Ji-Sung Park

Park Ji-Sung is a leading Korean international footballer currently at Manchester United.

Captain of the South Korea national team until his retirement after the Asia Nations Cup in January 2011, he is arguably the greatest player his country has ever produced, having won 92 caps since making his debut in 2000.

After early struggles to break into professional football, he found a way in at Kyoto Purple Sanga, helping his team to promotion and a cup final. The 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea saw Ji-Sung and his team mates reach the semi-finals under the guidance of Guus Hiddink, who took him to PSV Eindhoven in Holland a year later.

Injuries meant he was unable to make an immediate impact, but he became a key player in a side that reached the 2005 Champions League semi-finals, showcasing his pace, energy and versatility, with a growing influence in front of goal.

Ji-Sung signed for Manchester United in 2005 and has become a very useful squad member for Sir Alex Ferguson since joining. With the exception of some spells out through injury, he has often been used in big matches, largely due to his defensive discipline and work rate, and he has appeared in two Champions’ League finals, unfortunately on both occasions ending up on the losing side.

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