Park Ji-Sung

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This is a Korean name; the family name is Park.

Personal information
Park Ji-Sung

Date of birth	February 25, 1981 (age 26)
Place of birth	Suwon, Republic of Korea
Height	1.78 m (5'10")
Nickname	Ji (to his United team-mates), Ji-Unit, 3 Lung Park, Oxygen Tank
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder Winger
Club information
Current club	Manchester United
Number	13
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000-2003 2003-2005 2005-	Kyoto Purple Sanga PSV Eindhoven Manchester United	76 (11) 64 (13) 047 (6)
National team²
2001-	Korea Republic	67 0(6)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:24, 31 March 2007 (UTC). ² National team caps and goals correct as of 21:24, 31 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Korean name
Hangul:	박지성
Hanja:	朴智星
Revised Romanization:	Bak Ji-seong
McCune-Reischauer:	Pak Chisŏng

Park Ji-Sung (born February 25, 1981 in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do) is a South Korean football player. He currently plays for the South Korean national team and Manchester United. Park is extremely popular among South Koreans and fans of PSV Eindhoven for being pivotal in helping take South Korea to the Semi-Finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, PSV Eindhoven to the Semi-Finals in the UEFA Champions League, as well as for being among the first of his countrymen to play in the English Premier League.

Park is best known for his incredible pace and stamina. His former teammates at PSV Eindhoven have jokingly suggested that Park plays with an oxygen tank strapped to his back. For the same reason, United fans have given Park the nickname "Three-Lung Park." This nickname and others attest to his impressive pace and stamina, which enables him to produce fast-paced, consistent play for a full 90-minute game.

To his managers, he has been renowned for his good attitude and strong work ethic, which have helped him excel for both club and country. As a creative and versatile midfielder with great technical skills, Park continues to be recognized amongst Europe's best, as well as a valuable squad member of Manchester United FC.

"The right winger for Manchester United is ... a wizard with the ball at his feet who can burn defenders with his pace, Park has great vision and uses it to deliver and distribute the ball to his teammates with pinpoint accuracy in the attacking third of the field." -CBC Sports.

1 Career
2 Awards
3 AFC Controversy
4 Career statistics
5 Personal life
6 Clubs
7 Honours
8 Notes
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] International career

Park began his international career as an 18 year old defensive midfielder. However, when Guus Hiddink became the head coach of South Korea, Park's position was shifted to that of a winger. Since then, Park has become a versatile player who can play in a variety of positions: central midfield, right or left midfield, as well as a wing-forward.

Park rose to stardom in 2002, scoring goals against England and France during international friendlies in May, preceding the World Cup of 2002. During the World Cup, he scored the stunning match winner in South Korea's group match against the favoured Portugal team, eliminating them from the tournament.

Park also scored the equalising goal in the 2nd Group G Match against eventual finalists France in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was voted Man of The Match. Between these two World Cup Finals, his shirt number shifted from 21 to 7, and he played in every match for South Korea.

[edit] Kyoto Purple Sanga

Park's first professional contract was at J-League's Kyoto Purple Sanga in 2000. He was the first Korean footballer ever to go straight to the J-League without first playing for the K-League. In 2001 the club won the Division 2 championships. He left the J-League following the World Cup.

[edit] PSV Eindhoven

Before the World Cup, Guus Hiddink was appointed the manager of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven. In 2003, Park and South Korean teammate Lee Young-Pyo moved to PSV Eindhoven, to play under their mentor and former national team coach. While Lee quickly became a fixture in PSV Eindhoven's starting lineup, Park struggled due to injuries and adapted slowly to the Dutch league, leading to be booed by many PSV fans.

However, by the end of 2003-04 season, Park had begun to adapt to the Netherlands, both on and off the field. In the 2004-05 season, the departure of Arjen Robben to Chelsea afforded Park more starting opportunities and he quickly proved his worth to the team. Along with Johann Vogel and Dutchmen Mark van Bommel and Philip Cocu, Park formed the backbone of PSV Eindhoven's midfield play with his pace and passing. Having been a top contributor of goals and assists that season, the highlight of Park's PSV career came when he scored the first goal against Italian team AC Milan at the Champions League semi-finals. PSV went on to win the home leg 3-1, but their 2-0 loss during the away leg meant AC Milan advanced to the Champions League Final.

PSV fans even wrote a song for Park for his contributions during his time with the club. Titled "Song for Park", it was included in the PSV official album "PSV Kampioen", and repeats "Ji-Sung Park" in Dutch pronunciation the whole time.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Manchester United

In the closing months of the 2004-05 season, Park was vigorously scouted by top football clubs in the English Premier League and the Italian Serie A, of which the most keen were Chelsea and Manchester United. He chose to join Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United, who was impressed with Park's lively style of play, terrific pace, and unparalled fitness. On June 22, 2005 Park signed for English Premiership side Manchester United from Dutch side PSV Eindhoven for £4 million, subject to a medical and work permit. His work permit was initially denied, but was granted on July 5 following an appeal from United.

As expected, he impressed during Manchester United's pre-season tour of the Far East, as well as in the first game of the season against Everton with his tireless roaming of the pitch and relentless pressuring of opponents, such that Ferguson picked him over Ryan Giggs and the popular Cristiano Ronaldo to start against Aston Villa on 20 August the following week. Despite being quite strong with both feet, his current lack of composure in front of goals is considered his main weakness.^{[citation needed]}

His first goal for Manchester United came on December 20, 2005, during a 3-1 win over Birmingham in the League Cup Quarter Final. His first goal in the Premier League appeared to have been against Fulham on February 5, 2006, in Manchester United's 4-2 victory at Old Trafford.^[1] However the Premier League's Dubious Goals Panel later ruled that this was an "own-goal" due to a deflection off a Fulham defender. Park's first official league goal came against Arsenal on April 9, in Manchester United's 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.

On August 11, Manchester United announced that Park had extended his contract with the club until 2010. Speaking of Park's commitment to the club, Ferguson said "Ji-Sung has had an impressive first year and I’m pleased to have secured him to the end of the decade at least. He has adapted well to the Premiership. His awareness and ability are first class."

He tore his ankle ligaments in training right before Manchester United's away match against Benfica FC, which kept him out of action for three months.^[2] Park returned after recovering from his injury on December 17 in the 1-0 defeat against West Ham United. On 13 January 2007, Park played a major part in the in a 3-1 victory against Aston Villa, assisting C. Ronaldo and Carrick in their two goals, and even scoring himself. On February 10, 2007, Park again played a significant part for the team in a 2-0 victory against Charlton, in which he created chances opening the play and even scoring his second goal of the league campaign. On March 17, 2007, Park played a decisive role on the great victory against Bolton Wanderers (4-1), scoring two of the four Red Devils' goals. On March 30, he scored a goal and set a goal up as Manchester United won their match against Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford. [1]

[edit] Awards

In 2005, Park was chosen as one of the famous five nominees for the best forward/striker category in the prestigious UEFA Club Football Awards. The other four were Adriano (Inter), Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona), Ronaldinho (Barcelona), and Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan). Ronaldinho eventually won the award. In the same year, he was a candidate for the European Footballer of the Year award, amongst some of Europe's best players. While he did not win that title, he was selected in EuroSport Best 11 for 2007, a title which represents Europe's best 11 players. In February, he was chosen by German football magazine Kicker as the Premier League's best player. Park was selected as a midfielder for the SkySports Best 11 of the Premiership in March, along with fellow Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

[edit] AFC Controversy

In 2005, Park Ji-Sung was widely regarded as the most prominent candidate by far to win the AFC Player of the Year award; however, unfortunate circumstances led him to forfeit his chance of nomination after AFC announced the prospective omission of nominees who could not attend the AFC Annual Awards gala held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This sparked much controversy in Asia, especially with other notable omissions such as Japan's Shunsuke Nakamura and Iran's Ali Karimi. The official ceremony was to be held on 30th of November 2005, while Manchester United had an upcoming game against West Bromwich Albion in the 4th round of the League Cup on the exact same date. In a difficult position, Park readily decided to play for his club rather than to fly over to Malaysia to claim his prize. While the ceremony was being carried out in Kuala Lumpur, Park displayed an impressive performance in the match against West Brom, contributing to both United's 3-1 victory and the booking of their place in the quarterfinals of the League Cup.

[edit] Career statistics

(Correct as of March 31, 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
Club	Season	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Kyoto Purple Sanga	2000	13	1	0	3	0	0	-	-	-	16	1	0
	2001	38	3	8	2	0	0	-	-	-	40	3	8
	2002	25	7	7	4	1	0	-	-	-	29	8	7
PSV Eindhoven	2002–03	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0	0
	2003–04	28	6	2	1	0	0	10	0	1	39	6	3
	2004–05	33	7	5	3	2	0	13	2	2	49	11	7
Manchester United	2005–06	33	1	6	5	1	0	6	0	0	44	2	6
Manchester United	2006–07	14	5	2	5	0	0	1	0	0	20	5	2
Total											245	36	33

[edit] Personal life

Ji Sung Park is known to be very good friends with fellow Manchester United players Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra, John O'Shea, Edwin van der Sar and former United player Ruud van Nistelrooy.

[edit] Clubs

Kyoto Purple Sanga (J-League) - 2000 - 2003
PSV Eindhoven (Dutch Eredivisie) - 2003 - 2005
Manchester United (English Premier League) - 2005 onwards

[edit] Honours

[edit] Kyoto Purple Sanga

J. League Division 2 Champions: 2001
Emperor's Cup Winner: 2002

[edit] Personal Honours

One of five nominees for the best forward/striker category in the prestigious UEFA Club Football Awards. The other four were Adriano (Inter), Eto'o (Barcelona), Ronaldinho (Barcelona), and Shevchenko (AC Milan): 2005
European Footballer of the Year Candidate: 2005
EuroSport Best 11 (Europe XI): 2007
Premier League Best by German football magazine Kicker (February Issue): 2007
SkySports Best 11 (Premiership XI): 2007
Rank 2nd Best Midfielder in non-Italian Leagues Category by Gazzetta Dello Sport Magazine: 2007

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

	South Korea squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place
1 Lee Woon‑Jae \| 2 Hyun Young‑Min \| 3 Choi Sung‑Yong \| 4 Choi Jin‑Cheul \| 5 Kim Nam‑Il \| 6 Yoo Sang‑Chul \| 7 Kim Tae‑Young \| 8 Choi Tae‑Uk \| 9 Seol Ki‑Hyeon \| 10 Lee Young‑Pyo \| 11 Choi Yong‑Soo \| 12 Kim Byung‑Ji \| 13 Lee Eul‑Yong \| 14 Lee Chun‑Soo \| 15 Lee Min‑Sung \| 16 Cha Du‑Ri \| 17 Yoon Jung‑Hwan \| 18 Hwang Sun‑Hong \| 19 Ahn Jung‑Hwan \| 20 Hong Myung‑Bo \| 21 Park Ji‑Sung \| 22 Song Chong‑Gug \| 23 Choi Eun‑Sung \| Coach: Hiddink

	South Korea squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Lee Woon‑Jae \| 2 Kim Young‑Chul \| 3 Kim Dong‑Jin \| 4 Choi Jin‑Cheul \| 5 Kim Nam‑Il \| 6 Kim Jin‑Kyu \| 7 Park Ji‑Sung \| 8 Kim Doo‑Hyun \| 9 Ahn Jung‑Hwan \| 10 Park Chu‑Young \| 11 Seol Ki‑Hyeon \| 12 Lee Young‑Pyo \| 13 Lee Eul‑Yong \| 14 Lee Chun‑Soo \| 15 Baek Ji‑Hoon \| 16 Chung Kyung‑Ho \| 17 Lee Ho \| 18 Kim Sang‑Sik \| 19 Cho Jae‑Jin \| 20 Kim Yong‑Dae \| 21 Kim Young‑Kwang \| 22 Song Chong‑Gug \| 23 Cho Won‑Hee \| Coach: Advocaat

Manchester United F.C. - Current Squad
1 van der Sar \| 2 Neville \| 3 Evra \| 4 Heinze \| 5 Ferdinand \| 6 Brown \| 7 Ronaldo \| 8 Rooney \| 9 Saha \| 11 Giggs \| 13 Park \| 14 Smith \| 15 Vidić \| 16 Carrick \| 18 Scholes \| 20 Solskjær \| 21 Dong \| 22 O'Shea \| 23 Richardson \| 24 Fletcher \| 27 Silvestre \| 29 Kuszczak \| 32 Cathcart \| 33 Eagles \| 38 Heaton \| Manager: Ferguson

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Park Ji-Sung

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] International career

[edit] Kyoto Purple Sanga

[edit] PSV Eindhoven

[edit] Manchester United

[edit] Awards

[edit] AFC Controversy

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Personal life

[edit] Clubs

[edit] Honours

[edit] Kyoto Purple Sanga

[edit] PSV Eindhoven

[edit] Manchester United

[edit] Korea Republic

[edit] Personal Honours

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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