Son Heung-min
 Son warming up for a game with HSV in 2011. | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Son Heung-min | ||
| Date of birth | 8 July 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Chuncheon, Gangwon, South Korea | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Second Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Hamburger SV | ||
| Number | 40 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2008 | Dongbuk High School | ||
| 2008–2010 | Hamburger SV | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010– | Hamburger SV | 65 | (17) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2008–2009 | South Korea U17 | 15 | (7) |
| 2010– | South Korea | 13 | (2) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 March 2013 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 March 2013 | |||
| Son Heung-min | |
| Hangul | 손흥민 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 孫興民 |
| Revised Romanization | Son Heung-min |
| McCune–Reischauer | Son Hŭng-min |
Son Heung-min (Korean: 손흥민) (born 8 July 1992) is a South Korean football striker who plays for Bundesliga side Hamburger SV.[1]
Club career
Hamburg SV
In 2008, Son dropped out of Dongbuk High School and joined Hamburg’s youth academy at the age of 16.[2] He was impressive in the 2010–11 preseason, by leading the team with nine goals and signed his first professional contract on his 18th birthday.[3] After scoring against Chelsea in August, he was injured for two months due to a foot injury. He came back on 30 October 2010 scoring his first league goal against 1. FC Köln in the 24th minute. The goal made Son the youngest HSV player to have scored a goal in Bundesliga at 18 years, thus breaking the previous 39-year record held by Manfred Kaltz.[4][5]
Son signed a new deal with Hamburg, which will keep him at the club until 2014. Due to his performances in the pre-season he is being affectionately nicknamed "Korean Müller" and received praise from Franz Beckenbauer who said that Son had what it takes to become the next Cha Bum-Kun.[6]
During the 2011–12 pre-season, Son scored 18 goals in 9 games.[7] After missing the opening game due to a fever, Son scored two goals within three games.[8] Unfortunately, mirroring last season, Son picked up an ankle injury in the 4-3 loss to 1. FC Köln on 27 August and was initially projected to be out of action for four to six weeks.[9] Fortunately, Son's recovery was quicker than expected, and he returned to action only three weeks later as a substitute in the 1-0 loss against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 17 September. Over the course of the 2011-2012 season, Son made 30 appearances for Hamburg and scored 5 goals, including crucial goals against Hannover and Nurnberg at the end of the season to help ensure that Hamburg remained in the Bundesliga.[10]
Following Hamburger SV's 2012-13 off-season moves, which saw the transfers of the team's strikers Mladen Petrić and Paolo Guerrero to Fulham and Corinthians respectively, manager Thorsten Fink chose to place Son in a starting role for the team. The 2012–13 season was a breakthrough season for Son as he scored two goals in the away fixture against Borussia Dortmund on 9 February 2013, helping his side to a 4-1 victory. Then Son was chosen Mann des Tages by Kicker.[11] Through twenty-one matches into the 2012-13 Bundesliga campaign, Son was Hamburg's leading goalscorer with nine goals for the team.
International career
Son has made multiple appearances for South Korea at the senior level, netting one goal in the process against India in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Former national team coach Cho Kwang-Rae acknowledged that Son had not been given enough chances at the international level and promised greater consideration for Son's role in future matches.[12] After initially missing the first two games of South Korea's 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign on 2 and 6 September due to an ankle injury, on 7 October Son played in a friendly against Poland, and was again featured in the 11 October World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates.[13][14] His selection for national team play was a point of concern for Son's father, however, who caused a stir by asking the Korea Football Association not to select his son for the national team in the immediate future so he can rest and mature more as a player. Cho Kwang-Rae (who was the South Korea coach at the time) responded by saying that he would continue to call up Son when needed.[15]
Son turned down the opportunity to participate in the 2012 London Olympics, opting to concentrate on his club career at Hamburg. Son was quoted as saying, “In Korea, an Olympic appearance has a special meaning, but I want to speed up for Hamburg. What matters is to pour all my time into team training.”[16] Son did, however, play for the national team in the autumn of 2012 for two 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lebanon and Iran[17], and has become a regular call-up in friendlies and World Cup qualifying matches in 2013. Coming in as a substitute in the 81st minute, Son scored the winning goal in Korea's recent World Cup qualifying victory over Qatar on 23 March quite literally in the last minute of the game (the 96th minute). [18]
Career statistics
- As of 16 March 2013
Club
| Club | Season | League | DFB-Pokal | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hamburg SV | 2010–11 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 2011–12 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 30 | 5 | |
| 2012–13 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 9 | |
| Total | 65 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 70 | 17 | |
International goals
- Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 January 2011 | Al Gharafa Stadium, Doha |  India |
4–1 | 4–1 | 2011 AFC Asian Cup |
| 2. | 26 March 2013 | Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul |  Qatar |
2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 World Cup qualifier |
Honours
Individual
- AFC Asia's Team of the year : 2012
Style of play
Son is known as a versatile attacker due to his ability to use both feet equally well; although he often plays the role of a second striker with Hamburg, he can play either as a striker or winger on either side. Son has confirmed this, saying, "I don't care where I play. The main thing is I'm in the game. I can play right, left, as a forward or behind. What the coach says, I'll do. I don't have a favorite position. I'll be anywhere and always on the throttle."[19] Other strengths of Son include his explosive pace, dribbling abilities, composure in front of goal, and hard-working nature.[20]
Personal life
Son's father is a retired football player turned manager who also once played for the South Korea national football team.[21]
References
- ^ "Son Heung-Min Statistics". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
- ^ Pröpping, Andreas (6 October 2008). "Abenteuer in einer anderen Welt" (in German). Hamburger Abendblatt. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ "Son ist Vehs Sturmjuwel" (in German). Hamburger Morgenpost. 11 July 2010. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ "손흥민 놓칠라 … 함부르크 감독 부랴부랴 "계약 늘리자"". Yahoo! Korea (in Korea). 6 November 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "# 123년 함부르크 역사상 '최연소골' 손흥민 "이제 시작"" (in Korean). Sports Seoul. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
- ^ Chong, Edwin (6 November 2010). "Son extends Hamburg stay". Sky Sports. British Sky Broadcasting. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
- ^ "Koreans in Europe: In-form Son Heung-Min misses Dortmund clash, Ki Sung-Yueng stars again for Celtic". Goal.com. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
- ^ "Son Heung-Min Statistics". Bundesliga. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Bitter! HSV Stürmer Son fällt lange aus" (in German). Quaeng. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
- ^ "Koo Ja-Cheol, Park Ji-Sung & the top five South Koreans in Europe for the 2011-12 season". goal.com. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "Mann des 21. Spieltages Heung-Min Son" (in German). Kicker.de. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
- ^ Melzer, Oliver. "South Korea coach Cho Kwang-Rae delighted with Son Heung Min's Goal Against Hertha Berlin". Bettor.com. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Korea to count on domestic stars for World Cup qualifier". The Korea Times. 22 August 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ^ "Son Heung-min back on national team roster". The Korea Times. 26 September 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2001.
- ^ "Korea coach Cho Kwang-Rae to ignore Son Heung-Min's father's claims not to select the Hamburg youngster". goal.com. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Son Heung-Min to Miss London Olympics to Focus on Hamburg". Goal.com. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Heung-Min Son Bio". ESPN. 20 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ "Son Heung-min scorches Qatar with late South Korean winner". The Times of India. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
- ^ Rebien, Florian (30 July 2011). "Wie viele Tore schießen Sie heute, Herr Son?" (in German). Hamburger Morgenpost. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|trans_title=ignored (|trans-title=suggested) (help) - ^ "Son Heung-Min – A look at Hamburg's attacking Korean starlet". IMScouting. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ Template:Cite article
External links
- Son Heung-Min Profile at HSV.de
- Son Heung-min at National-Football-Teams.com
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