Staff : First team : Ji-sung Park

Ji-sung Park - or "Ji" as he is known to his United team-mates - can play anywhere in midfield. Due to his skilful and energetic performances, he has quickly become a fans' favourite at Old Trafford since moving from PSV Eindhoven in 2005.

Born in Seoul, raised in Suwon just outside South Korea’s capital, Park left school at 18 to join Japanese side Kyoto Purple Sanga. His potential to make the leap from Asia to Europe was spotted by Guus Hiddink, who coached the South Korea during their successful run to the World Cup semi finals in 2002. Later that year, Park followed Hiddink to PSV.

Ji-sung earned widespread recognition in 2005 after scoring against AC Milan in the Champions League semi finals, but he had gradually been building his reputation in Holland. Park played only a fleeting part in PSV’s title success in his first season in Holland. Two years later he had fully adapted to European football and was an integral component of the side that clinched Holland's League and Cup Double.

Alerted to his blossoming talent, Sir Alex had Park scouted on more than 20 occasions before finally signing him for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £4million, on 22 June 2005. Having already proved his ability in Europe,

acclimatising to the Premiership was Park’s initial test. He rose to the challenge, playing all but four of United’s Premiership matches in 2005/06. He scored his first goal for the club with a fine strike in the 3-1 away win over Birmingham in December 2005, and claimed his first medal in the Carling Cup final win in February.

Position: Midfielder
Appearances: 66
Goals: 7
Joined United: 08 Jul 2005
Transfer Fee: Undisclosed
Previous Clubs: PSV Eindhoven
United Debut: 09 Aug 2005 v Debreceni (H)
International Korea Republic