SEOUL, In winning his first Golden Boot in the Premier League with 23 goals last season, Tottenham Hotspur’s Son Heung-min did not score any penalty. His sidekick Harry Kane has been the team’s primary penalty taker.
So when Kane asked Son to take the spot kick instead in Spurs’ preseason exhibition against Team K League in Seoul on Wednesday, it came as a surprise to the South Korean star.
“I wasn’t going to take the penalty today, but Kane gave me the ball and told me to take it,” Son said of his 68th-minute score. “It felt like a gift to me. So I took the shot.”
Son made no mistake, beating goalkeeper Kim Young-kwang en route to a 6-3 win for Spurs. Son added another later in the second half, much to the delight of 64,100 sellout crowd at Seoul World Cup Stadium — most of whom had braved rain to watch South Korea’s favorite football player.
This was Son’s first match in Tottenham kit on his home soil, and he said he cherished every moment.
“As a Korean, I am so proud of our fans’ support (for Spurs),” Son said. “It was such a fun match to play. My teammates also wanted me to thank our fans on their behalf. We are not going to forget about their love and support, and we’ll try to reward them with strong performances (in the new season).”
Son’s second goal came off an ill-fated clearing attempt by defender Kim Ji-soo, the youngest player in the match at 17. Son, though, singled out the teenager as one of the most impressive players from Team K League.
“Even though he is such a young player, he shook off his mistake and played with a lot of poise,” Son said of the Seongnam FC defender. “He worked really hard today.”
Tottenham will next play Sevilla FC in their second preseason match in Korea, at 8 p.m. Saturday at Suwon World Cup Stadium in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul.
Source: Yonhap News Agency