Manchester's Park to join ex-World Cup heroes in football All-Star Game

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung will join his 2002 FIFA World Cup teammates for a special All-Star contest against a current generation of local K-League stars, the league office said Thursday.

The K-League has organized a special All-Star festival on July 5 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2002 World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan. South Korea reached the semifinals at the tournament, its best performance at the quadrennial event, by slashing football giants including Portugal, Italy and Spain.

Park's teammates will include former striker Hwang Sun-hong, currently head coach of K-League's Pohang Steelers, and Hong Myung-bo, now coaching the men's Olympic team. Ahn Jung-hwan, who scored the famous golden goal against Italy to send Korea to the quarters, will also dress up for the team. Lee Woon-jae, the goalkeeper who stopped a penalty against Spain and helped put South Korea in the semis, will be back in goal.

A few players from the 2002 squad remain active professionals. Midfielder Kim Nam-il and forward Seol Ki-hyeon are now teammates on Incheon United. Kim Byung-ji, a backup goalkeeper at the World Cup, is tending the goal for Gyeongnam FC as the oldest K-League player today at 42.

Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who coached the World Cup squad, will return to the bench for his former players, the K-League said.

Park will be making his first appearance on the home pitch since retiring from international play in January last year. The Premier Leaguer wasn't initially expected to join the festivities because of Manchester United's preseason schedules, but the team's manager Alex Ferguson gave the Korean winger a green light.

"I really wanted to be the part of this team," Park said through the K-League. "It's not often that coach Hiddink and my former teammates can get together, and I felt this would be a meaningful occasion for Korean football."

Left wingback Lee Young-pyo, with Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer, is in the midst of the season and will not make the trip. Cha Du-ri, who recently moved from Celtic FC in Scotland to Dusseldorf in Germany, has yet to commit to the game, according to the league.

The K-League All-Star team will feature Lee Dong-gook, the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors striker who leads the league with 12 goals in 16 matches. (Yonhap)