In 2010, Lee Seung-woo was noticed by FC Barcelona's scouts and was given the chance of a lifetime, the chance to join one of the biggest football teams in the world. He impressed at Barcelona and was dubbed'the Korean Messi' after scoring more goals in his age category than Messi himself had previously done. However, Lee's meteoric rise was halted by FIFA regulations and he was banned from playing for any of Barcelona's teams until his 18th birthday.
This story was inspired by the clearly unfair case of Lee Seung-woo, which you can read more about here:
http://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/01/25/the-south-korean-prodigies-held-back-by-barcelonas-transfer-ban/
While I was writing that article, I knew that I wanted to tell Lee's story, but instead of setting it in Lee's hometown of Suwon, South Korea, I decided to set it in Nottingham, England, the city of my birth. I also took inspiration from H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights, and from other sources such as the British TV show Dreamteam.
Thank you for taking the time to read this far, I hope you enjoy the rest of the book.
Steve