JUN 1, 2019
Plays all 90 minutes
as Tottenham are
beaten 2-0 by
Liverpool in the
Champions League
final in Madrid.OCT 21, 2019
Named in
the 30-man
shortlist
for the
2019
Ballon d’Or.DEC 17, 2020
Wins The 2020
Puskas Award for
his wondergoal
against Burnley in
the 2019-20
Premier League
season.JAN2,2021
Scores his
100th goal for
Spursina
3-0 win
against Leeds
United.the eve of a Champions League
qualification play-off second-leg
against Lazio. Leverkusen did not
appreciate the timing of his exodus or
the fact that he slipped out the back
door without a goodbye. Cue plenty of
vitriol, most of it aimed in the direction
of Son senior and his “bad advice”.
Yet for Son, it was too good an
opportunity to miss. Playing in the
Premier League had always been his
number one career objective. This was
his moment and he sprinted flat out in
order to seize it.Hamburg to the international stage. But
with Hong calling the shots, he visibly
grew in assurance, very much at the
fore of World Cup 2014 warm-up
victories over Switzerland and Greece
and establishing himself as one of the
side’s go-to players. Another milestone
was passed in 2018 when Shin Tae-jong
gave him the captaincy for the first time.
Unfortunately for
Son, the two World
Cups he has
featured in have only
brought heartache.
In Brazil in 2014, the
South Koreans failed to win a single
game in the group phase and
deservedly were sent packing. For Son,
whose sole highlight that summer was a
goal in a 4-2 defeat to Algeria, early
elimination was just too much to handle,
breaking down in tears at the end of his
side’s1-0 defeat to Belgium and having
to be comforted by a fatherly Hong.
Four years on, at the World Cup in
Russia, he and his fellow countrymen
once again failed to clear the first round
hurdle, though at least he had the
satisfaction of scoring in the 2-0
giant-killing of holders Germany.
Like most professionals, he has had
to grin and bear his bad times too. His
three Premier League red cards in 2019
damaged his reputation somewhat. So
did his controversial departure from
Leverkusen in August 2015. After
netting 29 goals in two seasons at the
BayArena and contributing to a pair of
high-end Bundesliga finishes (fourth on
both occasions), he could not have
been more popular in this part of the
Rhineland. However all was to turn sour
early in the 2015-16 campaign, with
Son effectively forcing his way out on
Representing his country has not
exactly been a bed of roses either. In
the autumn of 2011, his father sparked
a storm by suggesting that Son’s
national team appearances should be
rationed, that he should only be called
upon “when they really need him”.
Eyebrows were similarly raised when
he opted out of the 2012 Olympic
tournament, ostensibly to concentrate
on his career in Germany. Four years
later, in Rio, he came in for more
Olympic criticism after South Korea
were beaten at the the quarter-final
stage by Honduras in a surprising1-0
defeat.
South Korea’s German coach Uli
Stielike certainly was not a fan, enraged
when Son twice reacted badly to being
substituted in games in 2016 against
Spain and China, kicking a water bottle,
then throwing a towel in the direction of
the bench. “His behaviour off the pitch
could be problematic,” declared Stielike.
“Lots of spectators and TV viewers will
have seen this. I have to think of the
entire team. Every player has to careful.”
It just goes to show: even someone
as naturally level-headed as Son can,
on occasion, fall prey to the red mist.
Heroes have their frailties too.Son Heung-Min
Devastated...South
Korea’s defeat to
Belgium in 2014 left
Son in tearsUnfortunately for Son, the two
World Cups he has featured in have
only brought heartacheSoldier Son...Last
year Son completed
his reduced National
ServiceWorld Cup...Son scores into an empty net against
Germany in 2018