Long serving Park Ji Sung finally retires from International football

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung has retired from international football, according to South Korea coach Cho Kwang-rae.

The 29-year-old Park won his 100th cap in the Asian Cup semi-final defeat by Japan on Tuesday and has called a media conference in Seoul on Monday.

Park was not included in South Korea's team for the 3-2 win over Uzbekistan in the third-place match in Qatar.

Ex-Spurs defender Lee Young-pyo, 33, has also quit international football.

After the match, Cho said: "Two players of our team Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo are retiring today from international football, they've done a remarkable job for the prosperity of Korean football.

"It would be better if I could retain both of them in the national team, but other players have done an excellent job."

Both Park and Lee were thrown into the air in celebration by their fellow South Korean players, after the third-place finish ensured automatic qualification for the 2015 Asian Cup.

I just try to do my best at our club and to help the team to win everything Park Ji-sung

"They have been really great players for 10 years and I am really proud of them and they showed to the people all over the world that Korean football is getting better," midfielder Ki Sung-yeung commented.

In 2009, Park 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.

His international debut was in 2000 as part of the team which reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2002, the best performance by an Asian team in the competition.

He also played in the 2006 and 2010 tournaments.

Park told reporters who asked him about his future: "I just try to do my best at our club and to help the team to win everything."

Australia will play Japan in the final of the Asian Cup on Saturday.

Wishing Park Ji Sung all the best for his career with Manchester United and hope he can sustain with United for another decade to come. 

Park to quit his international career after Asia Cup

Park scored the only game in this week's Premier League victory over Arsenal at OT

Midfielder Park Ji-Sung will retire from South Korea's national team after next month's (2011) Asian Cup in Qatar, his father was quoted as saying on Friday.

"Ji-sung said before the World Cup in South Africa that the Asian Cup would be his last national tournament," his father Park Sung-jong told the Asian Football Confederation website (www.the-afc.com) on Friday.

"Now, ahead of the Asian Cup, there is no reason for him to change his mind.
"Ji-sung said, 'When I give way, players like Lee Chung-yong will appear. They don't have to think I should be there.'"

Park will join up with his compatriots after United's Premier League game against Sunderland on the Boxing Day fixture at Old Trafford on  Dec. 26. After this game, the 29-year-old could miss six Premier League games and an FA Cup tie while he is awayin South Korea.

United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed Park from PSV Eindhoven in 2005, said after he scored the only goal in United's 1-0 win over Arsenal on Monday that he would be missed while in Qatar.

"It is a shame he has to go, but there's nothing we can do about that," Ferguson said after the game. "He is very important for us as he proved tonight with his goal."

Park captained South Korea at this year's World Cup finals in South Africa, helping them reach the last 16.
In 2009 he became the first Asian to play in the Champions League final but ended on the losing side when Barcelona beat United 2-0 in Rome.