Kim Dong-Jin eyes South Korea return

South Korea veteran Kim Dong-Jin says he still harbours hopes of returning to the national team and be involved in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The 30-year-old defender recently joined Chinese Super League club Hangzhou Greentown after a disappointing 2011 at FC Seoul, leading to some critics suggesting he was finished as a player having had previous health problems.

Kim, who has 62 caps to his name and was part of the 2006 and 2010 World Cup squads, has not been in the national team frame in recent times.

However, the former Zenit St Petersburg man told Ilgan Sports he still wants to return to the South Korea set-up.

“If I work hard for my club, I believe I will get a chance to be back with the national team. I will do everything I can in order to play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil,” he said.

New South Korea coach Choi Kang-Hee named a squad full of veterans for the upcoming matches against Uzbekistan and Kuwait, and Kim said that encouraged him.

“I saw my good friends such as Choi Tae-Wook, Ha Dae-Sung and Oh Beom-Suk rejoining the national team,” he said. “I also gained hope from that.”

“As a football player, we all have a dream to play for the national team and compete at the World Cup. I was honoured to be compared to Lee Young-Pyo. But I’m over my past.”

As for his recent move to China, Kim explained he was enticed to Hangzhou by their new coach, former Japan boss Takeshi Okada, despite interest from the J.League and Ukrainian giants Dynamo Kiev.

“I know Kiev is a good team because former AC Milan player Andriy Shevchenko is currently playing there. But after a lot of consideration I chose Hangzhou because coach Okada approached me directly. He valued my experience,” he said.

He added: “I’m especially looking forward to meeting Nicolas Anelka who moved to Shanghai Shenhua from English club Chelsea.”

“My first goal is to win a regular season championship with coach Okada and help the team to reach the AFC Champions League.”