The South Korea captain, who won his 100th cap in last
week's Asian Cup semifinal loss to Japan at Doha, said that chronic knee injuries
have forced him to retire and make way for younger teammates.
Park, 29, says he expects to play club football for another
three to four years.
“It was a great honor and point of pride to play for the
national football team,” Park told a packed news conference in Seoul.
“Above all, I would like to make way for teammates who have
been making remarkable progress,” he said. “If there were no injuries, I could
have continued my national team career as physically difficult as it is.
However, I have no choice but to retire under the current situation.
Park singled out Son Heung-min of Hamburg SV and Kim
Bo-kyung of Cerezo Osaka as promising players who can fill the gap.
Park, one of Asia's most successful football players, became
the first South Korean to play in a Champions League final when Manchester
United lost to Barcelona. He has also won three Premier League titles and three
League Cups with the English club.
Park was a key member of the South Korean national squad
that advanced to the World Cup semifinals in 2002 on home soil - the best
performance by an Asian team in football's premier event. He went on to play in
the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.
“The happiest moment in my life was when I heard I was
selected as a member of the national team,” he recalled.
“The
2002 World Cup was also really a happy moment.” Asked about when he expected to
quit football entirely, Park said: “I haven't decided what year I'll quit. I think
I can play at least three to four more years.”
