Jeju SK FC Nam Tae-hee (33) vowed to score more than 10 goals and 10 assists this season.

Nam Tae-hee is one of the representative sports stars of the Republic of Korea. Having joined the Reading youth team as part of the KFA's youth soccer study project, Nam made his professional debut in 2009 wearing the Balanciene uniform, and has played in the Qatar Stars League for more than 10 years, earning the nickname "Prince Qatar" or "Qatar Messi." In fact, Nam has been considered the best player in the history of the Qatar League, scoring 95 goals and 62 assists in 230 matches.
Nam Tae-hee suddenly announced her entry into the K-League last summer after going through the J-League. The fact that she is a "late rookie" looking at her mid-30s could have been a burden, but one spark of mind toward the K-League moved Nam Tae-hee, and Jeju just reached out.

Playing in 10 games in both the K-League and the Korea Cup after joining the team, Nam had four assists and finished preheating for the first full season this year. He became a shining star to coach Kim Hak-beom, who was struggling with his 2% disappointing offense, and even earned the nickname "Tangerine Messi" by fans. In today's terms, Nam can be described as "the method was different."

This season, Nam Tae-hee's shoulders are heavier than ever. Koo Ja-cheol, who served as a mental prop, took off his soccer boots and began his youth advisor job after last season. In addition, a large number of young players, including Kang Min-jae, Oh Jae-hyuk, Kim Ryun-sung, Lee Kun-hee, Jang Min-gyu, and Kim Jae-woo, joined the team, pulling the reins of generational change. Nam Tae-hee's experience and know-how can be blood and flesh for players.

Nam Tae-hee, who met him in Kagoshima, Japan, during the off-season training, also seemed to have a unique mindset. "I've only heard about coach Kim Hak-bum's pre-season, but experiencing it in person seems to be the hardest since my debut as a professional player. Pre-season is nothing compared to now," Nam said with an awkward smile. "I personally want to play this season. It is true that I finished the last season in a good mood, but I regret not being able to advance to the Final A."

"As I also take on many offensive roles, it hurts my pride and I apologize (to the fans). However, it is up to the player to overcome criticism, and I will play with greed as much as possible," he said. "I want to score more goals this season. My personal goal is to score 10 goals and 10 assists or more. Of course, the first thing to do is for the team to do well, and naturally follow the attack point is the best picture."

"I want to play for another 5 to 10 years. But I know very well that my body is not as good as it used to be. I could play for a longer time, but I want to do my best every day as this is the last year," he said. "Jae-cheol's absence was really big. The captain was (Im) Chae-min, but Jae-cheol also played a big role out of sight. All I had to do was mine overseas, but not anymore. As a senior, I will try my best to set an example."

Nam Tae-hee's transfer to Jeju Island last summer was a "big news" that shook the domestic soccer community. Various speculations followed the background of the decision to transfer, starting with rumors that even the source was unclear. Now, some time has passed, I was able to carefully talk about it.

"First of all, thank you so much to Jeju for reaching out to me so that I can experience the K-League over 30," said Nam Tae-hee, who said, "I want to try the K-League when I am competitive. You don't know what your physical condition will be like in a year." Thankfully, he reached out from Jeju and I thought it would be good to play with players of his age, including Ja-cheol, (Choi) Young-joon, Hyundai Middle School and High School seniors (Jung) Un, and Dong-chang (Im), so I decided (to move) without much thought. Now, I am very satisfied and I am living a fun life with my family in Jeju." 안전놀이터

As Koo Ja-cheol and Park Chu-young (Ulsan HD coach) announced their retirement from the national team, their future plans were also an indispensable question. "I don't know what to do yet. I want to play for a long time as a player. To be honest, I've been thinking about it for a few years, but I think I should find something that I can do well and that I am interested in." One thing that is certain is that I think I will work in the soccer field.

Lastly, Nam Tae-hee said, "Because of the nature of Jeju, fans have no choice but to fly away. It won't be easy, but it's a great help because there are fans who come to every game. I really thank the fans who support me regardless of home away games," adding, "We have a lot of new players this season and the atmosphere is really good. If you continue to show interest, we will do our best to meet expectations."