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#3 John O’Shea
The original "Mr Versatile", John O’Shea holds the distinction of having played in EVERY position for Manchester United – yes, that includes as a goalkeeper and wait for it, a striker!
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The Irishman was a faithful servant to the club, and did whatever was asked of him – making him a manager’s darling. However, O’Shea ended up being a victim of his own versatility and was never able to permanently nail down a position on the pitch despite his services being heavily called upon.
That's probably the reason why he’s so underrated by the football public. Perhaps Sir Alex Ferguson’s decision to let O’Shea leave for Sunderland after 12 years of dedicated service was a bit harsh, considering he still had a lot left in the tank.
Nevertheless, the Old Trafford faithful will never forget the part the Irishman played in helping Manchester United win 5 Premier League titles, 1 FA Cup, 1 Champions League and 2 League Cups among other trophies.
#2 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Those who remember Ole Gunnar Solskjaer just for his incredible stoppage-time winner for Manchester United against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final forget that the Norwegian was one of the deadliest finishers around.
One who has scored an incredible 126 goals in 366 appearances for Manchester United, while being a super sub in most of his games.
The Baby Faced Assassin was much more than an impact sub whose contributions were constantly overlooked due to him sharing the pitch with star strikers like Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Solskjaer was a Manchester United player through and through, and was ever-willing to put the clubs interests – whether that meant having him sit on the bench for prolonged periods or playing out of position – before his own.
The Norwegian’s incredible reading of the game – honed from spending hours upon hours observing it from the bench – is the also part of the reason why he was so deadly on the pitch.
Solskjaer is absolutely adored by the Old Trafford faithful, who know what a big part he played in securing 6 Premier League titles, 2 FA Cups, 1 Champions League, 2 Community Shields and 1 Intercontinental Cup for Manchester United.
No one knows the fabric of Manchester United better than the Norwegian, who is currently managing the club he loves so much – and who has succeeded in partially restoring the club’s DNA in the traumatic post- Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Here’s hoping the trophies, which he knows all too well from his time as a player, come to him soon.
#1 Ji-sung Park
One can’t have a list of the 5 most underrated players in Manchester United history without mentioning Ji-sung Park.
The legendary Korean, whose brilliant volley helped his country knock Portugal out of the 2002 World Cup, was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson for a paltry £4 million back in 2005 and quickly proved to be a shrewd piece of business.
Park’s superhuman work rate, which earned him the nickname Three-Lungs Park, and utter devotion to duty made him a manager and fan favorite.
His big game abilities, which were on full display in both legs of Manchester United’s 2010 Champions League tie against AC Milan during which he completely pocketed a prime Andrea Pirlo, were second to none.
Pirlo, who made just 21 passes at Old Trafford during that encounter, said of Park in his autobiography: "The midfielder must have been the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history, in the sense that he rushed about the pitch at the speed of an electron."
No one needs to be reminded of the numerous problems he gave Arsenal and Chelsea whenever he faced them. Sir Alex Ferguson stated that one of his biggest regrets was leaving Park out of the 2008 Champions League final despite the midfielder’s phenomenal performances against Roma and Barcelona in the quarters and semis of the tournament.
Although Park sadly never got the adulation he deserved, he became a cult hero to the Old Trafford faithful who knew how integral he was in helping Manchester United lift 4 Premier League titles, 1 Champions League, 3 League Cups, 4 Community Shields and 1 FIFA Club World Cup.
Rooney summed up Park’s contributions best, when he said, “It’s crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12-year-old, they would immediately say, 'Yeah, he was a brilliant player for Manchester United, but if you said 'Ji-sung Park' they may not know who he was."
Rooney went on to say: "Yett all of us who played with Park know he was almost as important to our success. That’s because of what Park gave to the collective and I want to talk about teams. They — not stars — are the most important thing in sport.”
