Lee You-hyeon, Gangwon FC's New Captain Leading the Bears Into the AFC Champions League Elite

When thinking of some of the most understatedly impactful signings in recent memory, Gangwon FC’s newest captain Lee You-hyeon has to be in the conversation as amongst the best. Initially signed on loan from Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in 2024, the 28-year-old became a reliable central midfielder for the provincial club, and was an important part of the Bears’ squad which qualified for the AFC Champions League Elite for the very first time. Signed permanently in December of the same year, the central midfielder continues to stay an integral part of the club’s future.

In just under two weeks, Gangwon will make their debut outing in the aforementioned Champions League with a home fixture against Shanghai Shenhua, who currently sit second place in the Chinese Super League. On how preparations are going for this, Lee You-hyeon states: “The league schedule has been a little tight so far. There's been one too many games for us, but we will take advantage of this international break and starting tomorrow (September 5th), which is our first day back from the break, we will start preparing for both the K League and the Champions League games so that we can have great results in both competitions.”

It’s of course an exciting time for Gangwon as a whole, who were founded in 2008 - making them a relatively new club in a wider context - and until last season's rise to title challengers had only finished as high as sixth in the table. Still, the Bears’ new captain says the team are staying level-headed for the challenges ahead. “Although the Champions League is a huge tournament, the players aren’t getting too excited or getting too emotional at the moment because we also have a lot of experienced players who have gone through serious seasons in the Champions League. So our player’s stance for now is that we just have to follow the head coach’s lead, and then everything else will be alright,” he explains.

This year, one major change for the team was the departure of manager Yoon Jong-hwan. Appointed in the summer of 2023, the current Incheon United boss first achieved a promotion/relegation playoff triumph for Gangwon against Gimpo FC, before overhauling the team’s style of play completely the year after. Proactive, direct and able to lean on players such as Yang Min-hyeok, Hwang Mun-ki and Lee Sang-heon for consistent goal contributions, Gangwon became one of the most enjoyable teams to watch, and for a long period pushed eventual title winners Ulsan HD to the wire. This campaign broke all kinds of club records too, from the highest-league finish (2nd), to the team's longest winning streak (five).

Part of the team’s progress came when Lee You-hyeon underwent a change from full-back to central midfielder. With his high energy, the 28-year-old is able to operate box-to-box, and is just as comfortable progressing the ball as he is getting involved in defence with interceptions and tackles. When asked about his more permanent change into a midfielder, Lee states: “Last year I underwent the change of positions from fullback to midfield, and the team has had a lot of success with that. I also believe that I felt confident and had a lot of success in that position, but it wasn’t my first time, as a few years back in Jeonbuk, I had to play as a midfielder and winger during a season. So that experience has been a great stepping stone to get used to this new midfield role in Gangwon, and the head coach gave a lot of feedback and communication on how to improve and keep playing as a midfielder, so I didn’t have too many difficulties getting used to it last year.”

Continuing, on his new personal responsibility of being appointed club’s captain over halfway through such a pivotal year, the midfielder says: “I understand the importance of the rest of the games we have in the K League, but Kim Dong-hyun has done a good job starting off the team as captain this year. So although I feel a little bit of pressure to lead the team for the rest of the season, I am confident that Kim Dong-hyun has done a great job of starting off, so I don’t see too many huge difficulties (for me) to finish off the season as captain.”

                          [READ: News: 2025-2026 AFC Champions League Elite draw made.]

Currently, Gangwon are led by Chung Kyung-ho. A former Gangwon player between 2009 and 2011, as well as an assistant coach under Yoon Jong-hwan, this is a home province team already familiar to the first-time manager. When asked about what it’s like playing under their current head coach, Lee You-hyeon replies: “Last year, when he was the assistant manager, I felt the players were a bit more friendly towards him, and a bit more joking. But this year, since he has turned into a head coach, the players are a little more cautious communicating with him. I understand that becoming a head coach follows a lot more responsibilities; I’m also curious about how the head coach will feel taking his first role as a manager in football.”

It’s natural, then, that such a change can come with some growing pains. After all, it was already going to be a tall order to follow-up a record breaking season. But tactically Chung Kyung-ho has shown his potential as a manager already, and has overseen some impressive results, such as a 1-0 away victory against league leaders Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, a 2-1 win against reigning K League 1 champions Ulsan HD (their first at Munsu since 2012), and a 3-0 thrashing of Jeju SK where Gangwon were clinical in transitions.

More recently, Gangwon’s previously mixed form has steadied, and they have started gaining consistency at the right time. Helping the cause are summer additions Mo Jae-hyun, who has scored three and assisted two in nine appearances, and veteran striker Kim Gun-hee, as well as military returnees Kim Dae-won and Seo Min-woo. Experienced and driven, these players have added another dimension to the Bears’ attacking play, while also positively contributing in defence.

Following four consecutive clean-sheets, as well as back-to-back wins, Gangwon now sit in seventh place, level on points with Gwangju FC in the top half. On what the goals are for the remainder of the league season, Lee You-hyeon says: “If the players are able to keep up with whatever they’re doing as for now, then we for sure have a good chance of going into the top six, or even achieving much more than that.”

It’s a similar story for his own ambitions, with the captain adding: “My goal personally would be to achieve a top-six finish (Final A), and have the best results as we can get in the last five games so that we can get another ticket to the Champions League for next season.”

So, perhaps it’s worth getting excited for Gangwon’s arrival onto the Champions League Elite stage. For one, this is clearly a club and group of players looking upwards, ready to take on new challenges with a grounded optimism. And, as Lee You-hyeon at one point says during the interview: "Once the players are given the opportunities, they are ready to show their maximum capabilities."

The passionate fans will play their part too, of course. Regularly, Gangwon home matches draw close to 10,000 supporters in attendance, and it's noticeable just how lively the atmosphere amongst these crowds has become. Put simply, there appears to be a genuine belief in what the team are pulling towards, in addition to excitement regarding the new history being written.

When asked for his own message for Gangwon supporters, Lee You-hyeon states: “Regardless of home or away games, the Gangwon fans have shown great support towards the team, which I believe is one of the reasons we’ve had a lot of success lately in the league. If the fans would continue to show this love and affection towards the team for the remainder of the season, I would be more than happy to share the emotions and success with the fans as well.”

Gangwon are back in K League action on September 13th against FC Seoul, before entering the AFC Champions League Elite on the 16th against Shanghai Shenhua.

*Thank you to Lucas Kim for translating and interpreting the interview*