Lee: Park Ji-sung’s return to the national team possible

The country’s best known footballer Park Ji-sung is in the news for the right reason. He is scoring in the English Premier League and has again proven his worth for Manchester United, the world’s top football club.

And fans are now calling on the versatile player to make a return to the much troubled national team. The 30-year-old midfielder retired from international football following Korea’s third-place finish at the Asian Cup in January.

But a veteran football figure has recently suggested the possibility of recalling the in-form Park.

Former national team defender Lee Young-pyo claimed Tuesday that Park would join the Taegeuk Warriors once “three conditions” were met.

According to Lee, the first condition is the team must want Park’s return, and the second condition is that fans must welcome him.

The last, but most important condition, he said, is whether Park wants to come back, noting that the decision is down to him.

The comment came while Lee was meeting the local press for the first time since he signed with Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

Lee was also a starting player for the national team before retiring from international games earlier this year.

Asked about the possibility of his return, Lee said: “No, because I’m a player of early 2000s, but Park is different He is the 2010s player.”

Park, who retired from the national team in order to focus on his club duty, seems now at his peak. He scored Monday his second goal of the season in his team’s 5-0 win over Wigan Athletic. In the game, Park scored the opening goal in the eighth minute to give the hosts an early lead, and to help the team gain on leaders Manchester City.

There is no doubt that Park is in terrific form now and his inclusion will be a big help for Korea, which is hoping to make it to eight consecutive World Cups.

Observers, however, say the former national team captain should concentrate on having a good career spell with Manchester United rather than venturing back into the frays of the national team.

Park, who has a history of knee injuries, admitted that long trips to and from the national team had worsened his knee problem. He cited that while announcing his retirement that he wanted to focus on his club in order to extend his playing career.

Meanwhile, the Korean national team is still in turmoil over the sacking of manager Cho Kwang-rae.

The Korea Football Association fired Cho earlier this month, and appointed Choi Kang-hee last week for the post, only two months ahead of Korea’s next game against Kuwait in the Asian qualifier for the 2014 World Cup.

Although Cho accepted the KFA’s decision, he publicly criticized the governing body for firing him without following standard procedure. He also claimed Monday that the KFA pressured him in picking players during last month’s World Cup qualifying games.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)