Ji-sung Park proved himself as one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most important signings at Manchester United after joining the club in 2005.
The transfer that saw Ji-sung Park move from PSV Eindhoven to Manchester United led to questions over the motives behind the deal.
In hindsight, it seems ridiculous because Park would go on to be a successful signing. He won four Premier League titles, the Champions League and three League Cups.
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Known as a big-game player, Park made a total of 205 appearances for United, scoring 27 goals and registering 28 assists.
Without further ado, here are Park’s top five most influential moments from his time at United.
Ji-sung Park celebrates against Arsenal
Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images
Manchester United 4-0 AC Milan, 2010
This was one of Park’s finest performances in a United shirt.
The former South Korea international was tasked with man-marking Andrea Pirlo in United’s last 16 clash with AC Milan back in 2010, keeping the Italian icon quiet in both legs to contribute to a 7-2 aggregate win.
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David Beckham returned to Old Trafford, only to make a 27-minute appearance as a substitute, in the second leg as United won 4-0 thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney, Park and Darren Fletcher.
Pirlo later wrote in his autobiography ‘I think therefore I play’ that Park ‘must have been the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history’ after accepting he lost that midfield battle.
Arsenal 1-3 Manchester United, 2009
Arsenal went into the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against United needing to wipe out a single-goal deficit, but United struck twice in the first 11 minutes thanks to Park and Cristiano Ronaldo.
This was another big game in which Park showed his importance to the side by scoring the opening goal to increase the size of the hill Arsenal had to climb.
United played incredible counter-attacking football that night, and there was clear chemistry between Park, Ronaldo and Rooney.
Ronaldo completed a brace in the second half to secure United’s place in the 2009 Champions League final against Barcelona. The only setback that night was Fletcher’s red card, as it ruled him out of the final.
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Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool, 2010
United forced a comeback to return to the top of the Premier League by beating Liverpool 2-1 in March 2010.
Fernando Torres opened the scoring with a header from Dirk Kuyt’s cross after five minutes, but United were out for revenge after losing 4-1 to their rivals at Old Trafford in the previous season.
United equalised after Rooney missed a penalty as he jumped on the rebound to make it 1-1.
On the hour mark, United equalised when Fletcher’s cross found Park inside the box, with the South Korean hero sending a header past Pepe Reina.
Unfortunately for United, Chelsea won the Premier League title race by a single point.
Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea, 2011
United booked a place in the Champions League semi-finals after coming from behind to beat Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea side.
Although Ancelotti decided to start Torres ahead of Didier Drogba, it was the Ivorian who opened the scoring for Chelsea with just 13 minutes left.
The scoreline was 1-1 on aggregate and Chelsea were down to 10 men after Ramires was sent off for a second yellow card.
Chelsea’s hopes were short-lived as Park restored United’s one-goal lead to guide Ferguson’s side to the Champions League semi-finals against Schalke.
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Manchester United 0-0 Lille, 2005
Being the only fixture on this list that didn’t end with a United win, this was still a milestone moment in Park’s career.
Ryan Giggs returned to the line-up to captain United on his 100th European appearance, but he was taken off and replaced by Park, who was given the captain’s armband.
That made Park the first Asian to ever captain United.
Paul Scholes was sent off in the same match for two bookable offences.
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