An ode to Park Ji Sung - The man with three lungs

To the dismay of Park and Manchester United, Barcelona won 2-0 with a masterclass and Pep Guardiola rose above Sir Alex Ferguson to win the Champions League. Park would never have his moment under the sun as he was left to bask in the past glory.

Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung battles with AC Milan’s Andrea Pirlo

Unlike the previous season, 2010 would be a rather dull year for Park, albeit for one night. Facing AC Milan in the quarterfinal, Sir Alex saw the ingenuity of Milan’s Pirlo and decided to go with his most trusted player. As Park started the game behind the striker, he would man-mark Pirlo and literally left him with no legs to run on.

“On one of the many occasions when our paths crossed during my time at Milan, he unleashed Park Ji-sung to shadow me. 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.”

Pirlo’s description of Park ji Sung was testament to the way Sir Alex used him and the fact that no player could escape his clutches. The effect of Park was such that when he left in 2012, Manchester United never found a player to replace him.

Having lost the title to Manchester City on goal difference, Park could sense his importance in the side waning and an inherent need to leave the club came up. As the man left the Theatre of Dreams once and for all, his statistics read 27 goals in 205 games. Not exactly the musings of an attacker but a vast amount of those 27 had come in big matches against the big guys. Sir Alex’s emphasis on Park playing for the team was clearly reflected in his returns, but not for a moment did he regret that.

He had been one of the best performers at the World’s best club for seven years and what a period it was. Culminating in a Champions League title, 4 Premier League titles and a FIFA Club World Cup, Park walked out of Manchester United with his head held high and millions of people across the world celebrating his years at Old Trafford.

Signing for Harry Redknapp at QPR, a paltry season followed with QPR getting relegated and Park being sidelined for a better part of the season. And then, he returned to where it all began. He returned to PSV, much to the joy of the fans. After a season with no fireworks, Park chose to take one last look at football and retire. His retirement was met with huge outcries in the world of football and rendered people saluting the career of the most decorated Asian footballer ever.

Although his international career was far from impressive after the 2002 World Cup, his time at Europe greatly increased footballing interest in South Korea. The final swansong to Park’s career was never ever set up as his retirement was out of the blue. But, the voices of people from around the world shedding tears for his career shall forever remain in his heart as he will walk out a champion.

Old Trafford and Philips Stadion shall always be his European home and his name would be writ in gold on every blade of grass in these places. As we take a final bow to experience the myth behind his rise, let’s see it from the man he considers his greatest influence.

“The coach always seemed to be so far away, but he came to me and told me I have great mentality. I played with those words ringing in my ears. If it was not for Coach Hiddink, I would not be where I am now. I feel a bit shy thinking about what he would think after reading this, but he is my ‘master’ and I owe him everything and I won’t be able to repay it in my lifetime.”

These are the praises bestowed on Guus Hiddink by his loyal student, Park ji Sung in his autobiography. While the intent of performing at the biggest level is present in everyone, what people need is someone to ignite it. And there he was, Guud Hiddink to play trigger to the greatest South Korean football has ever seen.

The sublime ecstasy of life often transcends into hard-wrought effort. The meteoric exoneration of effort this man exhibited was the greatest gift he possessed. Park Ji Sung explored into the deepest trenches of energy to bring out his best.

He glided on the football field, never breaking much of a sweat, and making even the most difficult of free kicks and passes look very simple with this subtle and casual style of play. That was Pirlo for you.

In a nutshell, perhaps, this is what Sir Alex thought of as he watched Pirlo captivate the world, “Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t faced Park yet!”

For men may come and men go, thou shalt never see Park replaced!