Manchester United star Park Ji-sung recalled his first day at the Premier League team as nerve-wracking.
“When I joined the first training session, I looked around and saw all the players I used to watch on TV. I was like, ‘Can I play with these players?’” the 31-year-old striker said in an interview with United, which was conducted in 2010 and disclosed on its website on Sunday.
“It was weird. I was confident in my ability, but it was just strange to be alongside these players.”
Park, who joined United in summer 2005, also remembered his first day at the club as a moment of pride. “I remember it being a really proud moment.”
The most difficult thing was being away from family and friends, he recalled in the interview.
“Because I play at weekends, and often in the week, I only get two days off here and there, which isn’t enough time for me to go back to Korea. I’m used to it, but it’s hard.”
It was not easy to settle in the new club, but other players and staff were of great help to him.
“The first time I met the players and members of staff, they were very warm toward me. They helped me a lot, so it made it easy to join in and get used to the lifestyle. People were quick to recommend good Chinese and Korean restaurants.”
Asked about his willingness to help young foreign players, Park, who was in his fifth year at the club at the time of the interview, replied: “I like to try to help them because I know how much it meant to me to have people help me settle when I came here.”
Park recalled his United move boosted his reputation. “My reputation was already big in my country because of the World Cup in 2002, but after coming here the coverage has grown.”
By Chun Sung-woo (
swchun@heraldcorp.com)
