The head of the Asian Football Confederation has praised Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung of Manchester United and Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura of Scotland’s Celtic Football Club as front-runners of Asian soccer.

AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam told Reuters Monday that Park and Nakamura are models for the development of Asian soccer.

He added that Asian pro soccer leagues should first strive to become profitable to help the region become as formidable as Europe.