When he moved to Serie A two years ago, he was touted as the league's new Hidetoshi Nakata.

But the 26-year-old has failed to make his mark in quite the same way as the Japanese midfielder and has not always been first choice up-front for Perugia.

He was named the K-League's most valuable player in 1999, although the judges were heavily criticised for their choice.

He is unlikely to feature much for the Koreans at the World Cup but his knowledge of European football could prove valuable.