Korea’s dynamic duo set sights for England
South Korea has its own “dynamic duo” ― Park Ji-sung and Park Chu-young ― the hottest properties in Asian soccer.The older of the two, Ji-sung, has just joined Manchester United in a $7.4 million deal that thrusts the shy Suwon native onto one of the brightest athletic stages.
Manchester United is the biggest and richest sports franchise in the world, has fans from Auckland to Argentina, has lifted the English title eight times in the past 13 years and has young players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo and will be challenging for titles at home and abroad for years to come.
The 24-year-old will need to use all of his, not inconsiderable, experience in England. He took the unusual route of moving to Japan without ever appearing in the Korean league. His two years at Kyoto Purple Sanga were successful ones, but they weren’t the reason why the midfielder earned a move to Dutch giant PSV Eindhoven.
Ji-sung’s exploits in South Korea’s run to the semi-finals in the 2002 World Cup were the clincher to his European move, as was his relationship with then Korean team boss Guus Hiddink. When he scored an exquisite goal against Portugal in Incheon, he ran straight to the Dutchman and jumped into his arms.
Hiddink has since been reluctant to let go. When he took over the reins at Eindhoven he wasted no time in persuading Park to join him and despite some initial settling-in problems, the Korean established himself as an integral part of the midfield in southern Holland, leading the team to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Such performances inevitably attracted the attention of bigger fish and they don’t come any bigger than Manchester United. It’s difficult for any player to turn down the “Red Devils” and Park will soon become the first South Korean to play in the Premier League.
Equally inevitable were suggestions in the English and European media that United bought Ji-sung to “crack” the Asian market in order to help boost the focus of the club’s smooth merchandising machine in the east.
The biggest service the star can provide to Asian soccer during his time at United is to prove that European clubs can actually sign Far Eastern players for their talent and skill and not for the dubious perceived benefits of selling shirts in the Orient.
It won’t be easy, as he has to break into the first 11 in England and stay there, but playing with stars like Rooney and Ronaldo can only help the Asian develop.
“What is important for me is whether I can play in games or not,” said Ji-sung, who is planning to study English.
“I don’t think I will become a big star like David Beckham right now,” joked the Korean about the former Manchester player. “Maybe I can if I was that handsome, but I am always trying to be a better player, so I don’t think it is impossible to become a player like Beckham.”
Such humor will serve him well as will his typical Korean determination to succeed. English fans prize effort, heart and willingness to give everything for the team above everything, qualities that Park has in abundance as well as no little skill.
If the other Park is Batman, then Chu-young is certainly the boy wonder and plans to follow the trail blazed by the United man, repeatedly stating his desire to play in England. With the meteoric rise of the player, who turned 20 on July 10, few would bet against the sensation doing just that.
To anyone living in Northeast Asia, it is scarcely believable that the Daegu native was unknown just a year ago. The striker’s six goals during last November’s Asian Youth Championship, won the title for his team and the prize of most valuable player for himself.
The greater award of the AFC’s Young Asian Player of 2004 title was received in January 2005 as was attention from a host of K-League clubs with FC Seoul eventually capturing the services of the emerging celebrity.
Encouragingly for Chu-young and for South Korea, he seems to be able to make the step up to the next level with breathtaking effortlessness. He finished the pre-season Hauzen Cup competition as joint top scorer and then went one better by becoming the outright leading marksman in the first stage of the K-League, despite missing five games due to international duty. His mere presence tempts the sometimes reluctant Korean public to pour into stadiums all over the republic.
If observers didn’t believe the hype, they had to reconsider in June. After only three appearances in the K-League, national coach Jo Bonfrere bowed to media pressure and included the deeply-religious goalmaker in the starting line-ups for the vital World Cup Qualifiers in Uzbekistan and Kuwait.
A last minute equalizer in Tashkent kept his country on the road to Germany 2006 and five days later, the striker scored the first goal in a sweltering Kuwait City and earned the penalty for the second to secure the win that guaranteed South Korea a place in its seventh World Cup.
Rarely has a rise been so dramatic, but the ambitious and single-minded 20 year old doesn’t plan to stop anytime in the near future as his avowed intent is to move to England as soon as possible.
South Korea just may have a pair of global stars on its hands.
by John Duerden
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)