Cha Bum-kun, Hong Myung-bo, and Park Ji-sung have made the all-time best Korean football team.
A monthly football magazine, Best Eleven, conducted a survey of 25 people - 15 K-League team managers, five football analysts and five writers - in commemoration of its 40th anniversary and announced the roster Wednesday.
Based on a 3-5-2 formation, Suwon BlueWings manager and former Bundesliga player Cha Bum-kun, nicknamed "Cha Boom," and Korea Football Association (KFA) Vice President Lee Hoi-taek were selected in attack.
Cha, 46, seen as the best South Korean footballer ever after scoring 98 goals in Germany, comfortably took the top slot, collecting 24 votes out of 25, while Lee received 10.
Busan I'Park skipper Hwang Sun-hong, who netted 50 international goals, and Kangwon FC boss Choi Soon-ho, known for a blistering shot against Italy at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, earned eight and five votes, respectively, and Ahn Jung-hwan, who notched two goals at the 2002 World Cup, rounded out the top five with two votes.
Filling midfield was the most difficult task.
Manchester United winger Park Ji-sung topped the position with 24 nominations, followed by Kim Joo-sung(19), three-time winner of the Best Asian Footballer of the Year award; national team coach Huh Jung-moo (19); Gyeongnam FC manager Cho Kwang-rae (18) and Lee Young-pyo of Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia (13).
At the back, Olympic team manager Hong Myung-bo, a four-time World Cup player, former Korean team manager Kim Ho and K-League Vice President Kim Jung-nam were selected.
BlueWings goalie Lee Woon-jae, a lock for the 2010 World Cup squad, beat Kim Byung-ji of Gyeongnam to win the best-goalkeeper honor.