JI-SUNG Park's Rome pain has been eased after he captained South Korea to the World Cup finals.

A new Old Trafford contract in the pipeline this summer can further relieve the wounds from the Champions League final for the United midfielder.

It really has been a roller-coaster of emotions for the Reds' 27-year-old midfielder in recent weeks.

Just 14 days ago he was on a high. Having gone through the personal trauma of missing out completely on United's European Cup triumph in Moscow last year, he was promised some action in the Olympic Stadium against Barcelona.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was as good as his word and named him in his starting XI for the showpiece with the Spaniards.

Park became the first Asian to appear in a European Cup final and his number one status in South Korea went up yet another notch.

Sadly, like his United team-mates it was a night in Italy when his best form deserted him. Even his energy levels weren't enough to upset Barca's rhythm.

But Park's wounds have been licked with his country's qualification for the finals in South Africa next summer.

Captaining South Korea to the finals with a 2-0 win last weekend against the United Arab Emirates has added to his incredible stock back home.

His personal fan club has 87,000 paid-up members.

When United visit South Korea in July on the pre-season tour of the Far East it will be madness.

Anticipation

Park was injured when the Reds last played in Seoul on the 2007 pre-season trip. In anticipation of him playing in United's colours on July 24 against FC Seoul the 40,000 tickets were sold out within 10 hours of going on sale.

His World Cup qualification will only add to the mayhem when he touches down with the United squad next month. "Park Ji-sung is by far the most iconic sportsman in Korea and probably the most celebrated in the whole of the region," said Davide Grasso, the Asia-Pacific marketing vice-president of Nike.

"While Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney may be seen as higher profile in the UK, Park's popularity in Korea dwarfs theirs. And he was recently voted the most powerful and popular individual in sport by Koreans."

Park's company JS Limited looks after developing talent in South Korea and has invested in Star Plaza, a £13m complex in his home province of Gyeonggi which will be the base for a football academy.

By the time he jets into Seoul with the Reds next month Park could also have his new Old Trafford deal signed and sealed. Park's current contract expires next summer and a new four-year deal has been verbally agreed.

And the secret behind Park's success that has taken him from a diminutive soccer hopeful to Old Trafford via PSV Eindhoven? Boiled frog soup!

That was the foul-tasting diet his parents put him on to build him up in a bid to help him achieve his football ambitions.

His father plundered frog farms because he had been informed "they're very nutritious and can help people grow".

His mother, unsure how to cook the creatures decided to boil them to make the soup.

In a recent TV documentary in South Korea that drew a huge audience Park said: "They said it was good for my health to become stronger and I ate anything that would improve my health.

"There were times I threw up because of the taste, but I kept going because the heart of wanting to become a better footballer was greater than having a good tasting meal everyday. I was willing to do anything to become better."

What is your verdict on Park's season? Have your say.

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