Lee Kang-in nominated for La Liga Team of the Season

Football

Published: 03 May. 2023, 16:20 Updated: 03 May. 2023, 17:52

Lee Kang-in nominated for La Liga Team of the Season

Mallorca midfielder Lee Kang-in, right, celebrates with his teammate Vedat Muriqi after scoring during a La Liga match against Athletic Club at Son Moix stadium in Mallorca, Spain on Monday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Lee Kang-in was nominated for the La Liga Team of the Season on Tuesday, the only Mallorca player to make the 47-man shortlist announced by the Spanish league and EA Sports.

Lee, a fiery 21-year-old with six goals to his name this season, was among 18 midfielders shortlisted for the team.

The 15 best players of the season will be chosen through a combination of popular vote, player selections and a panel of experts. Voting opened Tuesday on EA.com and closes Friday, with the final squad to be announced on May 15.

Lee’s nomination comes as little surprise based on his recent performance. A versatile midfielder with a serious turn of speed and some fancy footwork among his arsenal, Lee has been a well-watched player for years as a promising playmaker with energy to spare.

That reputation increased dramatically this season as Lee stepped out from the assists role and starting causing some serious damage: Half of his goals this season came in the last three games, including a goal against Athletic Club on Monday.

That goal — started by Lee as he out dribbled a player at the halfway line and finished by Lee after a one-two in the box — was par for the course for the young midfielder who scored a brace against Getafe with some serious panache just a week earlier.

A week before that, Lee completed nine successful runs in a game against Celta Vigo, the most completed by any Mallorca player in a single game since 2009 according to statistics accumulator Opta.

Lee’s ability to keep hold of the ball has long been a major factor in his game. In 2021 he completed 10 runs in a game against Celta Vigo while playing for Valencia, and that season the Center for International Sports Research ranked him as the top player under 21 in the big five European leagues for dribble success rate.

Lee joined Mallorca two years ago after a decade in Valencia and has been having a particularly good season, scoring two goals and picking up four assists so far and earning a player of the month nomination along the way.

Lee has established himself an especially effective playmaker, using fancy footwork to beat defenders and his impressive accuracy to get the ball up to the front.

That skill was on display in Qatar, where he very quickly made a name for himself, appearing in all four games and making a mark in his World Cup debut against Uruguay, when Lee and Cho Gue-sung came on as late substitutes and immediately breathed new life into a flagging team.

Against Ghana, Lee came on in the 57th minute and within less than a minute he had driven a beautiful cross into the box for Cho to head home.

That one-minute assist likely turned more than a few heads in Europe’s big five leagues, where attention has already been on the young midfielder.

With so much success in the last month to add on to that moment in the sun in Qatar, it’s looking increasingly likely that this may be Lee’s one chance to compete for a spot on the La Liga Team of the Season: He may have moved on to greener pastures by the time next season rolls around.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]