Son Heung Min's legacy

There is a debate in the Korean football fan community. It is a comparison between Park Ji Sung and Son Heung Min, to see who is better.

Son Heung Min is a legend of football - Photo: Reuters

Of course, the two belong to different generations, with Park being 11 years older than Son. The two were only teammates for a short time on the national team.

Don't compare Son with Park

And as usual, the titles will be put on the scale first for comparison. If based only on that criterion, Park Ji Sung completely overwhelms Son Heung Min.

The former Manchester United midfielder won the Champions League and a series of major titles in England. And Park Ji Sung belongs to the legendary generation that helped South Korea create a fever at the 2002 World Cup.

But if we compare like that, people will see that Mbappe can never compare to... Lucas Vazquez. Although he was just a reserve player in the legendary generation of Real Madrid, Lucas Vazquez has lifted the Champions League trophy countless times (while Mbappe has so far been unlucky in the continental arena).

After 10 years playing for Tottenham, Son Heung Min has only won one championship when the "roosters" won the Europa League last season. Without that title, the Korean superstar would have sadly left England empty-handed.

But even so, Son Heung Min is still a unique legend in the history of football. Football fans are rational. And when enjoying the match, everyone realizes the superiority of Son Heung Min compared to all other Asian players.

What the Korean superstar has achieved in football can be compared to the influence of Bruce Lee in the martial arts world. What the top football world sees of Asian players can be divided into two time periods: before and after Son Heung Min appeared.

Changing the way we look at Asians

In the summer of 2023, Harry Kane left London for Bayern Munich. The reason? Because he wanted to win trophies.

Compared to Son Heung Min, Kane is truly Tottenham's "darling", because he has been with the London team since he was 10 years old. Kane is even the captain of the England team. A player with a very clear "British knight" appearance, but still chose to leave his homeland to seek titles.

It was at that time that Son Heung Min became even more beloved by Tottenham fans. Two years ago, the Korean star was still at the peak of his form. But he chose to stay and diligently hunt for titles with Tottenham instead of leaving like Kane.

That contrast makes any comparison between Park and Son meaningless. If he really wanted to, Son could have chosen Liverpool - where coach Jurgen Klopp has publicly expressed his desire to have him for a long time - or a bigger team than Tottenham.

But that's okay, because of Tottenham's endless thirst for that title, Son's greatness is even greater. The Premier League has recorded champions such as Takumi Minamino and Wataru Endo over the years. Kim Min Jae - Son Heung Min's teammate - won both Serie A and Bundesliga, while Lee Kang In even won a historic treble with PSG.

But can any of them compare to Son? Not at all. Endo and Minamino are just Liverpool's reserve players, Kim Min Jae is criticized by Bayern Munich fans, and Lee Kang In is only cared for by coach Luis Enrique in insignificant matches...

Even the legendary Park Ji Sing did. In 2008, manager Alex Ferguson even left him out of the Champions League final squad - a simple decision that spoke volumes about Park's status at Man United.

As for Son Heung Min, through many coaches, he has always been an irreplaceable pillar at Tottenham. When Kane left, Son even became the team's number 1 symbol.

What Son Heung Min has achieved at Tottenham is a legacy. Before Son appeared, European football recognized the talents of Park Ji Sung, Keisuke Honda, Ali Daei...

But it was not until admiring Son that the football world truly acknowledged - an Asian football scene can still train players capable of competing for the Golden Ball.

In 10 seasons with Tottenham, Son Heung Min scored 173 goals in 454 appearances. In his entire career, Son Heung Min has scored 223 goals for professional clubs, all in Europe (before Tottenham were Hamburg and Leverkusen).

Son Heung Min also has 51 goals in 134 appearances for the Korean national team. At the age of 33, the Korean superstar promises to extend his playing career for at least 2 more years.

HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/di-san-cua-son-heung-min-20250805234609087.htm