Former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho (61) says his “former pupil” Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham) “deserves to play for a better team”.
EA Sports’ FC Online YouTube channel released an interview with Mourinho on Monday (Aug. 8), in which the Portuguese manager praised Son in terms Spurs fans won’t like.
“I don’t see Son Heung-min as a Korean player,” Mourinho said. I see him as one of the best players in the world. He can play for a better club,” Mourinho said, adding, ‘Maybe Tottenham fans won’t be happy with what I said, but it’s not disrespectful.’
He added: “He is a player who can win titles. He can play in the English Premier League (EPL) for Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, etc. He can also play for other top European clubs. He is a modern, mobile striker who can play in any position, from the center, on either flank,” he thumbs up.
Mourinho is one of Europe’s greatest coaches. He began his coaching career at Benfica in 2000 and has since gone on to manage Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Tottenham, AS Roma, and many other clubs. He is nicknamed “The Winning Coach”.
His time in charge of Tottenham lasted from November 2019 to April 2021. 스포츠토토 He was sacked after less than 18 months due to poor results, but he managed to unleash the explosiveness of the Son-Heung-min and Harry Kane duo. Under his tutelage, Son reached career highs with 17 goals and 10 assists in the EPL in the 2020-2021 season. It was the first 10-goal, 10-assist season of his career.
Mourinho is currently taking a break. He is looking for a new job after being sacked by Roma in January.
Meanwhile, Son Heung-min has developed into a world-class player in his nearly 10 years at Tottenham, a fact that Mourinho recognizes.
Spurs signed Son in August 2015 from Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga. At the time, the transfer fee was reportedly around €30 million.
Son entered the Bundesliga through Hamburg in 2009 and gradually made his presence felt in the first team from the 2010-2011 season. He moved to Leverkusen in 2013, where he flourished for two seasons. In 2014-2015, he scored 17 goals, approaching Cha Bum-geun’s record for most Bundesliga goals in a season by a South Korean player (19).
In his first season with Tottenham, Son scored four goals and provided one assist in 28 EPL appearances in 2014-2015. The following season, he was fully integrated into the Spurs lineup. In the 2016-2017 season, he played 34 EPL games, scoring 14 goals and providing eight assists.
He reached his ‘career high’ in the 2021-2022 season. In total, Son scored 23 goals in the EPL, tying him with Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) as the joint top scorer. He was one goal behind Salah with 22 goals heading into the league finale, but a multi-goal outburst against Norwich City completed his tally. He added another goal against Wolverhampton in the same game to join Salah as the top scorer.
It was the first time an Asian player had ever been the top scorer in all five major European leagues (English EPL, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga, French Ligue 1, and Italian Serie A).
It wasn’t all good seasons.
In 2022-2023, the season after he became the top scorer, Son had a less-than-stellar campaign, but he did the best he could in his position.
After struggling at the beginning of the season, playing in a position that didn’t suit him, Son suffered a fractured orbital bone just before the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which put him on the operating table. His participation in the World Cup was in doubt, but he was determined. Despite the inconvenience of having to wear a special mask, he went to the World Cup and helped South Korea reach the round of 16.
Since Son’s trip to the World Cup, Tottenham have changed managers twice. After sacking Antonio Conte in March of last year, Spurs fired acting manager Christian Stellini in April following a 1-6 loss to Newcastle. While the team has been shaken up, Son Heung-min has put up some pleasing individual numbers. With 10 goals and six assists in the league and 14 goals and six assists in all competitions last season, it was his seventh consecutive EPL season with double-digit goals and seventh consecutive season with 20 or more offensive points. It’s an invaluable record after overcoming a poor start to the season and some bad news within the club.
Son Heung-min also made Asian history.
He reached the 100-goal milestone in the EPL last April when he scored a spectacular winding kick against Brighton. He was the first Asian player to do so.
He added three more goals to his tally, bringing his total to 103 in the EPL, equalizing him with his idol Cristiano Ronaldo (38, Al Nasr).
This season, he also wore the captain’s armband, making him a veteran player who now has to lead the club. 안전 슬롯사이트 “He has been captain of the South Korean national team,” said Tottenham manager Enzi Postecoglou, “and he is always respected by his teammates and opponents alike. He trains hard every day and leads by example.”
By now, Son has become an indispensable player for Tottenham. Spurs are ready to reward him with an “ultra-long contract”.