KEY POINTS:
He has a shot that reputedly reaches 140km/h and Ki-Hyung Lee may play a key role in deciding which club wins this season's NZFC title.
Although he is a defensive midfielder for Auckland City, Lee's nickname - which translates as "cannon shooter" - reveals he has skills not
entirely defensive. His shots and passes were likened by his translator to "Robin Hood's arrows".
One of his shots from the 2002 K-League All Stars game is said to have been clocked at 140km/h and his journey to New Zealand is the first step in a master plan he hoped would see him return home as a coach with experience here and in Europe and South America.
After a successful 11-year professional career in South Korea's K-League, New Zealand - "the safest country in the world," according to Lee - appealed as a good place to raise his family and learn English.
Lee first saw Auckland City in action at last year's Club World Cup and said his primary goal as an Auckland player was to help his new team qualify for next year's tournament. The 33-year-old said he wanted to play for Auckland City for two or three seasons.
Lee played international football for more than a decade, representing his country at the 1993 under-20 World Cup in Australia (where South Korea were eliminated on goal difference) and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (knocked out on goal average).
He won 47 senior caps for South Korea from 1995 to 2002 but never played at the World Cup finals.
Lee said he was still mystified by his exclusion from the Korean squad for the 1998 World Cup in France, given he played in all the qualifying games.
Lee picked as his most memorable match a 2-1 triumph over Japan which clinched Korea's qualification for the 1998 tournament. He set up the late winning goal.
To gauge the intensity of this rivalry, it's worth remembering that Korea was ruled by Japan for 35 years until the end of World War II.
He said he missed out in 2002 after failing to make enough of an impression with the national team because he had not fully recovered from a knee operation. Korea went on to reach the semifinals as hosts.
Lee said he has found New Zealand "peaceful, quiet and calm", an impression which could equally be applied to his new footballing environment, given he used to play in front of crowds of up to 50,000.
Waitakere loom as the likeliest side to challenge three-time champions Auckland City. They are bolstered by several new players, including former Knights utility Neil Emblen, who 10 years ago was signed by Crystal Palace for £2m to play in the English Premier League.
Emblen proved his worth on his Waitakere debut, setting up the equaliser and scoring the winner in a 2-1 win over AS Manu Ura in an O-League group game on Wednesday.
"Jonathan Perry played a ball over the top and I used my 36-year-old pace to get on to it and smack it home - the Tahitians must have been a bit tired."
However, he injured an ankle during the match and missed Waitakere's opening game against Wellington yesterday.
Emblen felt he finished the 2006-07 A-League season strongly enough to show he could still excel at that level. A new rule restricting clubs to four foreigners, however, diminished his chances of following coach Ricki Herbert to the Phoenix.
"I spoke with Ricki a couple of times and I understood totally that my age was against me. He was going for younger Brazilians and that was better for their situation."
Now Emblen, who expects to gain residency soon, is looking forward to the NZFC as part of a Waitakere team he believes shows plenty of promise.
"Benjamin Totori is a player who could make the step up to the A-League. He needs to become more of a team player but he's got real talent and he's still young.
"I'm surprised Daniel Koprivcic hasn't had more international recognition and of the young ones coming through, I've got high hopes for Blair Konik."
He watched Auckland's 6-0 thumping of AS Manu Ura with interest: "They've got lots of attacking flair and power, and plenty of goals in their game. The Korean boy [Lee] looks a really good player, neat and tidy."
