Son Heung-min: Moulded by his father, mobbed in South Korea & Tottenham’s glimmer of hope

In the decade since joining Hamburg as a teenager – breaking into the first team at 18 and joining Bayer Leverkusen before signing for Spurs – Son has established himself as arguably South Korea’s greatest player of all time and become a national hero, helped by an obvious affection for his home country.

The 26-year-old has talked about how he feels like an ambassador for South Korea and has a responsibility to supporters who visit London just to watch him play, as well as those tuning in throughout the night to follow Tottenham games on television.

When Son returned home on a pre-season tour while with Leverkusen he discovered 30,000 fans gathered in a shopping centre waiting for him, according to his former team-mate Robbie Kruse, who told Australian newspaper the Herald Sun, external it “blew the players’ minds” and was like being out with a “rock star”.

The national team captain now wears a baseball cap and sunglasses on visits as he worries about people being hurt in the large crowds that would otherwise follow him.

Meanwhile, after South Korea declared a national emergency in response to more than 4,000 people being evacuated because of large-scale wildfires last month, Son donated £100,000 to help the victims.

His stock is such that he currently tops a vote to be named as the cover star for Fifa 20 when the game is released later this year – racking up more than 240,000 nominations to lead from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – while last month he beat South Korean legend and former Bundesliga star Cha Bum-kun in a national popularity poll.

But his crowning glory with South Korea came in winning the Asian Games last September, guaranteeing an exemption from the two-year mandatory military service expected to be completed by his countrymen.

“Two years out of football finishes your career,” remarked former Tottenham and South Korea defender Lee Young-pyo at the time, emphasising how important the army is to the nation.

Son burst into tears after the final whistle, but said it was because of the pride of achieving with his country rather than avoiding military service, which he would have had to return for at the age of 28, and told the Guardian, external he still intends to complete a four-week soldier’s training course.

Park says the number of people celebrating Son’s military exemption was surprising and generated some “mixed patriotism” in South Korea.

“It was his leadership and sacrifice for the national team,” she explains. “We are obsessed with attitudes, it’s a cultural thing. In the past some athletes didn’t show their gratitude or respect to the national flag.

“What Heung-min and his father were praised for after the Asian Games was their attitude in interviews when they were asked about his military exemption, because they gave all of this credit to the Korean people who cheered for them.”

There was a time, after his first season at Tottenham, that Son was said to be considering his future at the club. Convinced to stay, he went on to score 21 times in all competitions during the 2016-17 campaign, 18 last term and already has 20 goals this season.

“Of course after the first season he understood what we expected of him,” said Tottenham boss Pochettino.

“Now he’s one of the players who is always moving on the pitch, trying to get the best position in defensive and offensive situations. Always giving options to team-mates, running forward, dropping and then arriving from the second line.

“He is a very complete player today and we are so happy with his performance.”

And so to Wednesday at the Johan Cruyff Arena, where Tottenham’s hopes of reaching a first Champions League final in the club’s history could hinge on a player moulded in a vastly different manner to those of his team-mates.

“Son is one of the players who can make it possible for Tottenham,” adds Von Ahlen. “For him I hope so, it is a beautiful feeling if you see one of your youth players make it this way.”

One thing is certain, Son’s many fans in South Korea will be rising early in the morning to follow their hero in the biggest game of his club career to date.

“It would be a national success,” says Park. “It’s like ‘our’ success.”