Ji-Sung Park coup accelerates QPR brand building
Monday, 9th Jul 2012 19:25 by Clive Whittingham

Do not adjust your sets, QPR have completed the signing of 100-times South Korean international midfielder Park Ji-Sung from Manchester United.

Facts

Few benefitted from the explosion onto the world football scene of South Korea more than Ji-Sung Park. The joint hosts of the 2002 World Cup shocked everybody by making the last four in the competition that year, slaying mighty Italy along the way, and Park was one of the stars.

The South Korean manager Guus Hiddink went onto manager PSV Eindhoven in his homeland and immediately moved to secure the signature of Park from Japanese side Kyoto Purple Sanga with whom he’d been plying his trade since leaving the Myongji University team in his homeland. While there he helped the side to the first Emperor’s Cup triumph in its history.

Hiddink and Park helped Eindhoven to domestic league triumph in 2003 and 2005 and then reached the semi finals of the Champions League, which is no mean feat when you consider the overall standard of the Dutch league. Park scored in a 3-1 first leg win against AC Milan in that 2005 semi final but Eindhoven lost the away leg 2-0 and Milan advanced on away goals.

That all made Park something of a steal for Manchester United when they paid just £4m for him later that summer an d now he’s now a bargain all over again. Queens Park Rangers have signed Park on a two year deal for an undisclosed fee said to be around £2m upfront rising to £5m if clauses are met. Despite suffering with knee injuries at both United and Eindhoven that critics say have reduced his impact at the highest level, that’s still a hell of a deal for a player of this experience and quality.

While at Manchester United, Park won the Premier League four times in seven seasons, the League Cup on three occasions and the Champions League once. His impressive work rate and all round midfield play that made him a key man for Alex Ferguson in the biggest games. He’s arguably the most decorated player ever to pull on a QPR shirt.

Park featured at the 2006 World Cup, and captained his country at the 2010 tournament before retiring with 100 caps and 13 international goals to his name. In the South African tournament in 2010 he became the first South Korean to score in three consecutive World Cups when he bagged one in a 2-0 win against Greece. He leaves United after 203 appearances and 26 goals.

Reaction

We are delighted Ji is going to join us because his record speaks for itself. He has been a big player for Manchester United and played a big part in their success in recent years. He is hugely respected there because of what he has achieved, his application to his work and the impact he has on games. He was always picked for the big matches because they could rely on him, and we are going to reap all those qualities.” - Mark Hughes

I am joining a club that is very much on an upwards curve - a club that has a very bright future. The infrastructure is in place, with a new training ground and plans for a new stadium, for us to achieve in the short and long term. The manager has a proven track record at Premier League level and I am looking forward to working with him and the rest of the squad to help take this club to the next level." - Park Ji Sung

“I'm overjoyed and can't wait to see him in a QPR shirt. I am the ultimate dreamer and myself and Mark have worked incredibly hard to make this happen. Ji has bought into the story and we couldn't be more delighted. What started as a little idea is now a reality and it shows that people are beginning to buy into our story. It shows out determination and our ambition to build this club. Ji is a global star, with a Champions League winner's medal to his name, and he is as excited about this move as we all are." - Tony Fernandes

Top signing. A great player entrusted on the biggest stage by Ferguson. Brings in millions in revenue so virtually pays for himself. Great team and work ethic, can play a bit and scores goals. -Fakerby

Leaving aside the commercial side of things, which may be an important aspect of this signing, Park seemed to be in rapid decline last season. The way I saw it Man Utd were struggling in midfield so they had to use him. I will be more than happy to be proved wrong but in my opinion Park would not be leaving Man Utd if there was any prospect of him getting frequent starts. As a player he was all about energy and workrate, if that is going frankly there isn't a lot to be excited about. - Spaghetti Hoops

Great signing in my view. Whenever I've seen him I've always been impressed by his attitude (first class) and ability. Often overshadowed by higher profile team mates but great experience and I think will be a tremendous acquisition. If it is a bit of an indulgence for TF for the Far East market then it is a pretty good way to do it. -YorkRanger

Opinion

Oh for the sweet and innocent times when football clubs signed football players because the football manager liked how they played football.

This particular signing has been coming for some time because with every passing player acquisition at QPR the scepticism and questions have grown louder; just how can a club with an 18,000 seater stadium afford all of this?

With Tony Fernandes and Amit Bhatia on the board QPR can afford pretty much whatever they like at the moment but fans of the Super Hoops have seen their club on the brink often enough to fear the good times as false dawns and brace for impact when things go awry. Some 80 miles south of QPR’s League One standard stadium stands Fratton Park, an actual second tier stadium this season following the complete and utter collapse of the last club that spent money it didn’t have on players it couldn’t afford to compete in the Premiership only to pay a heavy price when the owner decided to stop bankrolling it all.

Those questions and concerns have been swatted aside time and again by Fernandes, Bhatia and CEO Philip Beard who say they have a short, medium and long term plan for the club to become sustainable. In the medium and long term the plan is for an academy that actually produces players above the Conference standard QPR manage at the moment, and a stadium that serves as an asset rather than a millstone. Short term Phil Beard has been championing commercial revenue opportunities as the first step towards self sufficiency with a knowing smile on his face.

Enter stage right, Ji-Sung Park. You only have to look at the flood of Korean followers seeking out the official QPR feed today, or commenting during the live broadcast of this afternoon’s press conference that had 40,000 viewers when I listened in and more than 100,000 unique users overall, to see there’s more to this signing than simply what he can do on the football pitch.

The less well travelled probably have no idea quite how big the Premier League is around the world. I suspect the next round of negotiations over foreign broadcaster rights – due next year, making it crucial QPR stay in the division this season – will really bring that home to everybody. Reports back from my younger brother – currently gap yahing it around first Asia and South America – have been a real eye opener. He saw every QPR match last season on television, despite being out of the UK since Newcastle away, and just one year into Tony Fernandes’ ownership he tells me QPR replica tops are already prevalent in the Far East. Just imagine that for a second; eight years ago we were losing at Grimsby Town.

Ji-Sung Park is the Asian shirt seller supreme. He has 100 caps for South Korea, he played in the team that finished fourth at the 2002 World Cup on home soil in front of the massed ranks of home support all clad in identical red replica tops, and for the last seven seasons he’s been part of Asia’s favourite Manchester United team. I walked past our little club shop the other day and smiled to myself; things are about to change at our club big time.

The problem with such signings has often been the quality of the player. We know, having suffered at the hands of Zesh Rehman, that there is frequently an elephant in the room when discussing breakthroughs into English football by players who originate from countries not normally associated with the sport i.e. they may sell a lot of shirts but they’re absolute crap. Arsenal, and later Fulham, were stung with Japanese midfielder Junichi Inamoto who immediately boosted the clubs’ profiles in the Far East but rarely made it onto the actual field of play due to lack of ability. Undeterred, last summer Arsenal brought in Park Chu-Young from Monaco who managed one substitute appearance in the league and four starts in cup competitions in his first season. He’s probably already paid for himself in merchandise sales though. This is the modern game, and the modern Premier League, and frankly it does my bloody head in.

Luckily, QPR have pulled off something of a masterstroke with this signing. Not only do they have somebody who will build – here’s that dreaded word again – the brand in the Far East, but they’ve also brought in a player who will improve their midfield tenfold. Park Ji-Sung has been Alex Ferguson’s go-to guy for his biggest fixtures for the last seven years, boasting an incredible work rate and versatility that has made him invaluable to this country’s best team for a very long period of time. He’s 31 now, and his engine isn’t quite what it used to be, but a diminishing role and impact on last season’s runners up does not make him any less of a superb signing for the club that finished seventeenth in the Premier League.

On the field this is a superb signing. Off the field, whether you love and embrace all this “brand” bullshit that clubs trot out these days or not, it’s hard to deny it’s inspired. Congratulations to all involved, this one looks like a brilliant bit of business, a real statement of intent and, at a fee of £2m rising to £5m, an absolute steal.

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Pictures – Action Images

Photo: Action Images

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