Fellaini

Murray

Giroud

Crouch

Ali Daei

Hargreaves

Over the last few years the Premier League has seen it's fair share of Asian players. Who could forget when Okazaki won the league with Leicester. Al-Habsi and his heroics at Wigan. Son in this current Spurs side. Harry Kewell was unplayable on his day. Yet one man stands out from the rest, during his time as a player he won 7 League Titles, 5 Domestic Cups, 5 Domestic Super Cups, 1 Champions League, 1 CWC and managed to finish 4th in a World Cup. I am of course talking about Park Ji-Sung. Park was known for his work-rate, ability to play anywhere in midfield or up top and his super human stamina. Not even Kante could out run this man. He was also a big game player that thrived under pressure.

Park's career started out differently to most footballer. He began playing for his elementary school, during this time he helped them win the league and was considered to be one of the best talents in South Korea. This made many of clubs interested in him. He moved on to high school and again helped them to win the league title, despite this, he was actually rejected by all clubs due to his small stature. In the end he was picked up by Myongji University, on the recommendation to the coach of the side from the coach of the high school. He started training with the University team a few months before graduating high school as a member to be. During this time, the University was offered the chance to train with the South Korean Olympic Team. Park, despite being still in high school and a member to be, was taken to this training. Park's performances were so good, he was drafted into the Olympic side, at aged 18. The story goes that Park's inclusion was such a shock to many people that is was believed he was only in the side as the Universities coach beat the Olympic coach in a game of Go.

Now here is where Park's career really gets interesting. On April 5th 2000, South Korea were playing against Laos in the 2000 AFC Cup Qualifiers. South Korea won 9-0 but the real story is that Park had just made his national team debut, despite playing for his University and not a professional club. He would then play in 2 more games, a 7-0 win over Mongolia and 2 days a later a 4-0 win over Myanmar. Park had made 3 official appearances for his National Side in the space of 5 days while not having a professional club. As you can imagine this would last long and in June 2000 he signed for Kyoto Purple Sanga, who at the time were in Japans top flight.

Now you need to understand how the J.League used to operate. It was originally split in to two halves. The winners of each half would face each other in a play off final to determine the overall league winner. To decide on relegation they used the two sides that had the overall least points between the two halves. The games would also go to overtime if it ended a draw.

In the 2000 Season, Kyoto Purple Sanga finished last during the first half with a total of 7 points from 15 matches. During this break between the first and second half of the season was when they signed Park Ji-Sung.

Before park Park played for them he had 2 more international tournaments. The first was the 2000 LG Nations Cup. The opening game was against Macedonia, South Korea won 2-1 and Park scored the second. Giving him his first international goal, before even playing a professional club game. The final was held against Egypt. I am finding conflicting reports on this game. Some sources list it as a 1-0 South Korea win, others as a 2-1 Egypt win and some as a 2-1 South Korea win. So any help here would be nice.

The second tournament was the 2000 Summer Olympics The reason he is even in the national side. Handed a difficult group of Spain, Chile and Morocco; South Korea would finish 3rd and be knocked out, despite winning 2 of the games. The only loss came against Spain, a game in which a certain Xavi scored.

At 19 years old, Park would make his professional debut in the first game of the seasons second half. This was a 3-2 win over JEF United Chiba. Park would go on to play 13/15 of the games this season. Getting his first and only goal in a 3-1 loss to Kashima Antlers. Park would help Kyoto to a 12th place finish in the second half of the season, with a much improved 18 points from 15 games. It wouldn't be enough however and Kyoto Purple Sanga would be relegated in 15th, just 3 points away from safety.

During this season the 2000 AFC Asian Cup was happening. park was obviously in the squad and South Korea were handed a group with China, Indonesia, and Kuwait. 2-2 against China, a 1-0 defeat against Kuwait, and a 3-0 win over Indonesia, thanks to a hat-trick from Middlesbrough legend Lee Dong-Gook was enough to see them out of the group. In the next round they would beat an Ali Deai Iran 2-1, before losing against Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the Semi-Finals. They would beat China 1-0 to finish 3rd. Lee Dong-Gook took the golden boot, Middlesbrough fans will not be surprised to hear.

The following season would see Park playing in J2 League, Japan's second division. The second division is played in a more of a regular fashion, being played all the way through with no breaks. The league had 12 teams and each team played 44 games, so they faced each side 4 times. The first game of the season would see Park score in a 2-2 draw with Montedio Yamagata. After playing each team once, they found themselves in second place with 18 points. Park had appeared in 10 of these opening 11 games, missing just one due to a call up to the national side. This was for another shot at everyones favourite tournament, The LG nations Cup He played as South Korea beat Egypt 2-1. 3 more games would be played then a break for the Confeds Cup. Beating Iran 1-0 in the first game then meeting Egypt in the final again. They won 2-1 this time.

The 2001 Confederations Cup was being held, South Korea had qualified as co-hosts. In a group with France, Australia, and Mexico; South Korea managed to get an impressive 6 points, winning 2/3 matches. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, as France and Australia also got 6 points but both had a superior goal difference over South Korea, sending them out.

Park returned to Kyoto Purple Sanga and would play 26 of the remaining 30 games. a 2-1 win on the second to last game of the season would secure them the title. They would then play the team in 3rd, Vegalta Sendai, on the final game. Vegalta Sendai won 1-0, sending them above Montedio Yamagata and allowed them to go up in second place. Parties all around!

Between the end of this season and the start of the next, the 2002 Gold Cup was underway. South Korea, along with Ecuador had received invites to participate. Put in a group with USA and Cuba; South Korea would lose the opening game 2-1 against USA, with them scoring a winner in the 90th. The next game was a 0-0 against Cuba. Both South Korea and Cuba ended with 1 point, but South Korea advanced on Goals Scored. In the next round they faced Mexico and won on penalties after a 0-0 affair. The Semi Finals were next and they drew Costa Rica. South Korea were beaten 3-1 and found themselves in a third place play off, which they lost 2-1 against Canada.

The next season would be a very successful one for Park.

During this first half of the season, a 3 month break was taken because this little thing called the World Cup took place. However, before this South Korea played in 3 international friendlies. The second was against England, this was the first time the UK had seen Park play. The game finished 1-1 with Park getting the equalizer. The next friendly was against France. France won 3-2, but park again got on the scoresheet to make it 1-1. He had proved in these friendlies that he could compete with the big boys, and a few weeks later in the World Cup. He wrote his name on all the back pages with something magical.

The 2002 World Cup came around and it was South Korea who were joint hosts, along with Japan. The first game saw South Korea face Poland, a shock 2-0 for the Koreans gave them their first ever win in a World Cup group stage, and things would only get better. After drawing the second game to USA 1-1, they entered the last game against group favourites Portugal. Portugal found themselves in 3rd place with 3 points, following a win over Poland and a shock opening day defeat against USA. South Korea had 4 points, knowing that a draw would see them out of the group stage for the first ever time. 70 Minutes gone, 0-0. Step up Park. He brings down this lovely cross, sells the defender and nutmegs the keeper, who happened to be the legendary Baia. 1-0 South Korea. The game ends, South Korea not only qualifed out of the group, they won it. Despite winning the group, they still got placed against the mighty Italians. I game that ended up being controversial for so many reasons. The South Koreans won't care though, they won 2-1...somehow. They found themselves in a World Cup Quarter-Final, against Spain. This Spanglish side had the likes of Casillas, Puyol, Xavi, Raul, and Hierro. After 120 minutes it was 0-0, South Korea won the shootout, Park scored his penalty. The Semi-Final was against Germany. The Germans we're one step too much for little old South Korea, beating them 1-0 with a Ballack goal. The Third Placed game was against Turkey, who themselves had an amazing run to reach this stage. The Turks ended up 3-2 winners and Park had just finished 4th place in a World Cup, on home soil, while knocking out Portugal, Italy and Spain. Not too bad. His goal against Portugal would win him the KFA Goal of the Year.

The JLeague would start up again and after the first half of the season, Kyoto Purple Sanga would finish in 6th place, Park played in 13 of these games, scoring 4 times. During the second half, Park made 12 appearances out of 15, scoring a further 3 goals and helping Kyoto Purple Sanga finish the 2nd half of the season in 7th. The overall season finished and they found themselves in 5th place on the first season back in the top flight. It didn't stop here though. Kyoto found themselves on a cup run and managed to make it all the way to the final. Here they faced holders, Kashima Antlers. Kyoto won the game 2-1, with Park getting Kyoto's first. This victory meant that Kyoto had gained a spot in the 2004 AFC Champions League. This was due to the 2003 AFC Champions League not being played. So park had ended the season with a 4th place at the World Cup, and a Domestic Cup.

Due to the way the JLeague is scheduled, the league ends in November and the Cup Final is the last game of the season. On this season the Cup Final was held on 01/01/03. Just as the winter window for European sides opens. Many clubs were looking at Park, given his quick rise up the Korean ranks and his outstanding World Cup. He ended up going to PSV for a fee of โ‚ฌ5,000,000.

He made his debut against RKC Waalwijk, coming on as a second half sub for the man with the best name in football history, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. PSV ended up as 1-0 winners. Park would feature in the next game but this time coming on at half time for Dennis Rommedahl, as PSV found themselves already 5-0 up over FC Zwolle. Park would then pick up an injury and only feature in a further 6 games this season, all off of the bench. However, it was enough and he had helped PSV to a league title and picked up his first league Eredivise winners medal.

PSV would open the following season with a game against FC Utrecht, in the Johan Cruyff Shied. A game similar to the Community Shield in England. Park played the full 90 minutes as they ran out 3-1 winners. Park would get his first goal for PSV in the second game of the league, in a 6-1 win over Willem II. Park got 2 assists and a goal. The Champions League soon came around and PSV had been given Monaco, AEK Athens and Deportivo de La Coruรฑa. Park made his debut in the Champions League against Monaco, PSV lost 2-1. PSV would be agonizingly close to getting out of the group, finishing 3rd, 1 point behind winners Monaco and losing out to away goals against Deportivo. PSV would be moved into the UEFA Cup, making it the the Quarter Finals before losing to Newcastle 3-2 on aggregate. In the league Park would play 28/34 games (1797) games, for an average of 64 minutes a game. PSV would end the season in 2nd, with Ajax winning.

During this season a few International fixtures were played. First the [2006 World Cup Qualifiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC) had begun and South Korea started with 2 2-0 wins over Lebanon and Vietnam.

Then it was time for the 2004 AFC Asian Cup. South Korea had an group with Jordan, Kuwait and UAE. The opening game was a 0-0 against Jordan, but Park didn't play this game. He did play the next game, a 2-0 win over UAE. The last game was a 4-0 win over Kuwait. They got out of the group but faced a difficult game against Iran, who beat them 4-3.

The 04/05 season was beginning and PSV had just sold Robben, so a space on the wing was up for grabs and Park made sure it was his. The season started with an away game against Red Star in Champions League qualifying, PSV lost 3-2 but it was Park that opened the scoring. PSV won the home leg 5-0 to reach the group stage. The group stage would have them Panathinaikos, Rosenborg, and Arsenal, a club that would go on to hate the sight of Park. PSV would get out of the group in 2nd place, tied on points with Arsenal but behind them on Head 2 Head. Te round of 16 would pit them against Monaco, and they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners on aggregate. The Quarter-Finals would have them face a difficult Lyon side. Both games ended 1-1 but PSV would win the shootout and go to the Semis. AC Milan awaited. The away leg ended a 2-0 win to AC Milan, with the 2nd being scored in the 90th. The home leg was much better, PSV won 3-1, Park getting the opener. AC Milan made it 2-1 in the 90th, only for PSV to make it 3-1 almost straight from kick off. Meaning AC Milan advanced from the single away goal, and having scored 2/3 goals in the 90th minute over the 2 legs. Heartbreak for PSV. This did set up a final in Istanbul between Liverpool and AC. If PSV could have held on Istanbul could have been so much different. Park was chosen along side Shevchenko, Adriano, Eto'o, and Ronaldinho as the nominees for UEFA Best Attacker.

In the league, Park again played 28/34 games this time thought it was 2378 minutes, for an average of 84 minutes a game. He also managed to get 7 goals and 5 assists as PSV would win the league, 10 points above 2nd placed Ajax and only lose 1 game in the process.

In the KNVB Cup, PSV would win it to complete a double. They beat Willem II 4-0 in the final with Park getting the 3rd.

On the international stage, World Cup qualifiers were all that happened. South Korea finished in 2nd place of their group meaning they qualified. Park's only goal coming in a 4-0 win over Kuwait.

The season had proven to be a massive success for both PSV and Park. Picking up a league and cup double, and being inches away from a Champions League final. Park had impressed so much this season, PSV released this absolute banger 'Song for Park' in honour of him.

During the summer, Manchester United bought Park for ยฃ4,000,000. An absolute bargain. Park would become one of Sir Alex Ferguson's most loved players. Over this first season he made 33 league appearances, including games against the likes of: Liverpool, Arsenal, City and Chelsea. Being used for the big games due to his ability to play almost anywhere on the pitch and follow tactical instructions without question. He started the season strong, making appearances in the first 7 league games, and then in the 8th he put in a MOTM performance. United beat Fulham 3-2, Park getting all 3 assists. His first goal for the club was in the League Cup against Birmingham as United won 3-1. His final goal of the season was against Arsenal, United won 2-0. United finished the season in 2nd.

The Champions League would be a disaster for Man Utd. In a group of Villareal, Benfica and Lille, United would finish in last with 6 points. A positive for Park is that when he came on as a sub for Giggs in the home game against Lille, he was given the Captains armband. Making him the first Asian to ever captain Man Utd.

The league cup would see United win it with a 4-0 win over Wigan in the final. The FA Cup saw United knocked out by Liverpool in the 5th round, Park didn't play.

This summer was Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup. South Korea had been drawn against France, Togo and Switzerland. They started the campaign with a 2-1 win over Togo, sending them top after France and Switzerland drew. The next game was against France, it ended 1-1. Park scored. Switzerland beat Togo, meaning both Korea and Switzerland had 4 points and France had 2. The final game saw South Korea face Switzerland in a game that both knew a win would guarantee qualification. Switzerland proved too strong for South Korea and beath them 2-0. France also beat Togo 2-0 and qualified in 2nd, 1 point ahead of Korea.

The 06/07 season was one of mixed emotions for Park. He would get injured and miss the majority of the season. Making just 14 league appearances, 5 FA Cup and 1 Champions League. Despite this, he still managed to get 5 goals and 3 assists in the league. United would go on to be Premier League Champions and Park had played enough to get a winners medal, making him the first South Korean player to do so.

The 07/08 season was a slow starter for Park. Still recovering from injury for the first half of the season, he wouldn't make his first appearance until Boxing Day, in a 4-0 win over Sunderland. Despite this he was given a medal for winning the Community Shield. His first start this season would come in a Champions League Quarter Final away at Roma. He would assist the second goal in the 2-0 win. Park would also play the full game in the 2nd leg as United won 1-0. The Semi Final saw them face Barcelona, United won the tie 1-0 on aggregate thanks to that Scholes goal. The Final was played against Chelsea and despite playing every minute of the Quarters and Semis, Sir Alex left Park out of the squad for the final. Sir Alex has since come out and said it was one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make and one of the only ones he regrets. [United would win the game on penalties, thanks to a certain slippy defender] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh_kBDG3SGY). Even though he didn't play the final, he was still eligible for a winners medal. Making him the first Asian to with the Champions League. The issue with this statement is that Australia are now considered Asian in football terms, so Harry Kewell may be able to claim this from his winners medal he received at Liverpool. Man Utd would go on to win the Premier League, for a second season in a row. They were knocked out of the League Cup in the third round and the FA Cup in the sixth.

During this season, [2010 World Cup Qualifiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_(AFC) started. South Korea played topped the group, and qualified along with North Korea. Due to Park's knee injury, he didn't appear in may of these games.

The 08/09 season was back to Park's usual fitness levels. he again missed out on the Community Shield but United beat Portsmouth and he was handed a medal. His first game ended up being the UEFA Super Cup, a game in which Zenit were shock 2-1 winners. Park would make his first Prem appearance in a 1-1 against Chelsea, park got the first goal. Park would go on to make 40 appearances this season across 6 competitions, scoring 4 times and assisting 3. In the Champions League, Park would play in 4/6 group games to help United top the group. In the round of 16, United were drawn against Inter. Park played the full first leg and came on as a sub in the second as they won 2-0. The Quarter-Final saw them beat Porto in a thrilling game that saw Ronaldo score one of the best goals he ever has. The Semi-Finals matched them with Arsenal. Park didn;t play the first game and it ended 1-0 United. In the away game, United won 3-1 and Park scored the first. He was selected to play the final this time and it was against Barcelona. United got beaten 2-0 but that wasn't the last we'd see of Park in a CL Final.

In the League, Man Utd won go on to win it for a 3rd time in a row. Half way during this League campaign, they took a short break to appear in the Club World Cup. United beat Gamba Osaka 3-5 then LDU Quito 1-0 to win the trophy. In March Park's performances would earn him United Player of the Month.

United would lose to Everton in the Semi-Final of the FA Cup but beat Spurs on Penalties n the final of the League Cup.

This meant United ended the season with the Premier League, Community Shield, CWC and League Cup. Quite possibly the most BTEC Quadruple ever won.

The 09/10 season saw Park struggle for first team game time. Making just 1,635 minutes all season. That being said he was still utilized in big games. Playing in all but 4 Champions League games, The Community Shield, The League Cup Final, and facing Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and City in the league matches. Showing that even when not playing, Sir Alex still saw his value and someone he could trust when needed.

The season started with a Community Shield loss to Chelsea on Penalties, Park was subbed on in the 75th.

In the Champions League, United ended up getting knocked out on away goals by Bayern Munich in the Quarter-Final. Park scored his only goal of this run in a 4-0 win over AC Milan.

In the league United would finish 2nd, 1 point behind Chelsea. Park managed 4 goals and 1 assist. That lone assist coming in a 3-1 win away at Arsenal.

Leeds knocked United out of the FA Cup 1-0 in the first round. They won the League Cup yet again with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa, Park playing 85 minutes.

The summer following this season would be Park's last tournament for South Korea, the 2010 World Cup. Before we get to this though we need to look at a friendly before the tournament between South Korea and Japan. South Korea won 2-0, Park scored the opener and it won the KFA Goal of the Year, giving Park the award for a second time. South Korea were handed a group with Greece, Argentina and Nigeria. They beat Greece in the first game 2-0, Park bagged the second. In the second game they were handed a 4-1 thumping by Argentina, meaning they they go into the final game with Nigeria in 2nd place, with 3 points. Argentina were through but the other 3 teams still ahd it to play for. In the end, Korea drew 2-2 with Nigeria, and Greece lost to Argentina. Meaning Korea came second with 4 points. In the next round, South Korea were knocked out to Uruguay 2-1 thanks to a Suarez brace.

Going into the 10/11 season, Park once again had injury issues and only managed 28 appearances all season. That being said he played in 9 of United's 13 games in the Champions League as they once again made it to the final.

As with the last few years, United were in the Community Shield, again against Chelsea. United won this one 3-1 with Park playing half of the match.

In the CL, United were given a group with Rangers, Valencia and Bursaspor. Park played in 5 of the 6 games getting 2 assists as he helped them to top the group. In the last 16, Marseille were the opponents, United went through 2-1 but Park was injured for both games. He was able to return for the Quarter-Final against Chelsea. United won the first leg away 1-0, and the home leg 2-1 and Park bagged the 2nd. The Semi-Final matched them with Schalke, United won both legs and went through 6-1, Park missed the second game. The finals saw them play Barcelona in a rematch of the Final from 08/09. Barcelona were once again too good, anyone that watched that game can tell you how unplayable they were that night. Park played the full 90 minutes, meaning he has appeared in 2 Champions League finals and lost them both but won the 1 he didn't feature in. This also made park the first Asian to play in 2 Champions League Finals.

In the league, Park made 15 appearances, scoring 5 and assisting 3. One of these goals came right on the stoke of half time in a 1-0 win against Arsenal, it was an interesting header to say the least but it went in and again showing he pops up in big games. United went on to yet again win the league title.

In the FA Cup, Park made 1 appearance, the Semi-Final defeat to Man City. In the League Cup they were hammered by West Ham 4-0 in the Quarters.

The 11/12 season was his last at Man Utd and it was his least successful. Park again only managed 28 games for United. As with the last few seasons, they started off playing the Community Shield, this time against Man City. United won 3-2 in dramatic fashion, Park didn't play.

The Champions League would be a bad one, a group with Benfica, Basel and Otelul Galati should have been easy work. Instead they finished 3rd and found themselves in the Europa League. They beat Ajax on away goals before crashing out to Bilbao 5-3 on aggregate.

The FA Cup and League Cups were also bad. Getting knocked out by Liverpool 2-1 in the forth round of the FA, Park scored United's only goal. They lost to Crystal Palace in the League Cup Quarter Final 2-1 in extra time. Park had managed 3 assists in the previous 2 games of the Cup.

The Premier League, well you all already know what happened. United thought they had won it when the full time whistle went at The Stadium of Light. Only for Aguero to step up.

During this season Park would play in a World Cup qualifier against Kuwait. South Korea won 2-0 but this proved to be Park's last ever international game.

QPR signed park for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2012. He was made club captain straight away and made his debut on the first game of the season, a 5-0 home loss to Swansea. Park wouldn't get a win in a QPR shirt until the 11th game of the season, when they beat Chelsea 1-0. They would only get 2 more wins all season, over Southampton and Sunderland. The season finished with QPR in last place and Park having scored 0 goals and getting just 3 assists.

With one season left on his QPR contract and them being relegated from the top flight, PSV took him on loan for this final year. He was met by nothing but love from the PSV faithfuls who were happy to see him return. He made his debut against AC Milan in a Champions League Qulaifier. The game ended 1-1 with Park playing just shy of 70 minutes.

He made his league debut in the 3rd game of the season, a 1-1 against Heracles Almelo. Park scored the PSV goal. He would get his first full 90 minutes a few games later, in a massive game against rivals Ajax. PSV won 4-0, Park got 1 goal and 2 assists. Again showing he does it when it matters. Park would go on to feature in most games for PSV, appearing in 27 games all season. Park got 2 goals and 5 assists.

As the season ended, Park was out of contract at QPR and had no club to return to. He retired and cited his recurring knee issues as the reason. Park was met with all kinds of plaudits upon retirement and rightly so. He had won 19 pieces of Silverware, reached 3 Champions League finals and got 4th place a world cup. Andrea Pirlo wrote in his autobiography, that Park was one of the few players he could never get the better off and wrote "The midfielder must have been the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history, in the sense that he rushed about the pitch at the speed of an electron."

His ability to always perform in the big games is one that all players would love to have. His ability to manage his stamina is something I have never seen on a footballer since. Park Ji-Sung is truly a legend in South Korea and Asian Football in general. A player that is a cult hero at both PSV and Manchester United. He formed one of the most unlikely friendships with Evra and Tevez, both of them celebrated his birthday. Park and Evra were even the captains on a special edition of Korean gameshow Running Man. if you've never seen it it's worth a watch. He is one of my all time favourites and one I will never forget.