A lot was said and written about how Asian football was on a rise when Park Ji Sung the South Korean hit headlines with his performance at the world cup and his much hyped transfer to one of the biggest clubs in the world - MANUTD.
The first Asian player to score on the biggest stage for European club football AND also the first Asian to win a Champions League medal one would expect that his name would be mentioned as one of the players who reshaped the history of Asian football.Signed by Manchester United in 2005 and being picked over Scholes and Giggs Park was a instant hit with the Manchester United faithfuls.
Sceptics would say that a closer look on his career with his club shows that he has never lived up to the standards though.A regular feature on the substitutes bench and an injury probe last year has made many question -Was the hype around an Asian justified?But aren't these achievements in themselves to stand toe to toe with some of the best players and giving them a good run for their money in the team which lead to the extension of his contract till 2010 and being a nominee of Uefa Football awards in the year 2005.The person has always performed brilliantly for club and country alike ,unlike some of his contemporaries. A person of extreme humility he claims that all his success was because of his then manager Guss Hiddink.
Whether Park has done anything else or not he has given hope to a young Asian who aspires to be on the world stage and perform like a champion he truly is.
He deserves all the accolades he gets and has surely changed the face of Asian Football
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