It has been a remarkable nine months or so for Heung-min Son, beginning at the FIFA World Cup in Russia last year, when South Korea were eliminated from the group stage after defeats against Sweden and Mexico but went on to beat Germany in their final match. After the Mexico game, the 26-year-old sobbed uncontrollably when the South Korea president, Moon Jae-in, visited the dressing room.
Son would go on to win the 2018 Asian Games as an overage wildcard player with the South Korea Under-23s at the beginning of the season – earning him an exemption from 21 months of military service – but in January, his team lost unexpectedly in the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup to eventual winners and 2022 FIFA World Cup host nation, Qatar. Regardless, Son’s fortunes at his Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur have soared since Mauricio Pochettino held him back from the mid-November international programme in favour of club training and, crucially, no travelling.
Pochettino was worried Son faced mental and physical burnout. Since then he has scored 14 times in 23 appearances for Spurs, giving him 16 for the season. His performances have been key to the push for a top-four finish and the run to the Champions League quarter-finals. One statistic from Opta shows Son has scored with 19.3% of his Premier League shots this season, making him more clinical than he has ever been in the competition. It has all served to put him in the conversation for the player of the season awards.
“Mid-November was 100% a big period for me,” Son says in an interview with The Guardian. “I’d been travelling a lot. I didn’t feel great. I had so many things in my head. It was just a bit rough. The gaffer made the choice and it was perfect for me – some hard training at Spurs and a bit of rest. As I said before, you have to have the luck to meet a great manager. I’ve improved an amazing amount under him.”
What has really elevated Son in the eyes of the Spurs support and many neutrals is his respectful nature, energy and positivity, and that smile. For somebody with such confidence in his ability, it is rare to find such humility. “My father told me when I was young that if I was through on goal but an opponent fell and hurt themselves, I should put the ball out and check on the opponent. Because if you’re a good footballer but don’t know how to respect others, you’re nobody. He is still saying that to me. Sometimes it’s difficult but we are humans before we are footballers. We should respect each other. On the pitch, off the pitch – why should it be different?”