Reluctant hero Son Heung-min ready to take centre stage in Tottenham's silverware quest
Tottenham Hotspur are due to hold a signing session for supporters at the Four Seasons hotel in Shanghai on Thursday, where the club are staying on their pre-season tour of China, but the queue of fans waiting for an autograph and picture with their heroes will be a lot longer for one player than the rest.
Mauricio Pochettino was not overstating things on Wednesday when the Spurs manager described his electrifying South Korea forward, Son Heung-min, as the “David Beckham” of Asia. It takes something special to rival the appeal of Manchester United, Tottenham’s opponents at the Hongkou Stadium on Thursday lunchtime, in this part of the world but the thirst for all things “Sonny” is unquenchable.
He has been mobbed ever since Spurs touched down in Singapore a week ago and the hysteria has been ramped up several notches since the team arrived in China, the persistent screaming of his name providing the ear-splitting soundtrack of this tour.
They want to know everything about him, from his shoe size to his most personal secrets, so it is no surprise that one or two of the questions from the floor at a press conference to preview the United game were of the left-field variety. Son has become accustomed to eccentric questioning by now but even he was briefly rendered speechless when asked if he ever brought his souvenirs from Korea back to London for his team-mates.
He has been known to treat them to platters of his favourite Korean food at the training ground but souvenirs? “Err, I think no,” Son said, chuckling, amid widespread laughter. “The other players don’t bring me anything so I think that’s fair enough! Wow, what a question!”
So that’s a “no” then, ventured an amused Pochettino beside him. “No!” Son replied, setting the room off again.
You get the impression Son is something of a reluctant hero, though, accepting of the attention but not entirely comfortable with it. One teenage Korean girl, who had pitched up at the Yuanshen Sports Centre - where Tottenham were training - to get a glimpse of her idol, told a television crew that Son “is Korea”.
“He is the universe,” she said. “You cannot imagine.”
Son looked faintly embarrassed when that was relayed back to him. “That’s a bit too much,” he said. “To be in Asia with the team is a fantastic experience for me. I should enjoy this moment and, of course, I enjoy it but not too much pressure. I don’t care about being the main [attraction] or not. It’s just special being here with the team.”
With almost 60 goals in his past three seasons with Tottenham, Son has become one of the Premier League’s most potent and versatile wide forwards, comfortable in any position across the front and a symbol of the vibrancy of Pochettino’s team. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Pochettino's opposite number on Thursday, would love to be able to call upon such a talent.
Son turned 27 earlier this month and one has to think that the best is yet to come.
“That’s difficult to answer,” he said. “I’m 27 now but I think I’m still young, with many things to do. The players a little younger or older than me, we all [feel like] young players – still hungry, wanting to be better and to be there. This is [the] most important thing. I’m never satisfied, always hungry, wanting better. This is the aim this season if I’m 22 or 27 - young players look forward to being better and can’t wait to play.”
With his boyish good looks, easy charm and million dollar smile, Son wears his iconic status lightly and he could easily pass for a member of a boyband. He has been romantically linked in the past with the Korean pop stars, Bang Min-ah and Yoo So-young, although he agrees with the advice of his father, Son Woong-jung, that he should not marry until after he retires as a player. His dad’s tough love growing up has certainly helped to forge the steely determination we now see - Son was once tasked with doing keepy-uppies for four hours as punishment for a squabble with his older brother - and, for all his genial demeanour, he is no pushover. He once explained how he had made a point of learning German swearwords before he left Korea for Hamburg as a teenager because “you can’t have people calling you names while you just look at them, smiling politely”.
Defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League final last month cut deep and Son is determined to get his hands on some silverware. “We need a trophy but it’s always been tough,” he said. “I’m so proud of this team but until now we don’t have anything. It’s tough. We’re looking for success. Of course we were close to the Champions League. We want to do better this season.”
Looking at him terrifying defences now, a superstar in his homeland where a six-part documentary charting his rise called “Son-sational - the time that has made him” aired last month to rapturous reception, it is hard to believe Son struggled when he first arrived in England from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015.
“The first season, it was tough for him to adapt to a new culture, new football, new habits,” Pochettino said. “Tottenham was in a position where we started to grow very quickly in a project that was difficult to fit into. It was very tough. After his first season, his adaptation was very good.
“The people in Asia love Son. Of course, he’s an icon. We were talking today and I compared him with David Beckham. It does not surprise me but it’s good to see how the people love him.
“I’m happy to hear him telling you that he still wants to improve, be better and work hard. That mentality is fantastic. That’s why he is a very good example to people, not only in Asia, but around the world.”
The Four Seasons had better be prepared for a heaving, exciteable throng of “Sonny” fans on Thursday.
