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Football sensation Park Chu-young (20) of FC Seoul appears destined to join Germany's Bundesliga.
In an exclusive interview with the Chosun Ilbo on Thursday at Tokyo's Four Seasons Hotel, Uli Hoeness, general manager of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, said he has extracted a promise from club president Franz Beckenbauer to acquire Park. He said the team was closely watching the Korean star to take concrete steps to bring him aboard.
Beckenbauer, who also serves as head of the World Cup 2006 organizing committee, expressed interest in Park when he met Korea Football Association chief Chung Mong-joon last month, but this is the first time Hoeness has mentioned him. Beckenbauer said at the time he understood the team was trying to acquire Park. Chung responded, "Several overseas teams are interested. If you don't move fast, you might miss him."
With Hoeness' more explicit comments making things almost official, speculation is heating up. Hoeness is a former star footballer who played alongside Beckenbauer on West Germany's 1974 World Cup-winning team and, as general manager, holds absolute power over the team's player moves. Transfer negotiations could start immediately he makes a final decision.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich is touring Japan alongside Manchester United, which recently acquired Korean star Park Ji-sung, and coincidentally shares the Four Seasons Hotel with the English Premier League giants. The German club will play its final Japanese friendly against Jubilo Iwata on Saturday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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