Fergie allows Park to play

Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-Sung will play in Thursday’s 2002 World Cup 10-year anniversary match.

Park confirmed he has received permission from United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to take part in the match.

Members of South Korea’s 2002 World Cup squad, including Park and coached by Guus Hiddink, will take on a current crop of K-League All Stars in Seoul.

“I wanted to join in this rare opportunity to play with all my former team-mates from the World Cup team, as well as manager Guus Hiddink, for the first time a decade,” Park told reporters.

The South Korean will join Manchester United training on July 9, having expressed his strong desire to Ferguson to be part of the anniversary game.

Park’s presence will be a major boost for the match which will commemorate the Taeguk Warriors’ dream run to the semi-finals in the 2002 event it co-hosted with Japan.

The 2002 team includes Hwang Sun-Hong and Hong Myung-Bo, who are both coaches, however Canada-based Lee Young-Pyo and Sagan Tosu boss Yoon Jung-Hwan are unavailable due to conflicting schedules.