Lee Kangin has been on a tear recently for the Korean National Team, scoring goals and notching assists at a blistering pace as of late. Paris Saint Germain fans see this and say, “Where is this with us?”, and I get it. To the untrained eye, it might seem like PSG fans have a valid point here. But what it comes down to is tactics and where Lee Kangin is placed in Luis Enrique’s lineup compared to what is asked of him and his position at the Korean National Team.
For the Korean National Team, Lee Kangin is asked to play on the right wing, a position he is comfortable in. While not a natural winger, given his lack of top-end speed, he is creative and skilled enough to play inverted on the right side. This has led to a lot of highlight-worthy dribbles, passes, and goals He is also asked to carry the majority of the offensive load with Captain Son Heungmin. Fellow players look for Kangin on offense to make something happen. What also impacts Kangin’s success and stats for the Korean National team is the level of competition. No disrespect to their opponents, but you can’t compare Ligue 1 defenders to defenders for Singapore, China, etc. I know Ligue 1 gets a lot of flak, but the level of physicality and speed is no joke. I’d even say it’s more physical than La Liga, where Kangin went off for his monster season at Mallorca.
At PSG, Kangin’s role is much different. He’s mostly played in the midfield, specifically as an initiator instead of a playmaker. Not only does Luis Enrique highly value possession, keeping it and slowly picking apart their opposition (death of a thousand passes), but when a chance is finally taken on offense, Kangin is nowhere near the top of the pecking order, and he knows that. I think in his mind, he knew getting the ball to Mbappe (although that won’t happen this coming season), Dembele, and Barcola, was an overall better chance for the team over him trying to do something himself. Being his first year at a big club like PSG, I’m sure things can be intimidating and it was probably difficult to find his exact role for this team. Even when he dribbles for PSG, he chooses the safer option and doesn’t challenge the defense. This probably has to do with Luis Enrique’s emphasis on possession and keeping possession, so there is a limitation on what Kangin can try to ensure he doesn’t lose the ball. The only frustrating thing about this was watching players like Dembele, Barcola, and Mbappe take their chances and not always have success while trying. I strongly believe if given the same opportunities as those aforementioned players, Kangin can have similar, if not more efficient levels of success. I truly believe that.
This shows that Kangin is a very coachable player, and can adapt to different roles, positions, and tactics. He’s come a long way from only being a “classic 10”, a position that seems to be getting phased out of today’s game. His game is now versatile enough to fit whatever role is needed, and based on his history it doesn’t seem he strays too much from the game plan. Even when given the rare opportunity to play RW for PSG, it’s rarely with an offensive emphasis, as Kangin has to play off of world-class RB Achraf Hakimi, and again Kangin’s role is to highlight and accentuate Hakimi’s runs down the flank, instead of focusing on his own dribbling or penetration.
There are two things I think Kangin has improved tremendously on during his short time so far at PSG, which is ironically showing up more when he plays for the Korean National team than it does when he plays at PSG.
1. His shooting/finishing has improved dramatically. Besides his lack of elite speed, I think the other knock on Kangin has been his ability to shoot and shoot with efficiency. While skillful with his feet, there was a time when his power and range on his shots were questionable, to say the least. Well, those questions have been answered, he’s scoring from all over the place now, and his shot variety is what has impressed me as of late. Curler? No problem. Knuckleball? Check. Near post (the Mbappe lesson)? Got it. Right foot canon? Affirmative. Before this season, I can remember maybe 1-2 goals from Kangin from outside the box. This season, for PSG/KNT he probably already has 4-5, and given his efficiency on long-range bombs I only expect that number to grow. Here are a few examples for your viewing pleasure.
2. Off the ball movement. When playing as not “the guy”, getting involved with your off-the-ball movement should be a focus. Kangin never had to do that, as he was always the guy with the ball trying to create. But, as more of an initiator now for PSG, Kangin has to work off PSG’s playmakers and crash the box when necessary. This has led to a lot of easy goals for Kangin this season, and he’s even starting to incorporate this type of play for the KNT. Just look at his most recent goal against China. It was a pretty typical goal Kangin would score for PSG. He initiated the offense by getting the ball to Son Heungmin with a beautiful diagonal pass, and instead of just sitting there, at full speed, he crashed the box, allowing him to collect the loose ball and score. Kangin keeps adding to his bag, and at only 23 years of age, I still believe he’s only scratching the surface of what he is capable of. Here are a couple of examples of that.
With Kylian Mbappe gone, I expect a big jump from year 1 to year 2 for Kangin. He did the same thing at Mallorca after a pretty ho-hum season 1. I expect his role to expand for PSG, as it will take a combined effort from numerous players to fill the void left by Mbappe. I think PSG fans are in for a treat this upcoming season, a lot like how Vitinha leveled up, I think Kangin will do the same in year 2. I think we’re going to see more of a KNT version of Kangin for PSG, and then the question of “why doesn’t Kangin do what he does for the KNT for PSG?”, will no longer need to be asked.
I thought this analysis was excellent and spot on, regarding Lee Kang In.
He went from fringe player at La Liga to role player with PSG. The first year is an extremely steep learning curve ,and Lee Kang In proved himself to be adaptable and "read the room."
I hope this coming season he gets more room to grow and shine.
Thank you for that article, as I said earlier, great writing!