2. Park Ji Sung
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Park is one of the most decorated and certainly the most successful Asian footballers of all time. The former South Korean captain won the Dutch league twice with PSV Eindhoven, scoring 17 goals during his three seasons in the side. He transferred to Manchester United in 2005 and during a 7-year stint with the English giant, set out to add a lot of glitter to his impressive CV.
He won the Premier League four times and became the first Asian player to win the Champions League with United in 2008. Park was nominated for the Ballon d’Or in 2007 and also named FIFA.com’s ‘Best Asian Player in Europe’ the same year. Park’s ability to find space in the midfield was seen as a major asset and his then manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and his consistent performances in big games led him to label the South Korean a ‘big game player’.
His importance in the United team was highlighted by repeated contract extensions and regular appearances when it mattered the most; his energy, intelligent passing and performances saw him becoming the first Asian to captain the side against Lille in a Champions League game in 2005. Park scored 27 goals across competitions for the Red Devils and post-retirement, returned to the club as a global ambassador.
Park scored against Portugal in the 2002 FIFA World Cup sending co-hosts South Korea into the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time. The Asian nation finished as semi-finalists, their best record in the championship ever. He also scored goals for Korea in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, becoming the only player from his country to do so in three consecutive editions of the tournament.
