Nam Tae-hee (32, Yokohama F. Marinos) pledged success from the first year in Japan, third in the 2023-24 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) league rankings.
According to the Japanese newspaper 안전놀이터‘Sports Nippon’ on the 2nd, Nam Tae-hee said, “I will win all titles in the J1 League, the AFC Champions League and the J League Cup. I came to Marinos to do that,” he said, expressing his impressions of joining.
Nam Tae-hee concluded a relationship with Al Duhail (Qatar) for 10 seasons and 12 years on two occasions and signed a contract with Japanese professional football defending champion Marinos until the next season. Qatar is ranked 5th in the Asian League rankings.
‘Sports Nippon’ said, “Nam Tae-hee has a lot of experience in the Korean national soccer team. The main position is the offensive midfielder (top rear) supporting the forward striker,” he introduced to Japanese readers.
Nam Tae-hee is a member of the bronze medalist at the 2012 London Olympics and runner-up at the 2015 Asian Cup. ▲ 3 points and 5 assists in the FIFA World Cup qualifying round ▲ 1 goal in the AFC Asian Cup finals ▲ 1 goal in the Olympic qualifying round.
As a member of Alduhail, he won the first division of Qatar in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2023. In the Stars League, only 2011 and 2020 were the only victories Al Duhail won without Nam Tae-hee.
Nam Tae-hee said, “I welcome high expectations (of me). I want to play with a strong mindset so that Marinos can win.”
Marinos is challenging the domestic competition by winning second place in the J1 League and advancing to the quarterfinals of the J League Cup after overcoming the disappointment of being eliminated in the FA Cup round of 32 in the 2023 season, which started with the Japanese Super Cup victory. The group stage of the AFC Champions League will start on 18 September.
In Stars League history, Nam Tae-hee is the first and still the last in the 2016-17 season that a player from an Asian country other than Qatar won the official MVP award.
In the 2020-21 season, Nam Tae-hee contributed to Al Sadd reclaiming the top of the Qatar Stars League in two years, showing that he could play outside of Alduhail, increasing his value on the West Asian stage.
The attack point per 90 minutes in Qatar professional football, including cup competitions, is 0.67, and 0.71 when limited to Alduhail. The 2018/2019 AFC Champions League All-Star was selected twice in a row, proving its international competitiveness.
It was also with Nam Tae-hee that Alduhail succeeded in advancing to the round of 16 and the semi-finals of the 2022 season for the fifth consecutive year of the Asian Football Confederation Champions League in the 2015-2019 season.