Ahn Mulls over Going Back to Perugia, but Sees No Future in Italy

“The Korean Lord of the Rings” is determined to continue his quest, but where?

World Cup star Ahn Jung-hwan, engulfed in an international dispute on his status, has reportedly decided to go back to Italian Perugia, where he will find a way into the English Premier League.

With a ruling from the world’s soccer governing body FIFA on the issue expected to come out some 90 days later, Ahn will have to give up playing the upcoming season if he continues to refuse to go back to the Italian club.

Ahn Jong-bok, president of ePalyer, a sports agency representing Ahn said on July 29, “If parties involved fail to narrow differences anytime soon, he might miss the 2002-2003 European League beginning mid August or early September.” He added, “We will announce a final decision by July 30.”

As Ahn continues to express his desire to play in the English Premier League, an English Premier team is considering bringing in him once the legal challenge from Perugia is cleared out.

If the World Cup star files a lawsuit for nullification of the contract with Perugia and wins the case, however, he will most likely miss the upcoming season. For this reason, his agency and family are telling him to join Perugia for now.

As the Italian club does not appear to include his name in its roster, the best alternative, they say, is going back to Italy for a trade to an English team.

stt77@donga.com