Player Profile

The son of legendary former Korea star Cha Bum-kun, he was recalled in March after a three-year absence, during which he reinvented himself as a right-back. He lost his place with Bundesliga strugglers Freiburg towards the end of the season, making his final appearance on 6 March.

Nicknamed ‘The Human Weapon’ because of his tough-tackling style, he has plenty of pace and started his career playing either up front or on the wing.

He was given his international debut by Guus Hiddink, and was mainly used as an impact substitute at the 2002 World Cup, where his only start was in the semi-final against Germany.

The Frankfurt-born player struggled to score at club level, managing only five top-flight goals from 2002 to 2006. Left out of the squad for the 2006 World Cup, he switched position to right-back, but remained outside the Korean set-up during two seasons with Koblenz in the German second division.

He returned to the Bundesliga with Freiburg last summer, and his consistent form saw him called up for last October’s friendly with Senegal.

He has previously played for Bayer Leverkusen, Arminia Bielefeld, Eintracht Frankfurt and Mainz. His dad is arguably Korea’s greatest player, captaining the side at the 1986 World Cup and coaching them at France ‘98.

Now a TV pundit in Korea, he says his son should have carried on playing in attack as he had the quality to succeed, but feels the burden of scoring goals was too much for him.