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Park Ji-Sung (born February 25,1981 in Suwon) is a
football (soccer)|football player from South
Korea.  He is most famous for scoring the winning
goal for South Korea national football team|South
Korea against Portugal national football
team|Portugal during the Wc|2002 tournament group
stages.  On June 22, 2005 he signed for
England|English Premiership side Manchester United
F.C.|Manchester United for £4 million from
Netherlands|Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, subject to a
medical and work permit. His work permit was
initially denied, but was granted July 5 on an
appeal from United.

== Career highlights ==
During the Portugal - Korea Group stage game in WC
2002, Park received a pass off his chest,
transferred the ball to his left, and executed a
shot that sent the ball between the legs of the
Portuguese Keeper, Vitor Baia. 

In 2003, he transferred to PSV Eindhoven, to play
under Guus Hiddink, his former coach and mentor in
the South Korean football team. In his first year,
Park was repeatedly booed by fans at Phillips
Stadion, because of his uninspiring play and in
the end had to undergo knee surgery. 

In 2004/2005 Campaign, Park established himself as
an elite midfielder with the departure of Mateja
Kežman and Arjen Robben, freeing up a starting
place for Park. Teamed up with fellow Korean
Young-Pyo Lee, and Dutchmen Mark Van Bommel and
Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Park formed the
backbone of PSV's play in midfield. During the
second leg of Semi-Finals of Champions League,
Park was alledgedly responsible for the early
substitution of Alessandro Nesta. During the
match, Nesta could not respond to Park's
fitness-oriented style of play, and following a
head injury, Nesta was subbed out. PSV however,
lost the tie on aggregate. 

In the off-season, Park was scouted by Sir Alex
Ferguson of Manchester United, who believed that
Park's lively style of play and superb fitness
could be the foundation his flagging Manchester
United needed. Also, with the aging of star Roy
Keane and Ryan Giggs, Park was sought after in
order to keep the aging Manchester midfield fresh.
Sure enough, he was impressive during Manchester
United's pre-season tour of the Far East as well
as in the first game of the season against Everton
F.C with his tireless, pacy roaming of the pitch
and pressuring of the opponents, such that
Ferguson chose him over the Giggs and the popular
Cristiano Ronaldo against Aston Villa F.C on 20th
August the following week. His composure in front
of goal is his main weakness as more than once he
came close to scoring but he opted to pass the
ball to his other team-mates even though he had a
shot bounce off the post.

He is known as the 'star' because he excelled
wherever he went, and brightened the room with his
good attitude and hard work. Although he is the
first Korean player to play in the FA Premier
League|Premier League, he is not the most popular
player in Korea. This is in part due to his
unimpressive looks, and because he is a primarily
a 'grinder' type midfielder. However, his fitness
is known to rival that of a marathon runner, and
players in PSV Eindhoven jokingly suggested that
Park plays with an oxygen tank strapped to his
back. 

Suwon, Park's city of origin, unveiled a road
named after him, Park Ji-Sung Road, on June
27,2005 to honour his contribution to South Korean
national team in the Football World Cup 2002|2002
World Cup - the first instance of such an event
for a living footballer in South Korea.

== Clubs ==
* 2000 - 2003 Kyoto Purple Sanga
* 2003 - 2005 PSV Eindhoven
* 2005 - Present Manchester United

*South Korea national football team (2000 -
active)
**Debut against Mexico national football
team|Mexico
**Appearances: 42
**Football World Cup|World Cup appearances: 2002
**Goals: 5

He also played for South Korea in the 2000 Summer
Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

==Honours==
With Kyoto Purple Sanga:
*J. League Division 2: 2001 
*Emperor's Cup: 2002/03

With PSV Eindhoven:
*Holland Casino Eredivisie: 2005
*UEFA Champions league semi-finalist 04/05

==See also==
*List of Korea-related topics
*List of Koreans
*South Korea national football team


== External links ==
*http://english.psv.nl/show?id=9720&dbid=604&typeo
fpage=22365 Park's page in PSV English-language
website

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