I had just spent two-and-a-half years in Holland playing for PSV Eindhoven, and while I was there I decided to study both Dutch and English, which was so hard. It was a good job that I did though because before that I knew nothing – I mean NOTHING – about any language other than Korean and Japanese. Having the basics of English helped me when I joined United in 2005, because I needed to have conversations with the other players and that was a big thing for me to adapt to the culture of the club.
At first, two players particularly helped me to settle the most, and they were both Dutch: Ruud van Nistelrooy and Edwin van der Sar.