Son Heung-min sends thanks to Ruud van Nistelrooy for help in tough times

Son Heung-Min has revealed how the former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy helped him overcome homesickness to launch his career in Germany, where he returns with Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.

The South Korean forward made his name with Hamburg and then Bayer Leverkusen, who he faces in the Champions League. 

Just as he did in his first season at Spurs, Son struggled to adapt to life in Germany, when he first moved from South Korea aged 16, but Van Nistelrooy, who spent 18 months at Hamburg from January 2010, took him under his wing.

“At 16 it was difficult,” said Son. “When I came I knew no English and no German, nothing. But I wanted to play in Europe, this was my goal and I came to achieve my goal. 

“The first year was really difficult because I didn’t know any friends. No one came with me. I felt so alone and so humble because everyone was helping me, but it was tough. Sometimes I missed Korea. It’s my home and everyone misses their home when they are not there.

“When I was at Hamburg, 17 or 18, Ruud van Nistelrooy signed and he helped me a lot. He saw my first training session and he talked to me. He told me I was a good player. He gave me confidence and I want to thank him for that. We had a  really good team and were successful for a time with him.” 

Former Tottenham midfielder Rafael van der Vaart was also a positive influence on Son, who added: “He came and helped me. He told me more about English football and how tough it was. I was only young. I listened to him and tried to learn from what he was saying.” 

With the help of Van Nistelrooy and Van der Vaart, Son became a big success and moved to Leverkusen for around £9 million, which was a record for the German club at the time. 

In two full seasons at the Bay Arena, Son scored 21 Bundesliga goals but the manner of his £22 million departure to Tottenham is still fresh in the memory of many Leverkusen supporters. Son missed the second leg of Leverkusen’s Champions League play-off against Lazio in August last year, having been ill, and completed his move to White Hart Lane just two days later.

Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Völler revealed Son had been in England to undergo a medical, which resulted in some criticism of the player and dictates that he will most likely receive a mixed reception tonight. On the likely reaction of the Leverkusen fans, Son said: “I’m not sure how it’s going to be. For me, it will be good to see the fans. I will be happy to see them and the players and the coach.

“Nacer Chadli didn’t celebrate when he scored against us [for West Brom] and if I score against them I will not celebrate. I respect them too much. My two years there was a good time for them and also a good time for me. I want to show respect. 

“When I first saw the draw I had a little frisson of excitement. I’ve been looking forward to the game ever since. I still look at the Bundesliga for Leverkusen and Hamburg. They haven’t started well in the league, but they have the quality to improve.” 

Rather than make the move to another new country alone, Son brought his parents with him to England, where they live together in an apartment in Barnet.

Having almost returned to Germany this season, Son has been Tottenham’s surprise standout player of the opening fixtures. He scored the winning goal in the club’s last Champions League outing against CSKA Moscow and became the first Asian footballer to win a Premier League player-of-the-month award.

“The first season was difficult,” said Son. “I spent a long time in Germany and it’s a different game in England. It was a new experience. It was a bit tricky, but this season has been much better. I’ve had some good games and I’m looking to improve with the team and the coach behind me.

“I play with more confidence, also. My team-mates are behind me, pushing me more and I believe more in myself. I wanted to play well and this thinking has motivated me more.” 

Tottenham are without Toby Alderweireld, who suffered a knee injury against West Bromwich Albion. Manager Mauricio Pochettino hinted the central defender could return for the Premier League match against Leicester City on Oct 29.

“We believe it’s not a big issue,” said Pochettino. “It wasn’t a big issue, a big knock, a heavy knock in his leg but we hope it’s not a big problem for the next week.”

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Tottenham forward Heung-min Son 'cried all day long' after South Korea's Olympics exit

Tottenham forward Heung-min Son "cried all day long" after South Korea were knocked out of the Olympics, according to his national team coach Shin Taeyong.

The Koreans travelled to Rio aiming to add another medal to the bronze they won at London 2012.

But, after a successfully navigating the group stages, Korea suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to Central American minnows Honduras in the quarter-finals.

Son was expected to inspire the side, given that he was one of three over-age players, and did not take the side's failure to progress well.

"Son worked really hard and did his best. He joined the team after 36 hours of flying from Melbourne," Taeyong told the Korean FA's official website.

"As a member of the Olympic team he wanted to achieve a bigger dream like everyone else. He was just unlucky when it comes to scoring.

"Son cried all day long after the Honduras game. He did not even eat. It was sad to see.

"I wish Son could develop more as a player with this experience," he added.

Son has now returned to London and could be in contention when Spurs face Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane on Saturday afternoon.

However, Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed Son was a "little bit sad" after joining up with his teammates and will assess the 24-year-old today before a decision on his inclusion in the matchday squad is made.

Tottenham's Son Heung-Min in South Korea squad for Olympic Games

Tottenham Hotspur attacker Son Heung-Min has been included in the South Korea squad for this summer's Olympic Games.

The tournament in Rio de Janeiro is restricted to players aged under 23, but Spurs have given South Korea permission to include Son, who turns 24 in July, as one of three overage "wild cards."

South Korea's Olympic coach Shin Tae-Yong and his squad will set off for Brazil on July 18.

Tottenham travel to Australia for a preseason tournament in late July, and Son will join South Korea after club games against Juventus and Atletico Madrid.

Shin said that meant Son would not play in the first group game against Fiji, with South Korea also facing Mexico and Germany in a difficult group as they attempt to improve on their bronze medal at London 2012.

"We will try to hide things in a match against Fiji, but will put all of our efforts against Germany," the coach added.

"If we beat Fiji and manage to get a win or a draw against Germany, we can focus on Mexico. If we can't accomplish our goal from the start, then I consider South Korea are in the 'group of death.'"

Son could be unavailable until late August, ruling him out of a significant chunk of Spurs' preseason and the start of the the next campaign.

But athletes who earn an Olympic medal are exempt from South Korea's mandatory two-year military service, obligatory for all citizens, which could be beneficial to the club in the future.

Tottenham's Heung-Min Son says he has been released to play for South Korea at Olympics

Tottenham forward Heung-Min Son has been given permission to play for South Korea at the Olympic Games, according to the 23-year-old.

Son wants to represent his country in Rio in August as one of the three permitted over-age players, but his participation in Brazil would see him miss much of Tottenham's pre-season and the first few weeks of the season.

Clubs are not required to release players over 23 for the Olympics because the tournament is not organised by FIFA, but speaking in Seoul after Sunday's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic, he said: "I was told that I would definitely be allowed to play in the Olympics. What's important is when.

"I would love to join my team-mates (in the Olympic team)... I'm trying to join them as soon as possible.

Son was part of the South Korea team that won bronze at London 2012 and the former Bayer Leverkusen man, who had a stuttering first season at White Hart Lane with eight goals in 41 appearances, wants to help coach Shin Tae-Yong's side again.

"I would like to join the Olympics team soon to help it win a medal for two Olympics in a row," he added.

Tottenham set to allow star to drive up his transfer price

Spurs are going to allow Son Heung-Min to compete for South Korea in this summer’s Olympic Games

Don’t think for a second that Tottenham are allowing striker Son Heung-Min to play in this summer’s Olympics for any sort of altruistic reason. The real motivation for Spurs is to give the South Korean attacker a chance to show off his wares for potential buyers.

ESPN are reporting that Spurs have given Son the green light to participate, but the parties involved are still working on the precise release date. The timing issue could be tricky given the overlap between the Games and start of Tottenham’s pre-season. Still, the decision by Tottenham to permit Son to play tells us a great deal about his future with the club.

Principally, it tells us that Mauricio Pochettino and company are anxious to give Son an opportunity to improve his value in this summer’s transfer window. The affable striker struggled to adjust to life in the Premier League this season, and it’s been rumored that Pochettino doesn’t think he can hack it at White Hart Lane. There’s no better way to drive his transfer value up than to let him showcase his skills on the world stage.

Some Spurs fans might think it’s an effort by the club to give Son a confidence boost, but that just doesn’t pass the logic test. If they wanted to rebuild his confidence, they’d just trot him out there a few times during their pre-season schedule to tally some goals. You certainly wouldn’t send him outside of the club to train and bond with his international teammates instead.

Some Spurs fans still believe that Son can find a way to get back into Pochettino’s good graces, but I think the die is cast. His failure to make it at Tottenham doesn’t make him a bad player, he just isn’t particularly well suited for Pochettino’s demanding high press. He’d be much better off going to a club (and League) that focuses a little more on finesse than power.

As for where Son goes, that’s anybody’s guess at this point. One interesting idea though, could he be used to entice Dortmund to part with Henrikh Mkhitaryan? Just a thought…

Tottenham’s Danny Rose apologises for setting bad example in Chelsea draw

Danny Rose apologised for setting a bad example after frustrations boiled over during Tottenham’s bad-tempered 2-2 draw with Chelsea.

There was certainly no love lost between the two sides at Stamford Bridge as a feisty encounter produced 12 yellow cards as well as two mass brawls, in which both players and coaches were involved.

Tottenham and Chelsea may yet face retrospective action from the Football Association, with Mousa Dembélé particularly likely to receive a rebuke after he appeared to claw his fingers down Diego Costa’s face during a skirmish at the end of the first half.

There were several other incidents of petulance during the game and matters came to a head again at the full-time whistle when a melee in the tunnel resulted in Chelsea’s interim manager Guus Hiddink being pushed to the ground.

Rose, who sparked the first brawl after clashing with Willian and was booked, said he was sorry for how the game may have looked to young viewers.

“It is not nice to see for kids here or kids watching on TV. I apologise if it looked bad on TV,” Rose said.

“It is a London derby. It is to be expected. We wanted to win and they wanted to stop us having any more say in the title race.

“There are no bad words to say about Chelsea. These are the games you want to be part of. It was a great game.”

Érik Lamela appeared to tread deliberately on Cesc Fàbregas’s hand, Eric Dier was lucky not to be sent off for a reckless challenge and Costa was also fortunate not to receive punishment after leaning his head into Jan Vertonghen’s face.

The ill feeling continued after the game as another scrum outside the tunnel saw Hiddink fall to the ground while the likes of Rose, Costa and Vertonghen grappled with each other.

“I couldn’t tell you what happened, it was just handbags being thrown,” Rose said. “I saw the Chelsea manager fell on the floor. I hope he is all right. People were saying from the bench that he conducted himself like a true gentleman throughout the whole game. He did not want any trouble to be started.”

Chelsea had made clear before the match they wanted to end Tottenham’s Premier League title challenge and they succeeded as goals from Gary Cahill and Eden Hazard cancelled out earlier strikes from Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.

Hazard scored to win the Blues the title last season and his stunning 83rd-minute finish this time ensured Leicester were crowned champions, with the Foxes now seven points clear with two games left.

“There are going to be tackles and tempers flaring. That is football,” the Spurs striker Harry Kane said. “We probably lost control a little bit. We had to be a bit more patient. But we are proud of each other. We fought for each other and that is what a good team does. We have got to learn from it and go again next season.”

The draw does mean Tottenham have all but secured at least a third-place finish and with Champions League football to come next season, Kane insists this young Spurs team will be back.

“This is not going to be a one-off,” Kane said. “People are starting to see that we are a good team and are getting better and better.

“All we can do is keep doing what we are doing, learn from days like today and take that into next season. We are there to fight for the league for many years to come.”

Owen Hargreaves makes a confident claim about Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min will eventually come good for Tottenham Hotspur, says Owen Hargreaves.

Former Manchester United and Manchester City midfielder Owen Hargreaves said on BT Sport 2 on Thursday evening that Tottenham Hotspur fans have yet to see the best of Son Heung-min.

Hargreaves made the comments about Son in the build-up to BT Sport 2’s live coverage of the Europa League last-16 first-leg tie between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham at Signal Iduna Park on Thursday evening (March 10).

“I think he is a very good player, he is a top player, he is only young, he is only 23 years old,” said the former Bayern Munich star. “In two seasons at Leverkusen, he scored 29 goals, so he is a natural goalscorer.”

“I think he has everything to his game,” added Hargreaves. “Spurs fans haven’t seen enough of him yet because this Spurs team is so good.”

Son joined Tottenham from German club Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015. The South Korea international forward arrived in England with a strong reputation, but he has yet to play to the best of his abilities for Spurs.

The 23-year-old has scored two goals and created 17 chances in 21 Premier League appearances so far this campaign.

Son has a pass accuracy of 79% and a shot accuracy of 58%, and has won five headers, 14 dribbles and 21 tackles.

The former Bayer star struggled to make an impact against Dortmund on Thursday evening. Son took two shots, had a pass accuracy 75%, did not create any chance, attempted one dribble, and made one interception and three clearances.

What have you made of Son Heung-min’s performances so far this season?