onrushing keeper before coolly
converting – his father’s reaction was
typical of the uncompromising
taskmaster. No back-slapping or hearty
congratulations, just a list of “could do
better” items and a requisition order for
the youngster’s laptop. Apparently he
did not want Son to run the risk of
growing complacent on a diet of rave
reviews. Contrast his dad’s glacial
reaction to that of HSV boss Armin Veh:
“At18, Son can do things which other
professionals cannot pull off at 30.”
No one can say, though, that Son
Woong-jung solely wielded the big stick.
Here was a man who was so concerned
with the safety of his pupils that he
would pick up stones from the field
prior to every training session and
regularly made the long trip to Hamburg
to visit his son. The work ethic and
carpe diem mentality he instilled in his
son has left the 28-year-old Tottenham
winger or striker with a golden legacy.
Equally crucial was Son Woong-jung’s
insistence on exemplary ball-skills.
Perfectly two-footed, Son’s technical
mastery is there for all to see. Little
wonder he is so versatile, able to exploit
his pace and tricks anywhere along thefront-line. His dad, it is claimed,
based his finesse-first approach on the
belief that a certain lack of razzle-
dazzle held him back in his own career.
Soniswellawareofthehugedebthe
owes his father:
“Without him, Iwouldn’t be here,” declared Sonny in the
London Evening Standardin 2018. “He
gave me my attitude, helped me with so
many things.”
Simultaneously guru, promoter, agent
and severest critic, Son’s father
unquestionably deserves plenty of credit
for the Asian superstar story that has
unfolded. However, he was not the only
one to plot the world-beating course.
Others played a significant part too, not
least agent Thies Bliemeister and
Hamburg youth coach Soner Uysal, who
first spotted Son – then an Under-15
international – on a scouting tour of
South Korean academies in 2008.
Uysal says he was immediately struck by
Son’s game awareness and intelligence.
Bliemeister was so enamoured with the
youngster that he became his
representative, a position he still holds
today.
Son himself is full of praise for the
care and attention that coaches at
Hamburg lavished upon him. And“Some used to advise me to switch
off from football from time to time.
My answer to that was to secretly
carry on training”Rising star...
Son earned
his move to
Leverkusen
after scoring
12 Bundesliga
goals in
2012-13Homecoming...Son takes on FC Seoul on a pre-
season tour, the club he played for as a youngster
JUL8,2010
Signs his first
professional
contract at
Hamburg after
impressing in
pre-season.OCT 30, 2010
Scores his first
league goal for
Hamburg to
become the club’s
youngest-ever
Bundesliga
goalscorer.Timeline