Tottenham need to find a way to capitalise on legacy of trailblazer Son

The Guardian

4 days ago

Just as opposing fans in the Premier League have experienced feelings of dread over the past decade when Son Heung-min picked up the ball on the edge of their area, there had been a summer of worry among his millions of followers in Asia that his time in England was coming to an end.
As the South Korean's legs slowed last season, reports of a move elsewhere gathered pace. His 10 years at Tottenham may have ended with a trophy, the Europa League in May, but the legacy had been in place for some time. The 33-year-old has changed the way Asian players are perceived around the world and much more besides.
'It was the most difficult decision I have made in my career,' an emotional Son said at a Seoul press conference on Saturday before Sunday's pre-season exhibition against Newcastle. 'Such amazing memories. It was so hard to make the decision. I need a new environment to push myself. I need a little bit of change – 10 years is a long time. I came to north London as a kid, 23 years old, such a young age. I leave this club as a grown man, a very proud man.'
Son has been the pride of Asian football for years, the first player from the continent to become a genuine Premier League star, a legend at his club. There had been compatriot Park Ji-sung who won titles and respect during seven years at Manchester United, but he was never an automatic starter and, unfairly for a technically excellent and intelligent player, old Three Lungs was praised more for his running, work-rate and stamina.
Shinji Kagawa looked like he may reach the next level at Old Trafford but was soon back in Germany. So it was Son, signed from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, who went on to appear on billboards in north London, Seoul and a lot of cities in between as one of the best-known faces of the world's best-known league.
There were 173 goals in 454 competitive games, including the 2020 Puskás Award for that strike against Burnley. In the 2021-2022 season, he scored 23 in the league, sharing the golden boot with Mohamed Salah, another milestone for Asian football.
When Harry Kane left Spurs for Bayern Munich, Son stayed and was made captain, and while last season was a relative struggle, for team and player, it ended on a high. Some thought he may stay for one more crack at the Champions League, after doing so much to help Spurs to the final in 2019, but it was not to be.
In 2022, I went to Tottenham's sparkling training ground on the northern outskirts of the capital to present the Chuncheon-born native with the Best Footballer in Asia award, a trophy handed out by Titan Sports in China, a country that is not known for its love of Korean football but one that has the utmost respect for Elder Brother Son.
He had received the prize in all but three of the 12 years since it became a thing. We discussed our favourite food from his homeland while he tried not to laugh at the Korean language attempts of Hugo Lloris in the next room as the goalkeeper recorded a video message to fans in the Land of the Morning Calm before the club's visit a few weeks later.
Tottenham are there once more. 'It's very clear that Sonny will start and lead the team out as captain,' the new Tottenham manager Thomas Frank said. 'If that is the last game for Sonny, what a place to do it here in front of his home fans. It could be a beautiful ending.'
And an emotional one. His Premier League performances will be missed in Korea, not least by those bars that hang huge televisions in their windows, showing Tottenham games with a tiny image of his smiling face in the top corner of the screen to show their idol is on the field.
Playing time is a big thing for Korean fans after most of Son's predecessors struggled. Park Chu-young joined Arsenal in 2011 but managed just seven league minutes in the red and white corner of north London, inactivity that caused some resentment back home. Son's experience was the opposite. Playing regularly, becoming a star for so long and then captain at a major club also helped grow Tottenham's global fanbase.
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While European estimates of their fans in Asia are unconfirmed, it was claimed in 2022 that there were more than 12 million Spurs supporters in Korea.
Whatever the accuracy of that number, there has never been such a popular player – Son has advertised more than 30 brands in his homeland – to play in such a popular league for such a length of time.
Tottenham will need to find a way to build on his legacy in Korea and the rest of Asia. For now, though, they just have to find a way to live without Son on the pitch. And fans of the player on the world's biggest continent will also have to get used to Premier League action without the forward.
A Chinese journalist once said that Son showed the world that Asia can produce a player as exciting as any from Africa or South America. As legacies go, that's pretty good.