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Kagawa hails idol Park

Image: Shinji Kagawa: The Manchester United midfielder celebrating his first goal for the club in their pre-season friendly win over Shanghai Shenhua

Shinji Kagawa is determined to follow in the footsteps of his idol Park Ji-sung and become a Manchester United stalwart.

Midfielder says Park Ji-sung blazed a trail for Asian footballers

Shinji Kagawa is determined to follow in the footsteps of his idol Park Ji-sung and become a Manchester United stalwart. A £17million buy from Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund, the 23-year-old has taken little time to settle into his new surroundings. The Japan midfielder got his United career off to a flying start with the only goal in Wednesday's 1-0 pre-season friendly win over Shanghai Shenhua earning him rave reviews from boss Sir Alex Ferguson. But Kagawa insists he still has a long way to go before he can consider himself as big a star as Park, who ended his seven-year stay at United when left for QPR this summer.

work hard

"This is only the beginning for me," Kagawa told the Daily Mirror. "But Park Ji-sung is the best player Asia has ever produced - there's no doubt about that. "He played regularly for United for a long time and I can't be sure how long it will take me to establish myself in the team like him. But I will always work hard to do so. "Watching him play for United motivated me a lot. I began to truly believe Asian players could play in big clubs. "I was expecting we could help each other and play together at United. It's a shame that he left. "But, like Park, I will focus every day on training and do my best to stay here a long time."

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