Former Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung did not hide his excitement after the Red Devils’ memorable victory against Liverpool earlier this season, according to his own wife.
The side endured a horrendous start to the new campaign under Erik ten Hag - losing their first two matches of the season against Brighton and Brentford. They were not given much hope of ending that lean run against Liverpool at Old Trafford last month.
Jadon Sancho gave Utd the lead in the 16th minute though, with Marcus Rashford then doubling their advantage minutes after the half-time interval. Mohamed Salah made it a nervy finish to the game as he pulled a goal back but in the end the hosts secured a deserved victory.
The Red Devils have gone on to add a further three victories to that run and have launched themselves up the table. Park’s wife has detailed how the now 41-year-old couldn’t contain his delight having kept abreast of goings on at Old Trafford against Liverpool.
She said: “We were dropping kids off in an elevator and then he suddenly goes [gasps]. I’ve never seen him getting this excited for anything. So I asked him ‘what happened?!’ Then he goes ‘we [Man Utd] actually won!’”
Asked by the talkshow host if Park was more or less excited than during his nation South Korea’s memorable win over Germany at the 2018 World Cup - two stoppage time goals securing victory for the Asian nation - she suggested that the Red Devils took priority. She continued: “[It was] not even comparable.”
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Park, of course, became a Man Utd cult hero following seven years at Old Trafford having arrived from Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven in 2005.
He went on to accumulate 205 appearances for the Red Devils, scoring 27 goals. The South Korean lifted a vast number of trophies with the club - a haul that includes four Premier League titles, three League Cups and the Champions League.
However, he was left out of the squad entirely for the final showdown with Chelsea in 2008 - a decision that legendary boss Sir Alex Ferguson regrets to this day.
He said: “It was a really great bunch of players with a great attitude about them and a good, strong squad. My problem in the 2008 final, maybe I even regret it to this day, was I left Ji-sung Park out completely in the final.
“He’d played such a great role and that’s the problem when you get to these finals. At Wembley [against Barcelona two years later], I did it to Dimitar Berbatov and he took it badly. He didn’t deserve it.
“No player deserves to be left out of the final. That’s why we try hard at these European seminars with the coaches to try to get 11 subs in the final.”
