Behind the success of a world star, there is no shortage of good teachers and coaches. For Cristiano Ronaldo, it is Sir Alex Ferguson, for Busquets it is Pep Guardiola, and for Son Heung-min – a midfielder playing for Tottenham, his first teacher is his biological father – Mr. Son Woong-Jung .
Since he was 10 years old, Mr. Woong-jung has asked Heung-min to bounce the ball continuously for 4 hours without dropping the ball, while the other students’ exercise is only 40 minutes. A little older, Son followed his father to the field at dawn and shot about 1,000 times a day. Son had a steady finish with his right foot, but instead of being satisfied with that ability, Mr. Woong-Jung asked his son to practice shooting with his left foot to be ambidextrous.
Son Heung-min’s father is a famous player in Korea, and he always wants his sons to work hard to train. When Son Heung-min was only 10 years old, he had to receive extremely rigorous exercises from his father, including a four-hour continuous kicking exercise.
Son Heung-min and his father – Mr. Son Woong-jung.
“After bouncing the ball for three hours, I was exhausted and wobbly, my eyes glazed over and I even saw the floor turn red. Everyone in my family often tells this story to this day, my father at that time was angry when I couldn’t finish my homework, but it was still a memorable memory,” the midfielder said. born in 1992 recalls.
While playing in the Bundesliga, Son received an invitation from Southampton but he refused. Arsenal is also one of the clubs that send people to follow Son, but it is Tottenham that is the team that tries to pursue the most fiercely when it spends £ 22 million to recruit him in August 2015.
Not only at home, but even at school, Mr. Son Woong-Jung also came and asked his son’s gym teacher to apply the 40-minute kicking exercise.
“My father was a very strict, even intimidating, teacher and trainer. But yes, in Korea, fathers are all like that”, Son Heung Min has imbued with his father’s teachings and lessons so that later on, he always gives his best on the training ground as well as in competition. to get the best results.
To become the star he is today, Son had to undergo rigorous exercises from his father.
“My father always thinks about me and creates the best conditions for me to express myself, without him I probably wouldn’t be here right now and enjoy the great atmosphere of top football.”
Son Heung-min is the captain of the Korean team at the 2022 World Cup.
Every time he put the ball into the opponent’s net, Son often turned towards the camera, raised his hand to make a photo gesture with a smile on his lips. He shared: “I thought about creating my own special celebration. I created a camera to celebrate because every time I score, it’s a good memory for me. It’s like I’m taking a photo. back to keep good memories in mind”.
Son Heung-min is currently an irreplaceable pillar at Tottenham. 8 consecutive seasons playing for “Rooster”, playing a total of 351 matches and scoring 137 goals, all speaking to the influence and excellence of this Korean star.
Along with the impressive statistics mentioned above, what makes Son so loved by Spurs fans is his humility and sunny smile every time he scores for the home team. Son always has a very different attitude when playing, he always loves the fans, and also his colleagues on the other side of the battlefield.
As a professional footballer, Son never showed arrogance towards teammates and opponents.
According to statistics from The Athletic, from the 2015/16 to 2019/20 season, the number of shots with his non-dominant foot compared to Son’s dominant foot was 42%, the highest in the Premier League, above other strikers like Vardy (40%), Sadio Mane (37%) or Roberto Firmino (33%). Also during this period, Son’s rate of scoring with his non-dominant foot was 43%, higher than any other player in the Premier League. Son also won the “Best Goal” award with a solo masterpiece from the home field, overcoming 8 Burnley players before scoring against goalkeeper Nick Pope in December 2019.
“My father used to say, even when you have a chance to score, when you see an opponent hurt or injured, you have to kick the ball out immediately and come back to see how serious they are. We are players together and we have to respect each other, both on and off the pitch.”
Every time Son plays for Tottenham, there are still glimpses of Korean fans bringing flags to the field to cheer for him, not just because they want to see a favorite player of the country play, but they really do. fell in love with this talented guy.
Son Heung-min is the most successful Asian player in Europe.
After being unable to wear the Korean Olympic shirt twice to win a medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2014 ASIAD at home Korea, Son finally got himself an ASIAD gold medal in Indonesia in 2018. Achievements This helped him get an exemption from military service in his hometown to continue pursuing a top football career.
Not only in football, but also in daily life, his father’s advice is always something that Son always keeps in mind.
“My father said something that I think is really true, when you get married, they should be your number one priority. Therefore, when playing football, you should try to achieve the highest achievements, rise to the highest level, so that when you get married, at the age of 33. 34 years old, you can focus more on your home. , for a long life ahead”.
After 38 rounds, both Son Heung-min and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool had the same 23 goals and shared the title of “Top scorer” in the Premier League in the 2021/2022 season. With this achievement, Son went down in history when he became the first Asian player to receive the title of Premier League top scorer.
The goal against Burnley in the 19th round of the Premier League in the 2019/20 season helped Son Heung-min become the owner of the Puskas award for the best goal of the year. The Korean player received the ball close to the home team’s penalty area, dribbling with a distance of nearly 80 meters, overcoming the siege and blocking of 8 opponent players, before finishing neatly into the opponent’s net.