Son Heung-min reveals the back story of ‘Scoring Champion’ “Everyone helps me, I’m happier”
Enter 2022.07.04 (12:20)
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“(Lucas) Mora came in and said, ‘I’ll make you the top scorer,’ and (Steven) Bergwein also came in and said, ‘I’ll let you score one more goal’. I was really grateful and happy.”
Heung-min Son (30) of Tottenham Hotspur, an English professional soccer player, revealed the story behind the last league game that led him to become the league’s top scorer in a media interview held at the Adidas Brand Center near Hongik University Station on the 4th.
Heung-Min Son scored 23 goals in the EPL season in 2021-2022 and shared the title with Mohammed Salah (Liverpool) as the top scorer.
In the final 38th round, he scored two goals in an away match against Norwich City and overtook Salah, who was leading the competition for the top scorer, so it was a more dramatic and valuable award.
Heung-Min Son, who looked back on the match, said, “It was a really happy moment. There were parts that were good to win the top scorer, but I was more than happy to see my friends (teammates) take care of them like their own, and like them.”
Son Heung-min said, “Actually, I was mentally shaken when we took a 2-0 lead in the first half. The opportunity did not come and I was impatient alone.” He said,” he looked back.
He continued, “(António Conte) also said that he didn’t want to make a mistake until the end of the game, because he’s not the one who takes care of individual awards, but also the biggest goal in the match that day is to advance to the UEFA Champions League.” He also added that he would like to help him become the top scorer.”
He continued, “(Eric) Dyer from a month ago, whenever (I) scored a goal, he ran from afar and said, ‘The Golden Boot (the top scorer trophy) is yours’. Then I responded, ‘What do you mean?
The media interview on this day was planned by Adidas, a sports brand, to congratulate Son Heung-min’s becoming the first Asian player to become the top scorer in the EPL and to pray for success at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which is scheduled for November.
Heung-min Son said, looking back on the first half of this year, “I was the happiest when (Korea) advanced to the World Cup finals and when my team finished the season in the direction they wanted.”
He added, “I hope there will be a happier moment than these two during the World Cup.”
In particular, Son Heung-min mentioned the evaluation match against Chile on the 6th of last month, when he joined the ‘Century Club’, which means playing in more than 100 matches in A Match (a match between national teams), and said, “I couldn’t even think about it when I was young, because playing in more than 100 games is such a big achievement. He said, “The first match of match A, where I was able to roam the playground with my role model (Park) Ji-Sung hyung, against Syria is the most memorable.”
Son Heung-min, who wore the Taegeuk mark at the age of 18 in 2010, made his debut match A match against Syria in December of that year.
When asked about his feelings about playing against Portugal, to which the world-famous soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo belongs, on the World Cup stage, he replied, “I don’t go to the World Cup to see Ronaldo,” he said.
He added, “Whether it’s Portugal, Ghana, or Uruguay, it’s a difficult opponent, so I’m very worried.”
Regarding his recent father Woong-jung Son’s evaluation of himself as ‘not a world-class player’, he admitted, “I completely agree with my father’s opinion, so I have nothing to add.”
He also pointed out, “If it is a real world-class player, there will be no debate as to whether he is a world-class player,” he said.
Heung-Min Son did not hide his aspirations for skill development.
He explained, “Even when I get home, most of the TV shows play soccer games. Most of them are my games,” he explained. .
“It is important to show fans how we are improving every season,” he said.
Son Heung-min also expressed his anticipation for Tottenham Hotspur’s pre-season tour in Korea ahead of the 2022-2023 season.
Tottenham will play ‘Team K League’ at the Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 pm on the 13th, and Sevilla (Spain) will play a friendly match at the Suwon World Cup Stadium at 8 pm on the 16th.
He said, “I’m so excited. It’s a special opportunity to show Tottenham’s Son Heung-min instead of Son Heung-min of the national team to Korean fans,” he said. “I really want to do well,” he said.
Still, “My friends (colleagues) are misunderstanding me. I think I’m a great person (in Korea) and I know a lot of good restaurants,” he laughed.
Heung-Min Son said, “(Colleagues) don’t set the menu and tell me to take them to a delicious place, but that’s the biggest worry and burden,” he said with a big smile.
“I came to Korea, so I will do the calculations,” he added.
In addition, Son Heung-min gave advice to young players participating in the World Cup as the national team captain.
He said, “I hope it doesn’t take too much energy because it’s the World Cup stage. It took a lot of energy in the evaluation match against Brazil,” he said.
[사진 출처 : 연합뉴스]