Veteran goalie wins MVP award after sterling season, comeback

SEOUL, Dec. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korean goalie Lee Woon-jae was named the Most Valuable Player in the country's domestic K-league on Tuesday, capping a superb season and a much-publicized comeback to the World Cup squad following a year-long ban.

Lee, 35, who plays for the Suwon Samsung Bluewings, was banned from the national
squad after he was found to have taken several teammates to a bar during an Asian
tournament in Indonesia.
The ban was lifted early last month, allowing the veteran player to return to the
national team battling its way to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
His professional team also captured its second consecutive league title,
conceding an average of 0.74 goal in 34 matches this season and paving the way
for Lee to become the first-ever goalie and the oldest-ever player to win the
award.
Lee, who received a cash prize of 10 million won (US$6,900), was a mainstay of
the national squad when he reached the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup, jointly
hosted by South Korea and Japan.
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