Park sets bar for Premier League´s Asian stars

After two decades as Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has grown used to watching his players treated like idols across the world, but even he was taken aback by the fervour that greeted Park Ji-Sung in South Korea during the club’s recent pre-season tour.

Park is by far South Korea’s most successful football export and he heads into his fifth season with United firmly established as a key figure in Ferguson’s squad.

So when Park returned home with United for the first time in July, his compatriots were determined to pay tribute to their hero.

They flocked to the airport to greet him when United arrived in Korea and, although Park was not fully fit, Ferguson felt compelled to send him on as a substitute in the friendly against FC Seoul.

Tickets for the match had sold out in hours and fans raised the roof for Park’s 17-minute appearance.

“Two years ago he was injured and didn’t play but I think he still got man of the match!” Ferguson said. “It shows you they have fanatical football supporters here. Korea is a football nation.”

While other Asians have enjoyed fruitful careers in Europe, none have managed to scale the heights that Park has reached.

His hard work and ability to find space that others fail to see quickly impressed Ferguson and, as United rolled to a hat-trick of Premier League titles, Park has become a more regular name in the team.

The 28-year-old became the first Asian to captain United soon after joining the club from PSV Eindhoven in 2005, but his crowning glory arrived in May this year when Park became Asia’s first representative in a Champions League final.

Ultimately that balmy evening in Rome ended in disappointment as United were easily beaten by Barcelona, but for Park it the culmination of a dream he thought may never come true when he was left out of United’s squad for the final against Chelsea a year earlier.

His value to United doesn’t just lie on the pitch though. Koreans have purchased 1.2 million United credit cards since Park moved to Old Trafford and merchandise sales continue to climb in Asia.

It was no surprise he signed a new four-year contract with United in May. But while Park has plenty to look forward to, some of his compatriots playing in England face a more uncertain future.

Fulham’s Seol Ki-Hyeon spent the second half of last season on loan at Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Seol played just six times for Fulham in 2008-09, yet the 30-year-old winger insists he wants to stay and fight for his place this season.

Another South Korean unsure if he will get a chance to prove his worth is Cho Won-Hee, who joined Wigan in March after trials with Monaco and Schalke.

Cho was injured on international duty soon after arriving in Lancashire and had to wait until the final game of the season against Stoke to make his debut.

Now Steve Bruce, the manager who signed Cho, has moved on to Sunderland, and the Korean will have to impress new boss Roberto Martinez instead.

Kim Do-Heon’s brief stay at West Bromwich Albion ended in July when the Korean returned to Suwon Bluewings in a 360,000 pounds transfer after struggling to make an impact in his year in England.

South Korea winger Lee Chung-Yong has much more to look forward to after completing a 2.1 million pounds transfer to Bolton from FC Seoul in July.

The 21-year-old, who has helped Seoul reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals, said: “I had considered the transfer options several times because FC Seoul have a good chance to be number one in Asia and Korea.

“But I wanted to accept this challenge to join Bolton because such chances don’t come often.”