Park Ji Sung video

[shayan_esteghlali]

at bayern karimi was a starter until his injury, he benched ze roberto if u all remember...
and even schweinsteiger said that karimi is the most talented player he has ever seen, he said the stuff karimi does with the ball is incredible

[Abbas85]

Park-Ji Dung Sung has no peripheral sight.

[HuSsAiN]

Doing anything to become a pro

Growing up in Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, Park struggled initially to win over potential suitors who often cited his slight frame and lack of physicality as a potential obstacle to life at the highest level. Indeed it is believed that a number of clubs and universities rejected the chance to sign Park despite his defence splitting passes and high energy levels.

Going to any lengths necessary to forge a career as a footballer, the story goes that Park, heeding advice from his parents, ate and drank anything which could help him grow including deer meat, snake, while washing it down with frog juice. They appear to have been the necessary ingredients for success as a move to Kyoto Purple Sanga proved the much sought after chance Park wanted and needed.

Despite reports of peer Bunji Kimura being the future star of South Korean football, it was Park’s twenty minute cameo that impressed the Sanga scout who snapped him up in 2000. The following year with Park integral to the team’s success the club won the second tier of the J League. In 2002, Park led the team to the final of the Emperor's Cup, and in the final on January 1, 2003, he scored the equaliser with a header and assisted on Teruaki Kurobe's winning goal. The team went on to win the match 2–1 to become the Emperor's Cup champions for the first time in Sanga's history.

Going Dutch

That cup final turned out to be Park’s last game for Sanga. Invited by South Korea national team coach Guus Hiddink to join him at new club PSV Eindhoven in Holland, the dynamic midfielder embarked on an adventure in Europe which continues to this day. It is of little surprise that his qualities were known on the continent, he had after all been a star for his country at the 2002 World Cup, scoring against Portugal and helping his teammates to the semi-finals of the FIFA showpiece competition.

Park wasn’t an immediate success in Holland, it took the departure of Arjen Robben to Chelsea for him to cement his place in the side, however, he soon found his legs forging an important partnership with Mark Van Bommel and Philip Cocu in the PSV midfield.

Such was the success of his time under Hiddink that Park was nominated for the 2005 UEFA ‘Best Forward’ award alongside Adriano, Ronaldinho, Andrei Shevchenko and Samuel Eto’o all of which were playing for Europe’s top teams at the time. In fact, Park was such a favourite with PSV that the fans have a song dedicated to the South Korean titled ‘Song for Park’, a massive honour for the player considering he had been with the club a little over two years when they opted to record the song.

Breaking records with United
More than a bit-part player

His six years with United has seen Park rack up a total of 175 appearances in all competitions as his commitment to the club is clearly favoured by Ferguson. Team mates have praised Park in the past and continue to do so especially when the club are on the verge of breaking Liverpool’s record for the most titles in the top division.

Commentators often praise Park for his work rate in the big games which often proves to be the difference between one point and three. His goals in these games have often proved crucial to United’s success and it’s hardly surprising that United extended his contract until 2012 at the end of 2009 campaign.

However, with Park now 30, and United’s strict ruling that any player over 30 will rarely be offered a new deal beyond the end of the campaign, it remains to be seen whether he will remain at Old Trafford beyond the end of next season. On the other hand, with his work-rate higher than ever and his attitude towards football the perfect example for younger players, the club would be foolhardy to release the South Korean work horse.

For the under-rated midfielder, who still remains South Korea’s most famous player to date, he will continue to outshine opponents and, and times, his team mates as well but with players such as Rooney, Vidic and Chicharito all stealing the lime-light this season, Park Ji-Sung remains Manchester United’s unsung hero and a finely tuned one at that.