Cha Du-ri: `I am still faster than Ki Sung-yeung’

“Why do you prefer bald hairstyle?” “Because it is easy to care.”

Ahead of his last game as a member of the Korean national soccer team, Cha Du-ri held frank discussions with fans through Facebook.

After completing training at the National Footfall Center in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on Monday, Cha answered questions from soccer fans through the official Facebook page of the Korea Football Association. Fans posted more than 6,000 questions and comments, expressing strong interest in the veteran soccer player.

Asked "what the latest Asian Cup meant to him," Cha said, “It was a championship of relief that allowed me to retire with happiness and composure as a member of the national team.” To a question asking "what his father Cha Bum-kun means to him," he said, “He is my father and friend, and a teacher who gives me the biggest lessons for my life.” He also picked his father as the most favorite soccer player. Asked what remarks by Coach Uli Stielike is most memorable to him, he said, “Don’t you have any intention to play soccer longer (as a national team member).” Saying that he never regretted about being a soccer player, Cha said, "What I will miss the most after retirement would be ‘times of training with my younger teammates and memories of playful moments with them.”

Asked who is faster between Ki Sung-yueng and Cha Du-ri, he said, “I am 35 years old, but am faster than Ki.” Cha said he can run 100-meter sprint run in slightly over 11 seconds. Asked what his favorite song at singing room (karaoke) is, he said, “It has been a long time since visiting a singing room.” Asked which recipe he can cook the best, he said, “Fried kimchi rice that enables Ki to wake up instantly even when he is ill.” Questioned who his successor is, he said, “Everyone seems to play better than me,” while when asked how he manages his stamina, “I eat well and sleep well.”

To Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea City), who Cha said he brought with him just to be in his company, fans asked a number of questions about his child to be born. Asked "whether he prefers a son or daughter," Ki said, “I prefer a daughter,” adding, “I think it would be great if she takes after her mom,” calling the name at birth “ppaksingi.”