“Three-Lungs Park”: Manchester United’s Unsung Hero, Workhorse and Perfect Professional
In a footballing universe where the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney were on everyone’s lips, there were players going under the radar. Park Ji-sung falls into that bracket.
Nicknamed “Three-Lungs Park” due to his abnormal vascular capacity, he easily finds himself in my top five favourite footballers of all time — largely credited to his combination of on-the-field technicality and off-the-field expertness.
Footballers from Asia are certainly not what people would classify as ‘high-profile’, but the Seoul-born midfielder set a precedent to introduce fans to a world of talent that is typically overlooked.
Although he doesn’t find himself placed in the top ten appearance holders or goal scorers for his country, he will be forever remembered for being the most decorated South Korean footballer — and what a footballer at that.
In more recent years, a certain man in North London has set the world alight. Heung-min Son has been flying the Asian footballing flag very high with his tremendous showing at Tottenham Hotspur.
The beginning of his soon-to-be illustrious career in Europe
It often takes one run of games at a well-watched competition for talent to be uncovered and the story of Park Ji-sung was no different. Park first started beginning to get noticed at the 2002 World Cup, with his home nation being one-half of the host countries alongside Japan.
Portugal, Italy and Spain. You may think I’m listing off some of the most dominant sides we’ve seen in international football, but no. South Korea beat all three of these international stalwarts en route to the semi-finals and Park was the vital cog for his nation under Guus Hiddink.
So much so, the Dutch manager took his most prized possession under his wing and snatched him from Japanese club Kyoto Purple Sanga and soon had him playing alongside the likes of Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben.
This feat at the World Cup set the standard for Asian national teams moving forward as they became the first and only team (still to this day) from outside Europe and the Americans to reach the last four of a World Cup.
In Park’s initial stint with PSV, he contributed to two Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Cup. In the season prior to his departure, the Dutch side even reached a Champions League semi-final against European giants AC Milan.
A combination of injuries and lack of adaptation time saw Park endure a challenging first year at his new club. However, with a sound run of games and time to understand the system, Park quickly became part of the formation of PSV’s midfield backbone.
More goal contributions came, and he was chosen as a nominee for the 2005 UEFA Best Forward award thanks to his emphatic performances. His highlight, however, came when he found the back of the net against AC Milan as PSV forced their way through a 3–1 home win.
154 appearances and 40 goal involvements later, Park’s time in the Netherlands was seemingly done as Manchester United became interested in the South Korean’s services.
At a mere £4 million, Manchester United swooped in to win over the man from PSV Eindhoven. A risk Sir Alex was willing to take turned out to be a stroke of genius from the Scotsman.
A quiet but significant summer for the Red Devils as Edwin van der Sar also joined after making the switch from West London to Manchester.
All in all, a good signing. United had a tight grasp on one of the hardest-working footballers on the planet — one that fit like a glove in Fergie’s idea of football.
Park was heralded as a commercial signing at the start of his United career, merely a gimmick to sell replica shirts in Asia. Murmurs of the next Dong Fangzhou arose but in true Park fashion, these murmurs were shoved to the side.
Soon after, Park proved his worth and went on to play in matches with phenomenal importance, star in some of the greatest teams of all time and win a fair few accolades along the way.
The now-retired midfielder spent seven seasons under Sir Alex and contributed to domestic and European success: four Premier League titles and a Champions League win. An impressive trophy haul to add to his CV.
The ‘immeasurables’
As wonderful as statistics are, it doesn’t paint the complete picture of a player’s capability on the field with certain characteristics going widely unnoticed. And while Park didn’t top any leaderboards, his influence on the team was still largely important.
His attitude and professionalism were comparable to that of club legend Paul Scholes, with even Sir Alex Ferguson praising Park for his well-drilled attitude.
Although he was commended for his out-of-this-world work rate and tenacious nature, his skillset was much more varied than first caught the eye. He was a great tackler, a unique passer and possessed high intelligence.
Under the Scottish manager, he quite quickly became somewhat of a specialist due to the industrious nature of his game. Park’s ability to nullify and suffocate the opposition was second to none. He was versatile and was able to play on either wing, just behind the striker and could even serve a purpose in central midfield.
United’s more incisive frontmen — including Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, and Ryan Giggs — would thrive in the presence of Park as he would often sacrifice his game to allow them to work fluidly across the forward line.
Unlike others, Park’s game was entirely played at full tempo and covered every last piece of grass possible. Things like this set him out from the rest and moulded him to become an indispensable asset to the squad.
These characteristics would go on to construct him into what is commonly termed as a ‘big game player’. While some footballers may crumble under high-pressure situations, Park flourished and produced his finest and most memorable displays in Manchester United red.
An integral piece of Sir Alex Ferguson’s perfect puzzle in United’s pursuit of their third Champions League triumph. A collection of his finest moments will definitely be floating around the Internet somewhere, but his Champions League features were undeniably a joy to watch.
In United’s run to the Champions League final back in 2008 is when Park truly took to the occasion. He was instrumental in both legs of Manchester United’s aggregate win over Barcelona, tirelessly putting himself about and being a nuisance.
Though his finishing (and his inferior stature — though we have learnt that being lesser in size is not so much a problem as once thought) seemed to be his Achilles Heel, he developed quite the reputation of delivering when it mattered the most — on the big stage.
Reducing Andrea Pirlo to sour grapes
A whole piece in itself can be written about *those* European nights. Egged on by Fergie and the rest of his Manchester compatriots, Park was the epitome of a big game player and proved his worth when tasked with man-marking a certain Italian operating in his prime.
The video below shows Park at his best in all its glory.
Park was not always a guaranteed starter in United’s star-studded roster, but not once did he ever shy away when called upon. Ferguson, throughout his managerial tenure at Old Trafford, often became dependent on his ever-reliable player when a possible season-defining game was moments around the corner.
He once said:
“Your job today is not about touching the ball, it’s not about making passes, your job is Pirlo. That’s all. Pirlo.”
Such simple but mesmerising words from the gaffer at the time. A task only capable to be fulfilled by the very elite.
Manchester United were able to secure a historic two-legged victory against a tough AC Milan outfit. On both occasions, the side from Manchester dominated possession. Though Wayne Rooney hit the headlines with his brace of second-half headers, Park outshone his teammates with his infamous performances.
Andrea Pirlo, the orchestrator of AC Milan’s midfield, became frustrated with Park’s efforts to restrict his passages of play allowing him to play just 21 passes in the second leg. This was unknown to the Italian metronome and AC Milan suffered immensely due to his lack of creativity on the night.
The South Korean was given a role and executed it with perfect precision. He understood the reasoning and snuffed out any progressive play by the Italy international.
Former teammate Rio Ferdinand discussed Park’s displays against AC Milan on BT Sport and joked about Pirlo suspecting finding Park at the end of his bed, once again highlighting that Park followed the Italian genius around like a lost puppy.
At a club that dominated English football during his tenure at the club, his role was highly underappreciated. Fast forward a whole decade or so and Park would — with ease — walk into Manchester United’s midfield — a midfield lacking that necessary bite and workhorse mentality.
Like most footballers, as you age you tend to lose your once brilliant capabilities and are prone to more mistakes. The midfielder became a scapegoat in his concluding years at Manchester United as unjust criticism was shunted his way when things didn’t quite go to plan.
After a course of long-standing knee issues, his glittering career came to an unsurprising but sudden halt. A cult favourite for both club and country has given plentiful performances that leave those in attendance in awe.
The easiest way to explain his importance is that in a promotional video for Sir Alex Ferguson’s documentary ‘Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In’, the manager admitted a mistake — a mistake that in hindsight may have lost them a Champions League final. To this day, he regrets not playing Park in a role to man-mark Lionel Messi seeing as he had implemented this role to perfection previously.
To end, if you were to look up any of the following terms in the Oxford Dictionary: underrated; underappreciated; unvalued, you will see a picture of Park Ji-sung in Manchester United colours, be it red, white or black.
