(ATTN: ADDS comments in paras 9-12)
By Yoo Jee-ho
SEOUL, May 29 (Yonhap) -- With the French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the final, their South Korean midfielder Lee Kang-in will look to become just the second player from his country to win the prestigious UEFA Champions League title this weekend.
PSG, having already lifted three domestic trophies this season, will take on Inter Milan in the final of the top European club competition at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 9 p.m. Saturday (4 a.m. Sunday in South Korea). PSG are going for their first Champions League crown, while Inter are chasing their fourth.
Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain poses with the medal after winning the French Cup over Stade de Reims at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on May 24, 2025, in this AFP photo. (Yonhap)
Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain poses with the medal after winning the French Cup over Stade de Reims at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on May 24, 2025, in this AFP photo. (Yonhap)
Only one South Korean player, former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung, has won a Champions League title. However, Park did not play in the 2008 final when his team defeated Chelsea on penalties. In a move that irked many South Korean fans, Man United head coach Alex Ferguson didn't even put Park on the substitutes' bench for the final. After starting both legs of the semifinals, Park was reduced to a spectator in the stands for the championship match.
When Park did take the field in the finals of the 2009 and 2011 tournaments, Man United lost to FC Barcelona on both occasions, by 2-0 and then 3-1.
In the 2019 final, Son Heung-min and Tottenham Hotspur fell to Liverpool 2-0.
Lee now has a chance to become the first South Korean to play for the Champions League-winning club in the final. However, given his recent standing with PSG, Lee appears to be a long shot to take the field.
He has logged 11 matches in the Champions League this season but did not play in both legs of the quarterfinals and again in the semifinals.
Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain (R) battles teammate Warren Zaire-Emery for the ball during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League final football at the club's training camp in Poissy, France, on May 21, 2025, in this AFP photo. (Yonhap)
Lee Kang-in of Paris Saint-Germain (R) battles teammate Warren Zaire-Emery for the ball during a training session ahead of the UEFA Champions League final football at the club's training camp in Poissy, France, on May 21, 2025, in this AFP photo. (Yonhap)
Lee's last official match for PSG came on May 10 against Montpellier in Ligue 1. He logged the full 90 minutes then, the first time he'd played an entire Ligue 1 match since January.
In an interview posted on PSG's English-language website, Lee said being in the Champions League final is "a reward" for the season that he and his teammates have had.
"I think we've done a very good job since the start of the season," Lee said. "We're very happy. We're going to prepare in the best possible way so we can win."
The 24-year-old said his team's cohesiveness will be the difference maker in the final.
"I think the fact that we're more united, trying to help each other, trying to be a team, working towards the same goal, is what has got us to this stage. I'm sure we'll continue on this path," he said. "We're pursuing the same objective, which is to win, and I think that's what will enable us to get the best results. I think that's what will be most important factor."
There is a bit of South Korean football history at stake for Lee.
Son and Tottenham won the second-tierUEFA Europa League title on May 21. A PSG victory will make Son and Lee only the second South Korean set of players to win both of the European continental titles in the same season.
In 2008, when Park won the Champions League title, countrymen Kim Dong-jin and Lee Ho claimed the Europa League trophy with the Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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