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S.Korea's Park & Li Tie - Extra Asian flavour for Premiership
LONDON: When Manchester United face Everton in the opening match of the Premiership on Saturday, most eyes will be on the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Roy Keane. But thousands of miles away, millions will be following the debut of United's four-million-pound South Korean recruit Park Ji-sung with the fixture given extra spice by the fact that Chinese international Li Tie could be in the Everton team.
Asian players have clashed before in England's top league, but stars like Ji-sung and West Brom's Japanese midfielder Junichi Inamoto have an extra reason to make a mark with the World Cup Finals taking place next summer. Li's fellow Chinese international Sun Jihai is back for another season at Manchester City while Bolton have become the first Premiership club to put their faith in a player from the Gulf in the shape of Oman goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi. Ji-sung is the name that is exciting the region. The 24-year-old midfielder played a major role in taking South Korea to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2002 and then joined coach Guus Hiddink at PSV Eindhoven. After helping the Dutch to the Champions League semi-finals last season, Park has made his way to Old Trafford but insists his role will be much more than just a marketing tool for fans in Asia.
¡°There are huge expectations from the Korean fans. But, just as importantly for me, I want to show the fans in England what I can do,¡± said Ji-sung who scored his first goal for United on their recent Asian tour. ¡°I'm here to compete for my place in the team. Sir Alex Ferguson has told me that he thinks I can reach the standards set by my team-mates.¡± Like United, Everton are also building a profile in the Far East and three years ago signed the 27-year-old Li from Liaoning. Keen to make an impact, they also became the third English side to launch a Chinese website, written in Mandarin. ¡°Of all the sides in Europe we are probably the sixth or seventh most popular behind clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich,¡± said the club's marketing chief Andy Hosie. United have also been tempted in China having signed 18-year-old Dong Fangzhuo who featured on the club's pre-season tour to China. United signed the striker in January, making an initial ¡ê500,000 (US$875,000) down-payment in a deal which could rise to ¡ê3.5mil depending on the number of first-team appearances he makes. ¡°He's a player, like a lot of our young players, who has potential and we hope to develop that potential in the next two or three years,¡± said Ferguson Dong is crucial from a commercial perspective because of the huge interest in the club in China. Asia is a key market for a club which over the past three years has opened at least 10 of its ¡°Mega Stores¡± across the continent. Across Manchester, Chinese defender Sun Jihai is a relatively long-standing feature having signed for former boss Kevin Keegan in 2002. Sun had the honour of becoming the first Chinese player to score in the Premiership when he headed home in a 2-0 win over Birmingham in his second season. At West Brom, Inamoto has returned after a loan spell at Championship side Cardiff City with manager Bryan Robson, the former England skipper insisting that the Japanese star has a crucial role to play after seeing his career curtailed by a broken leg on international duty last year. ¡°With all the international games he has come back a far fitter and stronger player than when I first joined the club, that's why he's pushing for a regular place here now,¡± said Robson. ¡°Ina has worked terrifically hard in closing people down and if he keeps playing like that he has a chance to get into the team.¡± If he is selected on Saturday, Inamoto could find himself up against Sun as West Brom travel to Manchester City in their season opener. The Premiership will have to wait until January to see Al-Habsi in action at Bolton as he has to complete his commitments to Norwegian side Lyn Oslo. The 23-year-old, rated the best keeper in Asia, has joined Bolton on a three-and-a-half year deal. ¡°I've always wanted to play in the Premiership and it is very special that Bolton want me to play for them,¡± said Al-Habsi. ¡°The club is going places and I was impressed with (manager) Sam Allardyce's hopes for the future. With my strong ambition and Bolton's desire to be a top club in Europe, the partnership fits perfectly. ¡°The move itself is a big step because I'm still young and I have a good
future ahead of me. This is a big deal because I will be the first goalkeeper
from my region to play in the English Premier League.¡±
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