Park Ji-Sung @ PSV Eindhoven 2013-2014 [R]

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...l-news/andrea-pirlo-sir-alex-ferguson-6989745

"Even Sir Alex Ferguson, the purple-nosed manager who turned Manchester United into a fearsome battleship, couldn’t resist the temptation."

"He's a man without blemish, but he ruined that purity just for a moment when it came to me. A fleeting shabbiness came over the legend that night."

"At Milan, he unleashed Park Ji-Sung to shadow me."

"He rushed about at the speed of an electron. He'd fling himself at me, his hands all over my back, trying to intimidate me."

"He'd look at the ball and not know what it was for."

"They'd programmed him to stop me. His devotion to the task was almost touching."

"Even though he was a famous player, he consented to being used as a guard dog."

Didn't realize that Pirlo had such a good sense of humor. That has to go down as one of the greatest man-marking jobs ever. Completely shut him down. At Old Trafford, I think Pirlo only completed 21 passes, and Park was still able to score a goal. For as much shit that Park gets from a few here, it's gonna be a while before we see another Korean player reach that level.

 

Such a great player..
Park "sacrificing" himself to make way for younger players is so dumb. His intentions are good but such a thing is unheard of in Europe or South America. "I will sacrifice myself for the youngsters" is such a Korean thing to do. The team loses a lot without the man.

 

true, but you have to admit, in the long run it will help
also losing a lot and the recent Dark Age have hopefully prompted the KFA to get its fcking shit together

 

Hope you're right but they should follow the Brazilian, Argentinian and Spanish models of not sacrificing yourself. I don't see it as a noble thing, it just makes me go WTF are you all doing? But yeah, hopefully it will be good in the long run.

I don't know man. He's freshly 33. There are many players in the WC older than him and who are coming in with more matches played. But you're probably right. We'll never know what could have been though.

 

He can hardly play once a week and he's barely gonna survive the season. He cannot contribute at WC.

 

Does anyone have a link to the highlights or game footage of the match against Milan? Much appreciated. My favorite PJS MU moment was 1) header goal against Liverpool or 2) goal vs Chelsea right after Drogba scored. Still have that saved in my DVR.

I dont know why anyone would $hit on PJS here. Look at the KPA's now... barely playing and if they are, inconsistent at best for lower tier clubs (except SHM but they have been awful last few months). KBK doesn't play regularly, KJC has been poor, Ki has played well but for a last place club, PCY .... , etc etc etc etc etc. I think a lot of ppl took PJS for granted while he was at Manchester United. PJS will always be my favorite player. Legend.

 

When I say that a few here gave him shit, I'm referring to a) how he dealt with his lack of playing time and b) his time spent with QPR. There were a few posters who thought that Park was too docile and quick to accept his role within Fergie's rotation system. Almost as if he was a bitch and Fergie's lapdog ready to heed his beck and call. After Moscow in 2008, some thought that he should have immediately demanded a transfer after suffering the indignity of not even making the bench. I was bummed out as anyone that he got screwed but the indignity was Park's and his alone. Huge respect for the man to decide I'm going to come back and work harder than ever so that won't happen again. Winning 2 more league titles, 2 more cup comps, and starting in a couple Champions League finals later justifies his decision for me. Can you imagine what the typical modern footballer would have done? Even in 2012 when he should have been playing more, I'm glad Park didn't sulk and throw a fit like most in his situation would. A complete professional.

When he eventually left United for QPR like most here wanted, a few here were quick to pile on when things obviously weren't going well. That QPR team had trouble written all over it, and bar having Messi or Ronaldo that team was going down. PJS didn't deserve the shit he got then, the man should have a statue erected of him. Time stops for no man and age catches up with everyone. How quickly a few forgot what he's done for club and country. Maybe "giving him shit" is too strong, but he certainly was getting criticized. Embarrassing.

Park is a complete one-off. A f*cking legend. Always felt immense national pride when watching him play. His technical ability was vastly underrated. If guys like Ki and Son had half his mentality and desire, they'd be world-beaters. As it stands, there's nobody on the current national team that will reach his heights. Sometimes, you don't realize what you have until it's gone.

 

The fact that PJS is a hero and a legend does not mean that he was without his flaws.

Was his daddy too nosy/controlling? Probably though he's not the only footballer with this problem.

Did he sign for QPR due to money / Air Asia endorsement money? Probably. Many of us were worried that they'd go down.

Did he stall out the move to PSV over money rather than football? Yes.

Was he the best mentor of our next generation of young kids? Probably not. AC was far from a success and perhaps he could have taught them better to avoid the PR disasters that have plagued KNT recently. And he really should have warned YSY from joining that s***hole.

Was he too willing at times to sit on the bench, whether its with SAF or probably more problematically when his armband was taken away and he warmed the bench for Harry? I think in retrospect no on the former but yes on the latter.

These are all valid criticisms and would be really devalue the point of having a conversation on PJS without mentioning these flaws.

That said, he's accomplished more for both club and country than most footballers can dream of, opened doors for all these Korean footballers, and remains an unquestionable legend. These flaws are incredibly minor and only stand out relative to the amazing career he's had and the impact he's made worldwide.

 

I think that it's a bit harsh to criticize PJS for the actions of his father. That's just him being a good, dutiful Korean son. As for going to QPR, money will always be a motivating factor for footballers. He most likely wanted to stay in England, but I'm not sure what other offers were out there for him. Personally, I would have been fine with him staying for another year at United. As for being a better mentor, that's probably true but that's just not in his character makeup. He seems to prefer leading by example rather than being a vocal leader. He was a great example for the younger kids by his actions on his pitch and the way he carried himself off it. I'm not going to hold it against him that he wasn't holding their hands every step of the way. As far as Redknapp was concerned, what could he do? I'm pretty sure Park didn't demand to be the captain and could give a shit either way. I'm actually proud of the way he handled a shitty situation with professionalism and not sulking or complaining. I understand that the squeaky wheel gets the grease but to me that's the easy route and the one most would take. My appreciation of him goes up even more for not causing a distraction. The man is a one-off, and it'll be a while before we see the likes of him again.

 

Yeah guys of course he's no good in his current state. I was just reminiscing on a big "what if?", there are thousands of scenarios of how things could have turned out. He didn't necessarily know he'd be in this state now and if he did he could have saved his strength for the world cup the way Messi and others are doing. Just last year, summer 2013, was not a bad time for him to play a WC. He could have stayed at QPR knowing he wouldn't play much, get paid, and make it well rested to the WC. Who knows.
I'm just saying that thing of retiring to help Korean football grow, I don't buy that. I know what u mean Mr. Sir that he had other physical reasons to retire but I just don't see it. Why didn't he mention them? I think he genuinely retired for the good of Korean football, and like I said it may be with noble intentions but I think it's dumb and unheard of.

It's my fault for dwelling in the "if only"s, it's useless to talk about this now. I'm just a big PJS fanboy.

 

i'd be careful before saying hes a one off. while a great player its the nature of sports that past accomplishments will be eventually surpassed.

 

When I say one-off, I'm referring to his mentality and humility combined with his accomplishments. I agree that someone will eventually come along as that's the nature of sports but he was one of the first along with Cha Bum-Kun, of course, to pave the road for Koreans and Asians, in general, to find success in Europe. I don't think it's a stretch to say that nobody on our current national team will ever experience the heights of Park's success.

 

His comments about international duty for friendlies and the like seemed to be indicative of the fact that it was an incredible burden on his bad knee to be flying around right after a match with united, then get hacked at by some desert team in a meaningless friendly or two, then fly right back trying to keep leg from freezing up on such a long flight and hope to be fresh enough to fight for a spot in the 11.

Perhaps he was just saving himself with the outside hope that the KFA would come calling (as they ended up doing) closer to Brazil. Seemed like the plan would have worked outside his leg completely failing on him now.

 

He did mention physical reasons as being a major part in his decision to retire from football. Numerous times. Other sources close to him have confirmed it as well.

As for his father, yeah he does go on public record about his son more often than he should. But then again, isn't he also PJS' s official agent? It is his responsibility to go on public on behalf of PJS.

 

very nice. But if he wanted to go easier on his legs I don't understand why he'd go to QPR in the first place, which I believe was to get more playtime. The playtime he sought to get at QPR and PSV is probably the same or worse for his legs as if he had stayed at united and stayed with the KNT isn't it?
Anyway good answer,

 

First, I don't think he expected to aggravate the injury.

Second, I think he was planning to move along anyway given his little minutes that year. So the choices were, New Club or New Club+KNT. He opted out of the latter.

Finally, international duty is hard because the week is compressed combined with travel (aggravating being seated most of day) + jet lag (prevents recovery) and tight schedules (4 matches in 15 days), not the aggregate number of playing minutes over the season.

 

Well it's all perfectly likely but lets keep the facts and the opinions separate please!
The certainty is we will never know 100% what happened.

 

Um, except for that both he and HMB have said multiple times that he decided not to rejoin the national team because of both the schedule and the physical strain.

 

Personally i'd rather not see him break his legs over the summer.