Ji-Sung Park is a professional football player, who was born on February 25, 1981 in Seoul, South Korea but grew up in Suwon. While studying in Myongji University, he was given the opportunity to move to Kyoto Purple Sanga, a Japanese football club in 2000.
Being a versatile footballer as he can play in various positions such as attacking (central, right and left) midfielder and as a striker, Ji-Sung Park has earned 8 goals in 70 international caps. He made his first appearance as a defensive midfielder in the 2000 Sydney Olympics U-23 regional qualifier. It was Guus Hiddink, head coach of South Korea, who spotted his potential as a winger and trained him for that position. From then onwards, Ji-Sung Park showed brilliant results in all the matches he played. In the 2002 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World cup, he netted the winning goal for South Korea against Portugal, defeating the opponents and moved his national team into the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time. In the process of scoring the goal, he brilliantly controlled the ball with his chest and beat Sergio Conceicao, a Portugal player, before kicking it into the net with his left foot. With his tremendous efforts, Ji-Sung Park helped Korea Republic to finish fourth in the FIFA World Cup 2002.
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup 2nd Group G match, Ji-Sung Park scored a goal which leveled the scores against France. For his commendable performance in the crucial game, he was voted ‘Man of the Match’.
In 2001, Ji-Sung Park helped the Japanese club, Kyoto Purple Sanga, to be promoted to the first division after winning the Division 2 championships. His brilliant headed-goal equaled the team’s score against its opponents, and he also assisted Kurobe, his team-mate, to score the winning goal of the match. Kyoto Purple Sanga bagged the Emperor’s Cup 2002 for the first time in its history. Of his 76 appearances for the Japanese club, Ji-Sung Park has scored 11 goals.
Following his mentor, Guus Hiddink, and South Korean team-mate, Lee Young-Pyo, Ji-Sung Park also moved to Philips Sport Vereniging (PSV) Eindhoven, a Dutch football club in 2003. Having suffered an initial setback due to injuries in the 2003-04 season, he recovered and improved his pace and passing techniques in football, which helped him to become the top scorer for his team in the 2004-05 season. He took tremendous effort to score the first goal against AC Milan, an Italian club, in the Champions League semi-finals, which is a memorable goal in his career. With Ji-Sung in the squad, PSV Eindhoven won the Holland Casino Eredivisie (2004-05) and the Amstel Cup (2005).
Towards the end of the 2004-05 season, Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Manchester United, signed Ji-Sung Park for his impressive, lively style of play, terrific pace and unparalleled fitness. He scored his first goal for the team, which won 3-1 against Birmingham City in the League Cup Quarter Final on December 20, 2005. At Old Trafford on April 9, 2006, Manchester United won 2-0 against Arsenal; Ji-Sung Park contributed one of the goals. He helped his team to reach the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League Final after defeating Barcelona on April 29, 2008. For his remarkable performances, Ji-Sung Park was voted ‘Man of the Match’.
Ji-Sung Park won the Kicker UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder in 2005 and the Kicker Premier League Best Midfielder in 2006. He has also been named the FIFA.com's Best Asian Footballer in Europe for the year, 2007.
