Park Has Been Unbelievable

With Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung ready to face Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday evening, former South Korea coach Pim Verbeek was recalling his first sight of the player.

Verbeek was not only the assistant to Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups respectively; he was the Korean team boss from August 2007 to August 2008.

He first saw Park when he was in Japan playing for Kyoto Sanga.

"He played in the striker position when I saw him at Kyoto, with [Japan international Daisuke] Matsui," the Dutchman told the Daily Yomuiri. "They won the Tenno Hai [Emperor's Cup] in 2002 and they were champions in J2 and he was one of the key players on that team. Still, you think, OK, he's 18 years old and he didn't look like a real football player.

"You see [Cristiano] Ronaldo and you think, 'Yeah, that's a football player.' But Park, you think, 'Hmm, what is this?' But the moment he is on the field, he is unbelievable."

After the 2002 World Cup, Verbeek, the current coach of Australia, was at PSV Eindhoven with the Korean exports.

"I was at PSV Eindhoven when Park and Lee Young Pyo came," Verbeek said. "I know the PSV players looked at him and thought, 'Korean players?' "There was a lot of skepticism about those players but that changed very, very soon because they saw what they could do--not only with the ball, but without the ball. They saw the work rate, the unbelievable mentality, the commitment to the game and they changed the mentality in the PSV squad. What they showed was a top professional attitude."

Verbeek believes after his move to Manchester United in the summer of 2005, Park has become an important player for the club.

"First of all, his work rate is unbelievable," said Verbeek. "He's always playing for the team. Every team needs players like him. I can remember the time when he played for PSV Eindhoven when they played in the semifinal of the Champions League against Milan, and over the two games he was outstanding.

"I think that if Ferguson, who has been working with the best players in the world for 10 years, likes him, then that says more than enough."

"So he has had an unbelievable career. I think nobody ever thought that he could go that far." (source: goal.com)