Ander Herrera: The Post-Sir Alex Ferguson Era Park Ji-Sung?
Every Manchester United fan who watched their team’s 2-0 win over Chelsea at Old Trafford might have felt more than a tinge of nostalgia while seeing Ander Herrera chase Eden Hazard all over the pitch in order to shut the PFA Player of The Year contender out of the game. It suddenly felt like 2010 all over again, with the way Herrera chased, harried, and denied Hazard any breathing space reminiscent of a certain Park Ji-sung’s performance against Milan at Old Trafford when the two teams met in the second leg of that season’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
In that game, Park was tasked with standing up against Andrea Pirlo, Milan’s midfield metronome who was and still is considered one of the world’s finest deep-lying playmakers of all-time. United eventually ran out comfortable winners in a 4-0 rout in which Park not only marked Pirlo out of the game, but also scored his team’s third goal to add to his all-round contribution. The way he shadowed Pirlo left an impression on the Italian to such extent that he wrote of Park in his autobiography: “The midfielder must have been the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history, in the sense that he rushed about the pitch at the speed of an electron.”
Herrera went one better than Park by recording an assist in addition to his goal but more importantly, they both executed what was required of them impeccably; stifling the opposition’s key man and minimizing their influence on the game. By the full-time whistle, Hazard’s statistics makes a damning read for Chelsea fans: 1 key pass, 0 shots on target (0 attempted), 0 take-ons completed (0 attempted). It was one of his most unremarkable performances during the season in which Chelsea have largely looked like an all-conquering juggernaut in the Premier League under Antonio Conte and Herrera played no small part in that.
Team Player
While comparisons between Herrera and Park might be a little far-fetched given that their primary playing position and style of play differs and only a lunatic might suggest that they bear even a passing resemblance, it is hard to ignore the two players’ similarity in terms of work ethic and dedication to their team’s cause. Park was never the type of player who would (or could, depending on how you see it) dribble past the opposition’s entire backline in an attempt to score a goal, instead it was his teamwork, focus, and diligence in tracking back which ensured he always had a place in the United team under Sir Alex Ferguson. Whether playing in the center of the midfield or on both flanks, he always proved to be a nuisance to the opposition due to his commitment to track down opposing players and determination to chase lost causes. The same could be said of Herrera, who is a real bundle of energy, always busy bustling and hustling around like a midfield terrier looking to get involved in every way possible. Moreover, they both aren’t afraid to put their body on the line to block opposition shots or to clip their opponent’s heels and receive a booking to prevent a counterattack. In other words, they are the archetypal team player, the kind of player who makes everyone around them play better.
Big-Game Performer
Sir Alex Ferguson always used to pick Park for the big games, ones which could define their season, because he knew that Park would bring a certain level of energy and intensity to the team which is needed to ensure that they keep their hold of the game and more remarkably, he often popped up with the odd goals too. Herrera’s performance against Chelsea suggested the same, with his goal adding to the 3 goals he scored against Arsenal and Liverpool during the past two seasons.
Paul Scholes Comparison
Although the two previous arguments hold water, it may be argued that Herrera is a much more cultured player and more accomplished technically compared to Park and it is hard to suggest otherwise when you have seen Herrera’s assist to Rashford in the game against Chelsea. Without meaning any disrespect to Park, would he have been able to pick out his strikers in the way Herrera did? Would he even have the vision to picture the perfectly weighted pass, let alone execute it?
Park was more commonly associated with the term “workhorse” although it is more of a testament to his boundless stamina and willingness to close down opponents rather than an insult to his seemingly average technique, while Herrera is seen as a midfield maestro who possesses the ability to split the opposition defence with a glance and a swing of his boot, which brings us to the Paul Scholes comparison. It is hard to disagree when both of them are indeed capable of majestic passes worthy of a place in the highlight reels but on the other hand, Scholes used to dictate the flow of the game on a regular basis while Herrera is yet to show that he is capable of doing the same. There are times when Herrera struggled to control United’s tempo and it is one aspect of his game which has a room for improvement before he can be United’s new Scholes. Furthermore, the way he charges around the pitch looking to snap at opposition players is not something we could readily associate with Scholes’ playing style.
Conclusion
All in all, let’s not forget that Herrera got assigned the very same task of man-marking Hazard in the quarter-finals of FA Cup earlier in the season and ended up getting sent off in the 35th minute with United eventually losing 1-0 and while it may be too soon to mention Herrera as United’s unsung hero in the same breath as Park after one game (albeit a very good one), he is the closest United have got so far to replacing Park.