<p> On the night of June 14, 2002, in front of a 50,000-strong crowd in Incheon, a dimunitive 22-year-old scripted history as his goal against Portugal in the 70th minute propelled South Korea into the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The feat was unprecedented and the player, Park Ji-Sung, went on to forge a highly successful career from that point on. His heroics during the World Cup earned him a quick ticket to Europe as he was snapped up by PSV Eindhoven in the same year.<br /><br />Park was in familiar surroundings as PSV were then being managed by Guus Hiddink, the man who coached South Korea during their 2002 World Cup campaign. Even though his European career began slowly, due to injuries, the midfielder was quick to adapt and soon became a crowd favourite. His versality was such that in 2005, Manchester United came knocking and Park was given the opportunity to work with the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson and went on to win four Premier League titles and one Champions League crown in five years.<br /><br />In Bengaluru to attend the Manchester United Soccer School finals, the South Korean credited Hiddink with helping South Korea achieve what they have in the last 14 years.<br />“He’s one of the greatest managers in the world. We learned and changed a lot of things after his arrival and today we are getting close to the level of European football and it is because of what he started. He has been a large factor in shaping South Korea’s footballing history.”<br /><br />Having retired from his national side in 2011 after being capped 100 times, the former skipper was hopeful of South Korea’s next World Cup campaign.<br /><br />“Now you have a lot of the guys participating in various European leagues and that gives them the exposure to perform at higher levels. When we played in 2002, it was more about being around each other always and training together constantly since all of us were playing in leagues at home. But now people develop individually and then come together as a team.”<br /><br />United have endured a lacklustre season so far and the former Red Devil was quick to identify the issue at hand. <br /><br />“It definitely isn’t a good season. They aren’t performing consistently. It isn’t just a single issue that the team have, there are a lot of issues and they need to get their act straight by being together and knowing their roles. Hopefully they will do well in the last few games.”<br /><br />The 35-year-old, who came to be called ‘Three Lungs Park’, did reflect on his most cherished memory and the one regret that he harboured from his time at United.<br /><br />“My fondest memory from my time at United was winning the 19th title in 2011. That season was the best season for me with United.”<br /><br />Starting a Champions League final is a dream for most players representing European clubs. Park came close to realising that dream in 2008 but was left disappointed in the end. <br /><br />“I was really sad. You know I had played every single minute in the quarterfinal and the semifinal and I really expected to be involved in the final but it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision and since we went on to win the tournament, it was the right decision. He came up to me and apologised, saying it was one of the hardest decisions of his career. Personally, it was hard for me to come out of it but with time, I was okay,” said Park.<br /><br /></p>
<p> On the night of June 14, 2002, in front of a 50,000-strong crowd in Incheon, a dimunitive 22-year-old scripted history as his goal against Portugal in the 70th minute propelled South Korea into the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The feat was unprecedented and the player, Park Ji-Sung, went on to forge a highly successful career from that point on. His heroics during the World Cup earned him a quick ticket to Europe as he was snapped up by PSV Eindhoven in the same year.<br /><br />Park was in familiar surroundings as PSV were then being managed by Guus Hiddink, the man who coached South Korea during their 2002 World Cup campaign. Even though his European career began slowly, due to injuries, the midfielder was quick to adapt and soon became a crowd favourite. His versality was such that in 2005, Manchester United came knocking and Park was given the opportunity to work with the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson and went on to win four Premier League titles and one Champions League crown in five years.<br /><br />In Bengaluru to attend the Manchester United Soccer School finals, the South Korean credited Hiddink with helping South Korea achieve what they have in the last 14 years.<br />“He’s one of the greatest managers in the world. We learned and changed a lot of things after his arrival and today we are getting close to the level of European football and it is because of what he started. He has been a large factor in shaping South Korea’s footballing history.”<br /><br />Having retired from his national side in 2011 after being capped 100 times, the former skipper was hopeful of South Korea’s next World Cup campaign.<br /><br />“Now you have a lot of the guys participating in various European leagues and that gives them the exposure to perform at higher levels. When we played in 2002, it was more about being around each other always and training together constantly since all of us were playing in leagues at home. But now people develop individually and then come together as a team.”<br /><br />United have endured a lacklustre season so far and the former Red Devil was quick to identify the issue at hand. <br /><br />“It definitely isn’t a good season. They aren’t performing consistently. It isn’t just a single issue that the team have, there are a lot of issues and they need to get their act straight by being together and knowing their roles. Hopefully they will do well in the last few games.”<br /><br />The 35-year-old, who came to be called ‘Three Lungs Park’, did reflect on his most cherished memory and the one regret that he harboured from his time at United.<br /><br />“My fondest memory from my time at United was winning the 19th title in 2011. That season was the best season for me with United.”<br /><br />Starting a Champions League final is a dream for most players representing European clubs. Park came close to realising that dream in 2008 but was left disappointed in the end. <br /><br />“I was really sad. You know I had played every single minute in the quarterfinal and the semifinal and I really expected to be involved in the final but it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision and since we went on to win the tournament, it was the right decision. He came up to me and apologised, saying it was one of the hardest decisions of his career. Personally, it was hard for me to come out of it but with time, I was okay,” said Park.<br /><br /></p>
