Young-Pyo Lee, a South Korean footballer, was born on April 23, 1977 in Hongcheon. He is nicknamed “Choronghee” and is married to a Korean journalist and has two young daughters. This defender was included in the South Korea national football team in 1999, and as of May 2008, he has played 96 matches, scoring 5 times.
Young-Pyo Lee was initially a youth player at the Konkuk University in Seoul and started off his football career by joining the Anyang Cheetahs of the Korean K-League. During his two-year stint with the club, he featured in sixty seven matches, netting thrice. He signed with Philips Sport Vereniging (PSV) Eindhoven in 2003 and under the guidance of Guus Hiddink, the then manager of PSV, progressed to establish himself in the first team. His endurance, technique and ability in both defence and attack, made him the best left-back in the Dutch Eredivisie. Young-Pyo Lee and Park, a fellow countryman, helped PSV Eindhoven in its run to the semi-final of the 2005 Champions League. He played eighty two matches scoring once and despite PSV Eindhoven’s efforts to retain him, Young-Pyo Lee transferred to Tottenham Hotspur by signing on August 31, 2005.
Following his move to Tottenham Hotspur, Young-Pyo Lee was credited by Martin Jol, the Tottenham coach, as the best left-back in Holland, and one of the best left-backs in Europe. In his first week at Tottenham, he became very popular among fans and earned a place in the Premier League's best eleven. He along with Paul Stalteri, a Canadian right-back footballer, were instrumental in Tottenham’s defence to concede the fourth lowest number of goals in that season.
In the start of 2006-07 season, Young-Pyo Lee was moved to right full-back position, following which he received competition from Pascal Chimbonda, a French defender. After a knee injury, he came back to the first team following the poor performance of Benoît Assou-Ekotto, a fellow player, in a match against Arsenal. Young-Pyo Lee came on as a half-time substitute for Assou-Ekotto in that match and his improved performances paved way for him to join the starting line-up once again. He made his first start of the season on August 18, 2007, against Derby County and went on to play 70 matches for the club. Young-Pyo Lee joined Borussia Dortmund, a German football club, in 2008 and has made one appearance for the club.
