By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Middlesbrough forward Lee Dong-gook could make his long-awaited comeback with the Korean national team in a friendly against the Netherlands next month, a source close to the footballer said.
Korean coach Pim Verbeek, who made a two-week trip last month to scout Korean players on European teams, left impressed with Lee’s performance in limited action with the Premier League club, the source said.
``The Premiership season is not over and there is still time until the Netherlands match. Verbeek gave a positive answer regarding Lee’s comeback to the national team,’’ he said. The Korean team is scheduled to play in a friendly with the Netherlands on June 2.
Lee last donned the red jersey in a friendly against Angola on March 1 last year as the national squad geared up for the FIFA World Cup finals in Germany. However, in the following month, Lee tore a knee ligament in a domestic league match, which caused him to miss the big show.
Ahead of his European trip, Verbeek admitted to reporters that his key mission was to see whether Lee was fully healthy again and close to his vintage form.
Critics wondered whether it would take a longer time for Lee, who was penciled as the go-to-guy of Dick Advocaat’s World Cup squad before his injury, to return to the national team’s lineup.
Despite being forced to a ``striker by committee’’ approach in the absence of Lee, Verbeek, who succeeded Advocaat as the Korean coach, has shown a reluctance to use players failing to get significant playing time with their current clubs.
Lee appeared in eight games for Middlesbrough this season and has yet to net his first goal in the Premiership, although showing flashes of brilliance in scattered appearances off the bench. He has higher hopes for next season as the primary backup for starting forwards Mark Viduka and Ayegbeni Yakubu.
When healthy, Lee is widely considered the best Korean player in the striker position _ a fluid, skilled player with decent ball-keeping ability and a nose for the net. The bulky Lee, who stands at 1.87 centimeters, also provides a rare aerial threat for the national team inside the penalty box.
With Lee going down with his injury ahead of the World Cup tournament, Advocaat opted to ditch his usual 4-4-2 formation and put the inexperienced Cho Jae-jin as a lone striker.
This was a questionable move considering that Reading winger Seol Ki-hyeon and Ahn Jung-hwan, the tricky midfielder who was the hero of Korea’s final-four run in the 2002 tournament, were brought off the bench.
Ahn came off the bench to score the equalizer against Togo while Seol looked impressive in the team’s last match against Switzerland, although it wasn’t enough for Korea to avoid a disappointing first-round exit.