Daegu FC officially reported on the 16th, “Lee Keun-ho announced his retirement on the 16th,” and “Lee Keun-ho will play the 2023 K League 1 Final A Round (34-38R) and arrange a retirement event at home against Incheon UTD on December 3rd.”
Lee Keun-ho made his professional debut by joining Incheon in 2004. He then moved to Daegu in 2007 and spent his prime time playing 59 games, 23 goals and 9 assists in two seasons, joining the first senior national team. Afterwards, he joined J-League’s Jubilo Iwata and Gamba Osaka and advanced to overseas leagues.
Lee Keun-ho, who returned to the K League as a member of Ulsan in 2012, played in Sangju Sangmu (military service), El Jaishi (Qatar), Jeonbuk, Jeju, Gangwon and Ulsan, and returned to Daegu in 2021.
Lee Keun-ho showed respectful leadership inside and outside the ground, and collaborated to rank third in the K League 1 and advance to the round of 16 in ACL, the team’s highest record ever. In addition, he served as vice-captain this season and led the team to the Final A.
Lee Keun-ho, who is now taking off his soccer uniform and preparing for another life, said on his SNS on the 16th, “I’m about to leave the ground after this season, which is like everything in my life. He started his professional career in 2004 and has been running for 20 years until this year in 2023. That’s why this decision was not easy today, he said. “But I’m going to leave without regret because I put everything into it without regret.” Although it was not enough, I sincerely thank many fans for their love and support,” he said in a retirement speech.
Meanwhile, Lee Keun-ho has scored 80 goals and 53 assists in 385 K-League games (as of the 16th), won one K-League title, won two AFC Champions League titles, won the 2012 AFC Champions League Most Valuable Player (MVP)-Player of the Year award, and scored 19 goals in 84 A matches for the national team.