Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Take a look at one of the AFC Champions League 2016 key players, Lekhwiya's Nam Tae-hee, as the competition's Group Stage looms larger.
KEY PLAYER: NAM TAE-HEE – Lekhwiya
AFC Champions League Record
Appearances: 31
Goals: 5
PROFILE
Four years ago Nam Tae-hee had already ensured his name would go down in Lekhwiya records as the Korea Republic international scored the Qatari club’s first ever continental goal at the 2012 AFC Champions League, and he has not looked back since.
Hailed as a wonderkid at French club Valenciennes, with whom he became the youngest Asian to play in Ligue 1 at 18-years-old, Nam has flourished at Lekhwiya since moving to the Middle East in December 2012.
Nam has been a fixture of the side that has dominated the Qatari domestic scene and has earned a league championship winner’s medal in three of his four seasons at the club so far as well as ranking second on Lekhwiya’s scorers list in the Qatar Stars League.
Having helped the Doha-based side reached the Round of 16 on two occasions, the time is now for 24-year-old Nam and Lekhwiya to make new history.
IMPORTANCE TO TEAM
A direct and all-action midfielder Nam will be even more heavily relied upon now that he has lost partner-in-crime Vladimir Weiss who left the club ahead of this year’s AFC Champion League.
Nam is both an important source of both goals and assists for Lekhwiya and is comfortable on either side of the pitch and across the midfield line.
ONES TO WATCH
Tunisian forward Youssef Msakni is another talented import in the Lekhwiya forward line who can hurt defences while Karim Boudiaf and Mohammed Muntari are stars of the Qatar national team that have posted a perfect record in 2018 FIFA World Cup - 2019 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifying so far.