It was always a reassuring sight when before, say, a Manchester United Champions League semi-final, you saw the name Park Ji-Sung on the teamsheet.
It was a sign that Sir Alex Ferguson was giving the game the respect it deserved, by fielding his big match player. Park would often be omitted from the side for regulation games against relegation fodder, or the mediocre mid-table teams that were meat and drink for the United teams of old.
Ferguson would instead save him for the games in which United needed the South Korean's energy, defensive discipline and work rate.
Perhaps the finest example of peak Park was the 2009 Champions League semi-final second leg away at Arsenal. United went to the Emirates protecting a fragile 1-0 lead from the