Veteran midfielder returns to boost S. Korea in World Cup qualifier

INCHEON, Oct. 7 (Yonhap) -- A veteran member of South Korea's national football squad returned Tuesday from Germany ahead of an upcoming Asian World Cup qualifier, calling on his teammates to ratchet up their mentality.

Lee Young-pyo, 31, who recently joined Borussia Dortmund of Germany's top-tier
league after a few years in the English Premier League, arrived at Incheon
International Airport, west of Seoul, making his first visit in three months.
Lee joins Manchester United's Park Ji-sung, who arrived a day earlier to join the
national team for the regional World Cup qualifier against the United Arab
Emirates on Oct. 15 at home.
The match will likely be a watershed for South Korea, which are struggling to
gain momentum after playing out a tedious draw with North Korea last month in the
opener of the final qualifying round for the 2010 World Cup.
"It is true Korean football is going through tough times," Lee told reporters,
alluding to South Korea's recent series of lackluster performances in the
regional qualifiers for the World Cup in South Africa.
"What the players most need is the right mentality. Mentality is the basis of all
sports," said the wingback, who signed with the German team after leaving
England's Tottenham Hotspur in August.
Ten Asian teams are competing in the final World Cup qualifying series, with two
top teams from each group of five allowed to advance to the World Cup finals.
Lee contributed largely when his national team advanced to the semifinals of the
2002 World Cup, jointly held in Japan and South Korea. The team, which seeks its
seventh straight ticket to the World Cup finals, has come short of reaching the
round of 16 in all other appearances.
South Korea is grouped with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, North Korea and Iran in Asian
Group B. The team will play a goodwill match with Uzbekistan on Saturday, four
days before the UAE qualifier.