Fergie urges Asian stars to follow Park route
Wednesday, 18 July 2007
TOKYO, Jul 17 (AFP): Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has refused to rule out adding more Asian stars to his Old Trafford squad -- if they follow the same route taken by South Korean midfielder Park Ji-Sung.
Ferguson, currently in Tokyo with United on the first-leg of their Asian tour, is due to take his team to Seoul Wednesday for a friendly against FC Seoul in the South Korean capital Friday.
Park will miss the game due to a knee injury that is set to keep him on the sidelines until January, but the popular midfielder has already made a big impact at United since arriving from PSV Eindhoven two years ago.
Few Asians have made a real impact in the Premiership, with Japanese duo Junichi Inamoto and Hidetoshi Nakata struggling to reproduce their international form during their time in England.
Aside from Park, only Chinese defender Sun Jihai at Manchester City can claim to have exceeded expectations in the most high-profile league in the world, although South Korea's Lee Young-Pyo and Seol Ki-Hyeon are starting to make a mark at Spurs and Reading respectively.
Ferguson, currently in Tokyo with United on the first-leg of their Asian tour, is due to take his team to Seoul Wednesday for a friendly against FC Seoul in the South Korean capital Friday.
Park will miss the game due to a knee injury that is set to keep him on the sidelines until January, but the popular midfielder has already made a big impact at United since arriving from PSV Eindhoven two years ago.
Few Asians have made a real impact in the Premiership, with Japanese duo Junichi Inamoto and Hidetoshi Nakata struggling to reproduce their international form during their time in England.
Aside from Park, only Chinese defender Sun Jihai at Manchester City can claim to have exceeded expectations in the most high-profile league in the world, although South Korea's Lee Young-Pyo and Seol Ki-Hyeon are starting to make a mark at Spurs and Reading respectively.