Son Heung-min holds his fourth career Player of the Month trophy
Son Heung-min won his fourth EPL Player of the Month trophy (bottom right). The photo shows Son Heung-min's award-winning scene posted on Tottenham SNS on the 21st. Soccer fans who saw this were surprised, saying, "He doesn't get old."
Son Heung-min, the "captain" of Tottenham in the English Premier League (EPL), won his fourth EPL Player of the Month trophy. It is a feat that is on par with leading legends such as Thierry Henry, Frank Lampard, and Paul Scholes. Meanwhile, the Tottenham club released Son Heung-min's previous award-winning scenes on social media (SNS), which fans were surprised to see, saying, "He's getting younger."
Tottenham released a photo of Son Heung-min holding the Player of the Month award on its official website and SNS in the morning of the 21st. It was the moment when Son Heung-min, who was away due to the call-up of the A match in October, returned to London and finally embraced the trophy. It is also Son Heung-min's fourth career award.
Meanwhile, Tottenham also released photos of Son Heung-min's all-time award on SNS, which soccer fans responded by saying, "The captain is not getting old," "He seems to be getting younger," and "He will achieve more awards."
Son Heung-min won the Player of the Month award in September 2016 (4 goals, 1 assist), April 2017 (5 goals, 1 assist), and October 2020 (4 goals, 2 assists). In September 2023, he scored as many as six goals in four games, and the team won three games, one draw and no loss. This is the background of Son Heung-min's high probability of winning the award when the seven nominees for the Player of the Month Award were unveiled through the secretariat earlier this month. The EPL secretariat said, "The captain of Tottenham played an outstanding role as a central striker in his new role. He scored six goals and led the team to an unbeaten run," he praised.
The outlook is not wrong. The EPL secretariat said on its official website on the 13th, "Son Heung-min won the EPL September Player of the Month Award." The EPL Player of the Month award is selected by summing up the votes of fans and experts. It's been about three years since Son Heung-min won this award. Having won four awards in his career, he was on par with EPL legends Henri, Lampard, and Scholes. Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie (five times), Cristiano Ronaldo, and Steven Gerrard (six times) are among them. The most wins ever were seven times recorded by Harry Kane and Sergio Aguero.
Son Heung-min literally had an all-time September. He started all the matches with Burnley, Sheffield United, Arsenal, and Liverpool, leading the team to three wins and one draw. He made an unusual start to the match against Burnley in September. As Hisharlissong's slump continued at the time, Son Heung-min moved to the central striker. He has taken on a task other than a familiar left winger.
The concern was unfounded. He scored his first hat-trick of the season against Burnley to help them win 5–2. He did not make an impression in the subsequent match against Sheffield, but he showed his presence in the "North London Derby" against Arsenal, one of the important matches at the beginning of the season. It was Arsenal, the home team, that was expected to dominate ahead of the game. At that time, they were unbeaten, and the last time Tottenham won at the Emirates Stadium was a 2-0 victory in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup (League Cup) in the 2018-19 season. If it was limited to EPL matches, it had to go back to the 14th round of the EPL in the 2010-11 season. Tottenham trailed 0-2 at the time, but they turned the tables thanks to consecutive goals from Gareth Bale, Rafaal van der Parte, and Yune Kabul (retired). Since then, Tottenham have only won one, four draws and seven losses in an official away match against Arsenal in the last decade.
The sixth round of the EPL in the 2023-24 season between Arsenal and Tottenham held at the Emirates Stadium on the 25th of last month. Son Heung-min is scoring an equalizer in the first half.
The sixth round of the EPL in the 2023-24 season between Arsenal and Tottenham held at the Emirates Stadium on the 25th of last month. Son Heung-min is performing a joint ceremony with Madison after scoring an equalizer in the second half.
However, Son even broke this prospect. Arsenal took the lead. Arsenal's No. 7 Bukayo Saka induced Christian Romero's own goal with a sharp left-footed shot. It was the moment when Tottenham faced the "Emirates nightmare" once again. However, Son Heung-min balanced the game by sensibly returning the pass of his teammate James Madison at the end of the first half. Saka also allowed a penalty goal in the second half, but Son Heung-min did not give up the momentum by collaborating with Madison once again. After a fierce battle, the two teams eventually had to be satisfied with taking one point each.
After the game, praise continued for Son Heung-min. In a moment of crisis, he shed light on his performance in saving the team twice. At that time, Sky Sports picked Son Heung-min as the Most Valuable Player (MOTM) after the game. It also gave them eight points, the highest rating of both teams. In addition, soccer statistics media Pot Mob and Sofa Score also gave 8.8 and 8.6 points, respectively. It was the highest rating among the 22 players who started. Sky Sports expert Jamie Redknapp also praised Son Heung-min, saying, "He's a really good winger, but at the same time he's a world-class striker." After the game, coach Enzi Postecoglou also said, "Son Heung-min and Madison were at a different level," and added, "He always puts the team first." He also has the ability to finish in position 9 (striker)," he praised.
At that time, Son Heung-min also scored his 199th goal in the European stage. He scored 20 and 29 goals in Hamburg and Leverkusen (Germany), respectively, and scored 150 goals in Tottenham alone with multiple goals against Arsenal.
The seventh round of the EPL in the 2023-24 season between Tottenham and Liverpool held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the 1st. Son Heung-min is cheering after scoring the first goal in the first half.
The seventh round of the EPL in the 2023-24 season between Tottenham and Liverpool held at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on the 1st. Son Heung-min is cheering with Hisharlissong after scoring the first goal in the first half.
The next opponent in front of Son Heung-min was Liverpool, who was "unbeatable" at the time. At the same time, attention was also paid to whether Son Heung-min scored his 200th career goal. When the starting list was first revealed, there was a view that Son Heung-min's position would have gone back to the left winger as Hisharlissong's name was included. When I opened the lid, Son Heung-min once again played the central striker. And this choice is not wrong. He scored the first goal in the 36th minute of the first half, lightly pushing Hisharlisson's pass. It was the moment when he scored his 200th goal in Europe. Liverpool scored an equalizer at the end of the first half, but bowed their heads, allowing an own goal just before the end of the second half. It was the moment when Tottenham's undefeated victory in September was completed and it became the top EPL player.
Since then, Son Heung-min, who joined the national soccer team led by Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany), drew attention as he was excluded from early training. The cause was a thigh injury. Son Heung-min was not seen at the convocation training held at the Paju National Football Team Training Center (NFC) on the 11th. An official from the Korea Football Association (KFA) explained at the time, "Son Heung-min is still riding a bicycle and receiving a massage to manage his injury." "There is no pain. He added, "We are managing it carefully as a precautionary measure."
Attention turned to the national team's warm-up match against Tunisia at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on the 13th. Son Heung-min attended an official press conference held a day earlier and announced his return to training. As Coach Klinsmann initially predicted a "all-out war," the possibility of Son Heung-min's selection emerged. However, Klinsmann gave Son a break. The national team struggled in the first half against then North African powerhouse Tunisia. However, starting with Lee Kang-in's multi-goal one-man show in the second half, he won 4-0 by tying the opponent's own goal and Hwang Ui-jo's wedge goal. The national team won two consecutive games.
On the path of Klinsmann's three-game winning streak, it was a match against Vietnam at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 17th, when the team's power fell significantly. Attention was drawn to whether Son Heung-min played again this time, and the "captain" proudly stepped on the ground. He played full-time and scored one goal and one assist, contributing to Klinsmann's 6-0 victory. In the first half, he missed two perfect chances because he didn't get zero points, but he shone with two offensive points in the second half alone. He showed the presence of the national team's ace, taking charge of the "free roll" and freely attacking.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, played a warm-up match against the Vietnamese national team at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the afternoon of the 17th.Son Heung-min scored a goal in the second half and is celebrating.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, played a warm-up match against the Vietnamese national team at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the afternoon of the 17th. Cho Kyu-sung is making a high five with Son Heung-min after his team's third goal was added with an own goal.
Son Heung-min, who met in the mixed zone after the match, said, "I liked the attitude of the players to play against Vietnam. You may think of it as a game that you have to win, but of course, there is no victory in soccer. I think the players are well aware of it, and I think such a great victory came out, he said. "There was homework left, but it was positive overall."
Regarding his performance, he added, "I didn't do anything special. The players made a good play. "How to play against a dense defense is important, but I think I made a goal by creating a lot of chances," he said in a humble answer.
Regarding his stake, he added, "There is no stake. It wasn't even a perfect pass," he said, shaking his hand and adding, "It would have been nice if (Cho) Kyu-sung scored. Kyu-sung really lifts and presses the ball a lot, but I'm sorry I didn't get any compensation," he said, shedding light on his junior's performance.
Meanwhile, Son Heung-min complained of leg pain at the end of the first half and during the second half. In response, he laughed, saying, "I hope it's not too much to play for 90 minutes," and added, "Every time I hit and play a fierce game, but if I avoid this part, I shouldn't play soccer." There was a thigh collision in the first half, and there was no obstacle. I think playing full time and playing hard in the physical part will be of great help. It is important to keep in shape in the future, he said.
The South Korean national soccer team, led by coach Jurgen Klinsmann, played a warm-up match against the Vietnamese national team at Suwon World Cup Stadium on the afternoon of the 17th. Son Heung-min is shaking hands with Vietnamese players after the game.
After the game, he attracted attention by showing off his 'world class' dignity. The situation was like this. At the time, Son Heung-min scored the national team's fourth goal to lead 4-0, and he did not miss the opponent's defense's error and led the tackle of Vietnamese defender Hoang Viet. At the time, the referee brought up a red card to Viet An, and the teams had a long conversation around the referee. After the game, the Vietnam Football Association (VFF) announced a later story about the situation. VFF said on SNS, "When Viet An suddenly received a red card after committing a foul by mistake, Son Heung-min asked the referee to withdraw the decision. "Viet Ahn didn't intentionally foul him, he was just unintentionally disturbed," he said. It was Son Heung-min's beautiful appearance," he said. When the news spread, the soccer community as well as SNS praised Son Heung-min for his actions. 스포츠토토
After finishing the A match, Son Heung-min's toes head back to the EPL. Whether Tottenham will be able to keep its No. 1 position once again is a factor to watch. Tottenham is set to play the ninth round of the EPL against Fulham at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England on the 24th.