Ki to Remain on Senior Team
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
The Korea Football Association (KFA) has sided with the national team in a clash over Ki Sung-yueng's release for the U-20 team.
The football governing body said Wednesday that it has reached a decision that the FC Seoul midfielder would stay with manager Huh Jung-moo's senior men's national team, instead of playing at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, scheduled to take place from Sept. 24 to Oct. 16 in Egypt.
``Ki is a key player for the national team at the (senior) World Cup finals, so we will let him focus on the senior team,'' Lee Hoi-taek, the chairman of technical committee, said.
Ki, capped in Sept. 2008, has scored three goals in 13 appearances with the national team.
Hong Myung-bo, who heads the U-20 team, expressed his desire to invite Ki to his squad last week for the biennial youth championship.
But it drew opposition from FC Seoul boss Senol Gunnes, who worried his player would be overused.
The 20-year-old, slated to play against the J-League All-Stars in the Jomo Cup in Incheon on Saturday, will join the national team the next day at the National Football Center (NFC) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province for a friendly match against Paraguay on Aug. 12 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.
On Sept. 5, Korea will have a friendly match with Australia and then his club team has six K-League matches to play before the national team faces Senegal in a friendly on Oct. 10.
As such, his selection for the youth World Cup would put pressure on him.
Huh welcomed the KFA's decision, saying ``In leading football nations, national team players usually do not play in the lower-level competitions. It is a waste of a talented player. In addition, a player can be injured on a tight schedule,'' Huh said on Wednesday.
``We need to protect our players for the World Cup.''
Hong reluctantly accepted the KFA's decision.
``Ki is the player we definitely need on the team, but I have to accept the KFA ruling,'' he said.