Park Is Manchester United’s Future Says Coach

Park Ji-sung, the 26-year-old “new style engine” of Manchester United, has been mentioned by his manager to be one of the players holding the club’s future.

Ahead of the away match against the French club Lille OSC in the Round of 16 of the 2006-2007 UEFA Championship League, Manchester manager Sir Alex Ferguson held a conference and brought up Park Ji-sung’s name together with Wayne Rooney (22, England), Cristiano Ronaldo (22, Portugal), Nemanja Vidić (26, Serbia), Patrice Evra (26, France), Darren Fletcher (23, Scotland), and John O’Shea (26, Ireland), as he said that these seven players are where the team’s future lies for the next six or seven years. His comment reflects the trust he is placing on the Korean. The manager plans to build the club centered on these players and open a new golden age for the Reds.

Although noticing that veterans such as Ryan Giggs (34, Wales), Paul Scholes (33, England) and Gary Neville (32) can still play at the very top, he points out that they can’t do it forever.

"What we`ve tried to do is reconstruct a team that we knew was getting older," he said.

Currently topping the Premiership standings this season, Sir Alex aspires to win the league championship, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

"(Since we have these young players,) we have a great chance of winning things. Hopefully the European Cup is one of them,” said the manager expressing his desire to win the Champions League.

bluesky@donga.com