Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted he still regrets his decision to omit Park Ji-Sung from the Manchester United squad who won the 2008 Champions League final.
Park was an ever-present in United’s biggest games of the season, starting both of the semi-final legs against Barcelona, but Ferguson decided to play Owen Hargreaves on the right side of midfield against Chelsea in Moscow.
The game finished 1-1 after first-half goals by Cristiano Ronaldo and Frank Lampard, and United eventually clinched the trophy on penalties when Edwin van der Sar saved from Nicolas Anelka.
Park was not even among the seven substitutes, with Ryan Giggs, Nani and Anderson as Ferguson’s midfield options on the bench, all of whom came on during the game.
Uefa has since updated its regulations so that each side can pick 11 substitutes, but that rule didn’t come in quickly enough for Park, who never reached another Champions League final.
“To win the European Cup is fantastic,” Ferguson told MUTV. “It was a really great bunch of players with a great attitude about them and a good, strong squad.
“My problem in the 2008 final, maybe I even regret it to this day, was I left Park Ji-Sung out completely in the final. He’d played such a great role and that’s the problem when you get to these finals. No player deserves to be left out of the final.”
