The year was 2010, and the scene is Old Trafford stadium.
The South Korean played the full 90 minutes of both legs as United emerged 7-2 victors on aggregate in the Champions League first knockout round.
AC Milan were still a massive European powerhouse at the time, boasting the likes of Dida, Alessandro Nesta, Ronaldinho, Clarence Seedorf and many more.
They even had ex-Red Devil David Beckham gracing their right flank.
But the heartbeat of the side was a little Italian fella that went by the name of Pirlo.
And Park was given one job – stop Pirlo playing.
The midfielder must have made some impression too, as Pirlo mentioned the moment in his autobiography: “Park must have been the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history,” he wrote.
After a 3-2 first-leg win at the San Siro, United battered the Serie A side 4-0 in the reverse fixture thanks to Park’s immense performance.
And the 36-year-old remembers it fondly.
“Man Utd analysed Milan’s game and concluded that Pirlo is the key man for them,” Park told Goal.
“Sir Alex Ferguson made me man-mark Pirlo.
“So, I tried to block him so that he cannot be in possession of the ball. When he had the ball, I tried to prevent him passing the ball in front of him.
“To mark Pirlo was not easy. It was hard mentally, physically but consequently Milan had a difficult game against us.”
United were eventually knocked out at the quarter-finals stage that year, as Ferguson guided his side to a rare trophy less season.
