national team's history (33 years old, 333 days old), plans to learn Son's strengths. After the second leg of the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League quarterfinals against Jeonbuk Hyundai at Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan on the 12th, he told reporters, "He is the best player in the world. I also want to go in now and see and learn from Son's strengths." "Although the call-up period is short, I will join the national team with the intention of learning the strengths (Son Heung-min) while traveling together," Joo said. "All I can do is put my head on it and run hard and earnestly. I will try my best thinking that I am the youngest." Lee Myung-jae, another member of the late national team, has high expectations even as he can imagine him working with Son. Lee Myung-jae was selected for the first time as a member of the national team at the age of 30 years and 128 days, ranking sixth in the oldest team ever. Notably, Lee Myung-jae is a defensive resource on the left side, and it is expected that he will work with Son after joining the offensive. "I want to meet the best (Son) Heung-min in Korea. I will try my best to match it," Lee Myung-jae said. "Actually, I imagined playing in the same line yesterday evening (11th). If we play together, I will do my best to support him from behind." According to the Korea Football Association, this is the first time for Joo Min-gyu to wear the national flag, including the national team by age. Lee Myung-jae has played in the U-20 national team from 2012 to 2013 and the U-23 national team from 2014 to 2015, but he has no record of participating in major tournaments. On this day, Ulsan supporters congratulated Joo Min-gyu and Lee Myung-jae on joining the national team, saying, "The late bloom is more beautiful." Joo Min-gyu and Lee Myung-jae will hold the first training session for the A national team at Goyang Stadium on the 18th along with Cho Hyun-woo, Um Won-sang, Seol Young-woo and Kim Young-kwon.