Park ‘just as important to Man Utd as Cristiano Ronaldo’, claims Rooney as he recalls ‘unbelievable’ stifling of Pirlo
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WAYNE ROONEY has claimed that Park Ji-Sung was "just as important at Manchester United as Cristiano Ronaldo" and recalls his "unbelievable" stifling of Andrea Pirlo.
The South Korea ace played more than 200 matches in his seven years at the club, winning four Premier League titles and the Champions League.
Rooney, 34, believes Park played a pivotal role in the success of Old Trafford golden boys like himself, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez who often caught the headlines ahead of the former United midfielder.
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Park arrived at Old Trafford for a bargain £4million from PSV Eindhoven in 2005 and many wouldn't consider him as important as Ronaldo, who scored 42 goals alone in the 2007-08 double season
Writing in , Rooney said: "It's crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12-year-old, they would immediately say, 'Yeah, he was a brilliant player for Manchester United', but if you said 'Park Ji-Sung' they may not know who he was.
"Yet all of us who played with Park know he was almost as important to our success. That's because of what Park gave to the collective and I want to talk about teams. They - not stars - are the most important thing in sport."
The Englishman pinpointed a Champions League clash with AC Milan in 2010 as a standout moment for Park who managed to smother hotshot Pirlo to the point at which he was virtually non-existent.
United hammered the Serie A side 7-2 in the tie and Rooney reckons it was largely due to the South Korean's scintillating marking.
The Derby ace continued: "I remember Fergie's team talk before playing AC Milan. He literally said to Park, 'Your job today is not about touching the ball, it's not about making passes, your job is Pirlo. That's all, Pirlo,'
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"I think Pirlo barely had 40 passes in that game, and 95 per cent were backwards because Park was so unbelievable at carrying out his orders."
In 2017 Heung-Min Son overtook Park as the highest scoring Asian player in the Premier League.
The Spurs ace became the first player to reach 50 goals in the top-flight in February, while Park found the net a total of 19 times in the competition.