Fullback makes his first appearance in the South Korean national football team and wants to follow in his father’s footsteps

Pohang Steelers fullback Lee Tae-seok / Yonhap

Pohang Steelers fullback Lee Tae-seok earned his first call-up to the national football team on Monday as he looks to follow in the footsteps of his father, Lee Eul-yong.

Lee Tae-seok is one of 26 players included in the squad that will play Kuwait and Palestine in the World Cup qualifiers on November 14 and 19 respectively.

The Lees are now the third father-son duo to make the Korean national men’s team, joining tandems Kim Chan-ki-Kim Seok-won and Cha Bum-kun-Cha Duri.

Lee Eul-yong played 51 caps as a hard-working midfielder for Korea, representing the country at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. He made his name at the 2002 tournament, which Korea co-hosted with Japan, as the defending conscience of the Cinderella team that reached the semi-finals.

Lee Tae-seok, 22, played in 14 matches for the under-23 team 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 by finding viable starting-level options at the position.

“I am always concerned about the fullback position and I chose Lee Tae-seok this time because I wanted to see him in the context of the national team 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 play for the senior team. I thought I should take a closer look at him.”

Lee Tae-seok started the season with FC Seoul, but was traded to Pohang on August 1. Hong noted that Lee did not look good in his early days at Pohang playing out of position on the right wing.

“He recently returned to his usual position and seemed more comfortable there,” the coach said. “He is someone we will keep an eye on in the future.”

The apple didn’t fall far from the tree. 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 lot of ground with pace and energy.

Lee Tae-seok is the latest in a growing line of full-backs who have 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 joined the team just once and didn’t come back, or players who have been with us a few times. But that doesn’t tell the whole story,” Hong said. “We want to train different players and see how they can fit into our picture for the future.” (Yonhap)