Koreans in Europe: Lee gets assist on debut as Cho scores again

Cho Gue-sung scored his sixth goal of the season as Lee Han-beom debuted and picked up an assist for FC Midtjylland in a Danish Super League clash with Hvidovre on Sunday.

Cho Gue-sung, right, congratulates Lee Han-beom after his FC Midtjylland debut at the Pro Ventilation Arena in Hvidovre, Denmark on Sunday in an image posted to the club's X, formerly Twitter account. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The Korean presence at Denmark’s FC Midtjylland has been gradually growing in recent months.

First there was Cho Gue-sung, signed in July and already with six goals and two assists on the season, then there was 21-yaer-old Lee Han-beom, who made his debut this week, and then, inexplicably, there was Park Ji-sung and Patrice Evra selling coffee outside the arena.

For two of those three — Park and his largely unexplained barista cameo happened last week — it was another good week of football.

Cho scored his sixth goal of the season on Sunday as Midtjylland beat Hvidovre 4-1 on the road, converting a penalty in the 28th minute.

Cho, who played the full 90 minutes, was then joined on the pitch by defender Lee in the 88th minute in his Midtjylland debut. Lee did not waste any time making an impact on the game, assisting Ola Brynhildsen for the fourth goal just two minutes later.

That leaves Lee with an assist to his name with just eight minutes of football to his name in Denmark, a success rate that very few players can claim.

Midtjylland currently sit third on the table with eight wins, three draws and three loses so far this season, but have not lost a league game since Aug. 28.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]