On nat'l football team for 1st time, fullback trying to follow in father's footsteps

Pohang Steelers fullback Lee Tae-seok / Yonhap Pohang Steelers fullback Lee Tae-seok earned his first senior national football team callup on Monday, as he looks to follow in the footsteps of his father, Lee Eul-yong. Lee Tae-seok is one of 26 players named to the squad scheduled to play Kuwait and Palestine in World Cup qualifying matches on Nov. 14 and 19, respectively.

The Lees are now the third father-son duo to have made the Korean men's national team, joining Kim Chan-ki-Kim Seok-won and Cha Bum-kun-Cha Duri tandems. Lee Eul-yong logged 51 caps as a hardworking midfielder for Korea, and represented the country at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He made a name for himself at the 2002 tournament, which Korea co-hosted with Japan, as the defensive conscience of the Cinderella team that reached the semifinals.



Lee Tae-seok, 22, has appeared in 14 matches for the under-23 squad and 15 for the under-17 team. Head coach Hong Myung-bo said the junior Lee is "the prototypical fullback" who could solve the coach's problems finding viable, starting-caliber options at the position. "I am always concerned about the fullback position, and I selected Lee Tae-seok this time because I wanted to see him in the national team context for the future of our program," said Hong, who was teammates with Lee Eul-yong at the 2002 World Cup.

"He has played for underage teams and now he has reached a level where he could start playing for the senior squad. I felt I needed to watch him up close." Lee Tae-seok began the season with FC Seoul but was traded to Pohang on Aug.

1. Hong noted that Lee looked out of sorts in his early days with Pohang when he played out of position at right wing. "He returned to his usual position recently and looked more comfortable there," the coach said.

"He's someone we'll keep an eye on going forward." The apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree. Just like his father, Lee Tae-seok is left-footed and is known for sharp, accurate crosses from the left flank.

The son also covers a ton of ground with pace and energy. Lee Tae-seok is the latest in a growing line of fullbacks who've come and gone for the national team over the past two months, as Hong continues his search for the defensive combination to his liking. "We've had players who made the team just once and didn't come back, or those who've been with us a couple of times.

But that doesn't tell the whole story," Hong said. "We want to put different players through training and see how they may fit into our picture for the future." (Yonhap).