Cha Doo-ri Joins German Pro Club Leverkusen

Cha Doo-ri, one of Korean young guns who made an impressive international debut during the 2002 World Cup games, will play in the German Bundesliga League following in his father’s footsteps.

Cha Bum-guen, soccer hero-turned commentator who also once led the national team, confirmed that his son made a contract with German club Leverkusen, reported MBC. Under the deal, junior Cha will play for the team where his father built his fame as a world-class star.

The team, however, has decided to lend him to another football club for one or two years before making him its own. The arrangement will help him improve his skills to play for the one of the Europe’s leading clubs, Leverkusen said of the condition of the contract. “He will lend to one of the first and the second-league teams in Bundesliga,” it hinted that the junior will play in Germany rather than outside the country.

According to some reports, Cha Doo-ri is expected to play for Eintracht Frankfurt, but Leverkusen has not ruled out other possibilities saying “A couple of teams have shown interest in him.”

Cha’s annual salary will be decided later after negotiations with a team interested in him, and he is expected to start playing as early as August if the lending arrangement is completed within this month.

“I am a little bit disappointed at not being playing for the world’s leading club, but I also expect to learn many things about European soccer at a team where I will have a better chance to experience league matches,” Cha Doo-ri said.

Sung-Won Joo swon@donga.com