A year after what Sir Alex Ferguson called “the hardest decision
of my life”, Ji-sung Park is hoping to fulfill his dream of playing
in the Champions League final.
Park was the unlucky player left out of the squad for the final
against Chelsea last May. It’s still referred to as the “Moscow
nightmare” by the press in the winger’s native Korea.
Sir Alex recently admitted the decision “broke his heart” and
has already assured Park a place in his squad for the game against
Barcelona in Rome.
But though he has enjoyed a successful, injury-free campaign for
the champions, Park is taking nothing for granted ahead of
Wednesday’s European showpiece.
“This season has been my best since I joined United. We are
champions and I’ve been part of the team,” he told Sunday’s
papers.
“But I won’t know until Wednesday whether I am playing, so I
will do my best until the final.
“I had the summer to think about missing last season’s final, so
when I came back for the new season I had forgotten about it
because the future is different. I just believed that we could
reach the final again and hopefully this time I might be in the
team.”
If he is named in Sir Alex’s starting XI – thereby becoming the
first Asian player to appear a Champions League final – Park could
be charged with shackling mercurial Barça forward Lionel Messi,
which he did to great effect in last season’s semi-final.
“The position I play in does not matter to me. Either side or in
the middle, I will help the team to try to win the game,” the
28-year-old added.
“It won’t be easy, because Messi’s one of the best players in
the world. But we have the experience of facing Barcelona last
season, when we did well defensively, so we’ll think about that and
concentrate to stop him.
“Barça are the best team in Spain and we are the best team in
England so it will be a fantastic final.”