Park Ji-sung Proves Himself to Be the “Best Attacker”

Park Ji-Sung has joined the ranks of Europe’s top attackers.

Park Ji-sung (24, Manchester United), the first Korean to sign with an English Premier League team, had his name put on the candidate list in the Best Striker category of the UEFA Club Football Awards.

On August 4, the UEFA unveiled the ballot for the UEFA Club Football Awards which includes Park Ji-sung, along with Adriano (FC Internazionale Milano), Samuel Eto`o (FC Barcelona), Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona) and Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan) on its website (www.uefa.com).

The UEFA Club Football Awards bestows prizes to four players from European clubs (Best Goalkeeper, Best Defender, Best Midfielder, and Best Striker) and one MVP. The Awards will be held in Monaco on 11 p.m. August 25.

Nominees who are on the list with Park are all excellent strikers. Adriano, the Brazilian rising star, was awarded a Golden Shoe thanks to his impressive play in the FIFA Confederation Cup Germany 2005. Andriy Shevchenko is also a player with an extraordinary career and was the winner of the 2004 Golden Ball award. Ronaldinho won the FIFA 2004 World Player of the Year award. Samuel Eto`o is among the highest scorers in the Spain’s Premera Liga.

In the 2004-2005 campaign as a player for the Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, Park Ji-sung scored 11 goals (seven goals in the Dutch league, two in the Amstel Cup, and two in the UEFA Champions League), leading the team to the Dutch League and Amstel Cup championships. Park made a strong impression with his middle-distance shot in the second period of the semi-final against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League tournament.

On August 4, when questioned in the U.K. as to whether he needed more players, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson replied, “My team’s condition is good. Particularly, I am satisfied with the new players.” Manchester United recently signed contracts with two new players: Park Ji-sung and Dutch goalkeeper Edwin Van Der Sar.

Park injured his left eyebrow during a match against the Kashima Antlers on July 28 but is expected to play in the preliminary match of UEFA Champions League on August 10.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com