Park Ji Sung is the boy who drank stinking boiled frog juice to become a man.
The idol of South Korea was considered too weak ever to make it in the game he loved.But his parents had other ideas.
Which is why dad went to the frog farms, mother boiled up the juice and son winced as he drank it, having been told the nutrients would help him grow.
Park revealed: "They said it was good for my health to become stronger and I ate anything that would improve my health."
His father even took a job in a butcher's shop so he could get the best cuts of meat to build up his boy - second course the frog juice.
Park's performances for club and country are certainly no croak as he lives up to his nickname back home of 'Three-lung Park'. His tireless effort for the cause makes him stand out.
Patrice Evra said: "I have never seen a player as intelligent. I tell him he needs to bring out a video because his movement is such a good example for young players. Park shows it's about the team, not individuals."
Park has battled against the odds to become South Korea's captain and most celebrated player. To think he was rejected by college teams in his youth before playing for Myongi University.
He had to go to Japan's second division to get a chance professionally with Kyoto Purple Sanga.
It is amazing to think Park's dad initially stopped him from playing, thinking he was too weak. Park refused to eat unless he was allowed to play.
His father, Seong-Jong, said: "If I let you play, will you try hard and not quit?" Park replied: "I am never going to quit."
Park describes Hiddink as the greatest influence on his career.
What is not widely known, though, is that the two men briefly fell out when Park eschewed a switch to Chelsea that Hiddink was in the process of arranging, in order to follow his heart to Old Trafford in 2005.
'When I made my mind up for Manchester I felt that I had betrayed Hiddink,' reflected Park. 'I knew that Hiddink wanted me to stay (and then go to Chelsea later), so I found it difficult.'
Predictably, many Premier League observers presumed Park - about whom they knew little - was being brought to Old Trafford as a clothes horse, to shift United shirts and merchandise in Korea.
Certainly, he has helped. Of all United's Asian partners, those in Korea are most valuable. The hysteria when United visit Seoul on pre-season tours outweighs any experienced in China, Malaysia or Thailand, for example.
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