Farewell Son Heung-min: A Tottenham Legend Says Goodbye

32:02They as a pair weren't, for me, the typical strike combination. I know that often when you look at some of those lists of combinations of players. They're quite often like a little and large guy or there's the typical guy that holds it out. There's like a kind of deadly finisher, one slot quicker than the other. Son really wasn't an out-and-out striker at any point. Harry Kane was an out-and-out number nine, but like you say, he was dropping back, acting as a 10, often assisting Kane in brilliant ways. So they, I think, had a bit more about them than a lot of the other partnerships on that list.

32:40I think they were much more adaptable and well-rounded footballers because they could do it for one another. And, you know, for a couple of years, those two looked almost unplayable at times. And I think every team... I mean, I think most teams actually in the world that came up against them in that point would have struggled. There's been some really notable moments. I think that Kane probably like like you said earlier Kane probably bought the best out of Son I think Son brought the best out of Kane for a period of time as well I just um like I say I've still got some pangs of regret that we couldn't have built upon those two like literally having two of the best players in the world at the time leading your forward line a lot of the rest behind it there was quite a bit of a bit of dross for a little period maybe we didn't get the right coaching I'm not sure exactly what it was but now that now that Kane has gone now that Sun has gone it makes me question a little bit what what Tottenham is now there might be another future superstar in the making amongst that core group of young players amongst Odeberg, Gray, Bergwald whoever it may be but it just feels like we're a slightly different team now maybe a bit more pragmatic I don't know it's definitely left a void I think that with both of them now yeah going within the last three or four years it just means he reminds me him and when him and Kane were playing well together football was fun and it just doesn't feel like everything's going to be quite as fun anymore in a post-sun world

34:24Jack:it's yeah I I do have those because the thing is like all the all the sentiment and stuff aside I do have those as you say those actual tangible concerns about what Tottenham look like from this point like you say losing that star factor you know this we could in two months into the season be looking back at this and be like no this is good this is a fresh start this is what we needed no superstars we're just uh and when you talk about superstars though that sort of always carries with it an air of like they were arrogant or somehow didn't function with the team and that was never son it was never never son at all um but you know maybe maybe this this is a fresh start and we are a new team and like you say in two three years time Bergvold's one of the best players in Europe or Vuscovic is, you know, he transcends the jokes about him being the best player in the world already and actually is that player.

35:31Jack:You know, it looks like he's got a bright future ahead of him. But for now, it's... Well, yeah. And it's just, it's one of those things, isn't it, really, that maybe we just don't need to look at kind of replacing Son, if you like, because we can't. because he's somebody that has left. And that's the mark of his brilliance. That's the mark of his legendary status because he's left that mark on all of our hearts, but he's also going to leave that void in a playing sense. Even Hassan, who was, let's say, kind of operating at 70 % last year, was still somebody that was one of our major goal contributors last year.

36:18Jack:and this is one of the things that like I simply can't just circumnavigate because people say well he was on the decline we can't say he was going to be any good this year but it's like but look if you want something that's provable what is provable is that he was still one of our major goal contributors despite the fact that by the eye test he wasn't performing at his best and that is something that Spurs are going to need to replace we simply are like that that's just how football works you need to find those goals and assists from somewhere and it's not doom and gloom because actually in in this pre-season tour so far I felt like Odebers looked brilliant I think he has yeah he's looked like a really exciting player Kudus is wow what a player if only we had him playing alongside Son for a while you know like it's again it's kind of one of those shames that their their kind of their worlds won't have really overlapped at all because Kudus has had some moments in these pre-season games where I've stepped back and thought god maybe I haven't been excited enough about this guy because he is he is a baller as the kids would say like he is an unbelievable player you know yeah I think the same way about him actually um yeah the frustration is that we don't we never build on any kind of position of strength.

37:40So we now feel like we're chasing our tail a little bit, getting somebody in, like you say, not to necessarily replace, but in a money ball sense, just finding a way to replace maybe with two or three players, those goals and assists and that contribution. Yeah, Kudis looks really exciting. I think he was obviously pretty poor last season for West Ham. But I saw him to a friend of mine who's a West Ham fan last weekend when I saw him. and he's absolutely gutted that we've signed him. He thinks he's going to be an absolute superstar. He also said that he feels that we've actually got a bit of a bargain in 45 million or whatever it was for him.

38:21It's not a lot, is it? It's not really. And he does have a lot of flair. He's the kind of player that does get you excited. And you're right about Odeber as well. We didn't really see much of him, did we, last season? I know he was injured for a period of time. but in the early months of the season because that signing came out of nowhere and I'll confess I'd never even heard of him I didn't know that he was playing to Burnley um it almost and he was quite it was quite expensive for a for a young player it felt like you know the club must be must have seen something you know our recruitment's been a bit hit and miss over the last few years so it feels like over the current crop of young players we have got it right in many respects there's not many there that you feel worried they won't in some way make it um into spurs's first 11 in the next two or three seasons um but then with with madison getting injured yesterday as well it looks a really bad one i do still feel we're a little bit short maybe yeah um and you know i don't want to stop waxing lyrical about some by the way we can carry on doing that uh the rest of the podcast but i think you know looking at looking ahead there is still a little bit of work to do um I do I do fear a little bit that we're we're coming up light at the moment

39:37Jack:I think it might be time personally speaking I think it might be time to revisit those uh conversations we've maybe had with Eza in the past and uh see if Arsenal are going to show up their interest or not um as you say we're definitely not going to stop waxing lyrical about Sonny because I've asked I've asked you the glorious listeners for your favorite memories on son and there's actually a hell of a lot um it shouldn't be a massive surprise but yeah actually quite overwhelmed by the response to that to the amount of just kind of individual anecdotes so um before i read out a few of those gavin what if you had to if you had to narrow it down to your favorite kind of son goal or moment or story what do you think it would be um i think i've already given a couple really i think yeah that first although it wasn't a fantastic goal just because of the occasion and because of the significance the first the first game in the in the new stadium seeing him him score it was was brilliant um i think outside of that it's an obvious it's an obvious example but the two goals in the Champions League quarterfinal against Man City.

40:58Amazing limbs in the away end. We went 1-0 down very early on in that game and you thought, oh, here we go. This is going to be the same old story with Tottenham. We came in as underdogs anyway. And then him to go up the other end and score two. Blinding goals. It just changed the narrative completely within the space of about five minutes. And that's, I think, what he's done really. He's managed to change the narrative of Spurs to a fairly, very high degree.

41:25Jack:That was it for me as well. That Champions League quarterfinal when obviously Kane goes off in that first leg against City, wasn't it? And suddenly it's doom and gloom. You know, the kind of the, whatever it is, the vultures start to circle over the top of Tottenham's Champions League campaign. Sonny scores the goal that he did in the first leg, which was brilliant and it was the deciding goal. Obviously, shout out to Lloris as well for saving Aguero's penalty. And like you say, just that moment, when they scored early doors and we all thought, oh, here we go, here we go. Embarrassment time for Tottenham.

42:10Jack:That you just had Sonny that was like, no, not today. You know, not today. To score the type of goals where I remember watching him and I'd obviously always thought he was brilliant, but I watched him and I just thought he is as good as anybody on their team. Yeah. Yeah. He is a player that every time he is on the ball, Pep Guardiola will be thinking, God, I wish I had him. I wish I had him in this side. And, you know, and just thinking he is, he is an actual superstar. He's not just a brilliant player. He is one of the best players. He's unbelievable. Because it's not only for what he's doing on the pitch.

42:50Jack:It's the fact he is now shouldering us. He is taking the weight of the expected heartbreak that Tottenham are waiting for to unfold in this game. And as you say, changing that narrative. And he's a big part of a Tottenham team that has changed that narrative. And for that to culminate in winning a major trophy at the end of it, standing atop a bus with his sunglasses on, holding that massive trophy. It's just, it's wonderful. But yeah, the quarterfinal for me is, it really, you know, it really kind of, it lives long in the memory for me. I'll never forget it. You're right, he just forced belief, whether you liked it or not.

43:44And it was partly due to his demeanor as well. You almost couldn't help but get carried away by that. and still a sense of, yeah, sort of, well, just of overall, I guess, belief in like a final cause in a funny sort of way. Yeah, and it is a massive trophy. You're right. It literally is a big trophy for Europa League, isn't it? It's almost as big as a son himself, I think.

44:11Jack:John Bass has said, he signed an extension to his contract when the club was a mess and Kane wanted to leave. I'll never forget that. A loyal king. Also, his goal against Chelsea at Wembley was class two. Austin Sheen, I fucking love you. We fucking won the Europa League and you deserved it. The absolute purity and understanding of the moment for everyone was everything. Chris from the UK said, I saw him score twice at Wembley against Huddersfield. He was a standout player that day. and he's included like a highlight of one of the goals, which is lovely, him rounding the keeper and just slotting it home, like sprinting free of the last defender, getting around the keeper.

44:55Jack:And just it reminded me of like Sonny when he was in full stride, when he was at the very peak of his powers. Just a terrifying prospect, I imagine, for an opposition. Daniel J. Permit says, Sonny's basically the only player I've known. might have happened to Messi once too to have a penalty ruled out for stuttering his run up, Spurs through and through. Honestly, it still triggers me to this day because I remember that and I still see players doing exactly what Son did. And I just always wonder what happened that day. Was that against Rochdale or something? I think so, yeah. That snowy, was it that snowy game at Wembley?

45:37Jack:Yeah, it was. Absolutely freezing as well. that game. Coldest I've ever been at a football match. Cliff says his absolute worldie to win the golden boot had me running around the house. I loved seeing how he seemingly became the uncle to the kids of every teammate. They'd always run up to him when the families were on the pitch. That moment of him winning the golden boot, how his whole team wanted him to do it, didn't they? Other than Kulusevsky who went and scored a worldie, didn't he, as well? And he had that funny moment after the game when he was like, oh shit, I probably should have squared it to Son, shouldn't I?

46:16Yeah, he did, didn't he, I think, in Sweden a little while after as well, talking about that, saying he felt bad afterwards. But yeah, seeing these whole teammates coming up to him after that final goal and mob him, yeah, you could see what he meant to all of them as well as him.

46:32Jack:So, friend of the show, Ben, says, let us know your top three goals from him just off the top of your head. He said, I'll never forget being behind the goal at Wembley when he took it from the halfway line against Chelsea and did it on his own. I named my dog after him, the greatest. I guess top three for me are his second goal against Manchester City in the quarterfinal. So the first one kind of has that sort of almost deflection off of it. but the second one was him just picking up, bang, curling it in. The goal against Chelsea, definitely. And I've got to say, I know it was behind closed doors, so it's a bit lame, but I do love that goal against Arsenal in the COVID game when it's from about 35 yards out and he just loops it over.

47:27Jack:I can't remember who was in goal at that time for them. But a lovely goal. and an honour, like a memorable shout out to, what game was it? Was it, it was, I want to say it was like against a Dutch team in the Champions League when we really needed a goal and it was neck and neck and Son scored like a volley to break the deadlock. I don't remember to be honest. I'm not sure. Who did we have? Was it PSV or somebody like that when we needed to? It wasn't that like that flying volley he scored I think that was a Premier League game wasn't it at White Hart Lane earlier in his career with both feet off the ground might be I'm just trying to I don't know I'll find it but what would you say your top three are off the top of your head I think the North London derby one definitely like you say it was so far out and he just sort of took was it one two touches bang curls it in perfectly to the top corner I think the goal he scored against West Ham as well, which was from about like 35 yards out.

48:35You know, the one that he doesn't curl it. He almost hits it a bit like a wobble ball and it goes perfectly again right into the right-hand side of the goal. It was quite Gareth Bale-esque almost, or like Ronaldo-esque.

48:47Jack:Yeah. That's fantastic. The one against Chelsea, I really love as well. And then there's another one that he scored. I think it was against, I think it might've been against Crystal Palace. When he looks like he sort of loses the ball, comes back around, almost like still beats a couple of people. Then, I know it was against Middlesbrough, I think. And then arrows it again into the goal with the keeper's left standing. It's really early on in his career. He's wearing the gold Tottenham shirt. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. Black stripes on. And you think he's lost it a couple of times. Then he manages to wiggle his way through.

49:25And then arrows shot again onto the right-hand side of the keeper. but I just love those goals when the keeper is left totally dead still and can't move because it's gone so quickly. And then you see like the opposition defenders throw their arms up almost in like exasperation. Like, how's he managed to do that?

49:42Jack:The Son of Oli I was thinking about was against Frankfurt in the Champions League. Ah, Frankfurt, okay. Yeah, it's a wonderful goal as well. A lovely, lovely goal. That one's always sort of stuck out for me. There's a few more of these. Let's have a look at a few more of these Son memories here. James Forster, his goal catalogue is insane. Surely one of the best ever. So many memories. But what better than showing his dedication to the club when he played on with a broken arm and scored late to win against Villa. Legend. Stefan McMahon has just posted simply a picture of Sonny holding the Europa League as he's just picked it up off the podium.

50:22Jack:The trophy. um gavin wa says weirdly the only player i think of when looking at that 16 17 yellow gold blue pinstripe underarm a third kit agreed like i yeah i i sort of always think of him i see some people say erickson but i uh i definitely see sonny when i see that one dominic sibley versus chelsea at wembley when he burst past jorginho Fuzzy Dunlop Champions League quarterfinals against City Giorgio Di Maria says when he scored to put us 1-0 up at the Emirates in the Carabao Cup in 2018 and then pointed at the badge in front of the Woolwich fans Stuart Trier versus Arsenal under Conte at White Hart Lane and oddly the first 20 minutes versus Chelsea under Ange when we were millimetres from going 2-0 up honestly Such a sliding doors moment, that one, isn't it?

51:23That's a really good point, actually, that one. Yeah, I'd forgotten all about that. Yeah, I think we were absolutely flying in that game as well.

51:31Jack:We looked brilliant for the first 20, 25 minutes. And it just completely sucked the confidence out of us, didn't it? Or whatever. DW says, underrated moment for me was his winner against Wickham in the FA Cup. I can't actually remember that, can you? No, I can't either. I remember it being a difficult game like so many of our early round FA Cup games are I mean in terms of Cup games he scored did he score a hat-trick against Millwall yeah I think he did because I was at that game and I seem to remember that being a really good, oh here we go 97th minute FA Cup I do remember this goal and he's cutting from the sides and he basically bangs it top corner that'll do oh no he hasn't sorry i missed so he you think he's going to cut him from the side but it's actually a nice little one two and he scores it and he scores it in the 97th so yeah a lovely goal um i don't remember that one but nice lee junior says um was this the most aesthetically pleasing knee slide celebration underrated aura farming it's uh yeah his knee slide against everton when we were 5-2 up against everton but i think he did a similar one against chelsea as well in the uh when he scored that goal at wembley yeah andy perry says signing the contract but then the city game winning this is the game with that goal i've never had the feeling before or since it was different to Bilbao as a sense of togetherness.

53:10Jack:It was an amazing feeling and he was crucial to that. I'm guessing it's that City game first game of the season when Kane didn't play, did he? And Sonny scored the winner and everyone was saying, are you watching Harry Kane? Yeah, God, that was a good moment. Waiha Lane was rocking that day as well. So I remember Jaffa Tanganga having the game of his life in that. Yeah, like really putting one on one of the City players really early. it's under Nuno it was wasn't it yeah and it was just defiance wasn't it because they spent the summer trying to get Kane away from us it's just again one of those rare moments where you feel that Tottenham have just had the upper hand in a one off match and it doesn't always happen for us obviously sometimes we're the butt of the joke but I think when those moments do occur it's always extremely satisfying Jason likes to travel as actually said yeah the hat-trick against Millwall in the last cup game at White Hart Lane.

54:10Jack:The best way to shut up their support on the day. So yeah, I thought he scored a hat-trick that day, but it was a good one. So yeah, Daniel Schach says, the way he stepped up when Kane got injured in the 2019 run, his three goals against City, he was immense. And then obviously scoring the goals against Villa with a broken arm. Tom Foynes, every goal he scored against City, they must be so relieved he's gone because he was the worst thing to happen to them in a decade I always think it's insane that very un-Tottenham like that we have become their bogey team over the last 5-6 years they're literally one of the greatest teams that has ever been put together yet Tottenham for whatever reason keeps beating them and I guess Sun's a big part of that Oh this was a nice one I remember this as well G Brokhoi says when he changed his goal celebration to match the young lad who got it wrong I think he did that with Poro I seem to recall that he sort of he put his hands around his eyes in like a circle as opposed to doing the kind of the 2L square thing that he did yeah it's quite nice a friend of the show Oliver Lister says my favourite goal was his solo effort against Chelsea at Wembley, Chelsea hadn't lost at that point and then he went and scored probably his best to kill the game unreal wow spurs g says at the parade son looked at me and i waved he waved back wow um just unbelievable nick nick rose i fucking love the man could have moved in our darkest hours but stayed and rightfully got his hands on a trophy um it's a good one so our hands moment says forget the goals assists golden boots puskus awards record-breaking partnership with gain kane his batshit mental dad the the unquestionably best thing sonny ever did at spurs was his all right mate greeting that he did in that uh video so that's a good one um i've got one really uh one really nice story here from from sean walsh um journalist friend of the show and it's quite a long one but it's a really nice one he said uh hello mate i've got a fan slash journo memory of sonny for you if you wanted the anecdote during the winter and spring of 2024 i undertook a massive largely solo project to mark five years since the ajax comeback as part of it i wanted to speak to those who were there in amsterdam including the players obviously most of them had already departed the club and were hard to track down as a journalist with not much standing and working at the time for a company with a relatively small reputation.

57:04Jack:Spurs on their part agreed to help out and gave me the green light to grab players in the mix zone to talk to them about Ajax so long as they were up for it. The crown jewel of the piece turned out to be the contribution from Sonny. It was after our 3-1 win against Nottingham Forest on Sunday April the 7th which was rearranged for a 6pm kickoff. By the time Son came through the mix zone, it was nearly 10 and everyone had gone home, including all of the other players and other journalists. He did his usual rounds with the Korean and Asian media, which were quite lengthy, before limping towards the exit when I stopped him, just the two of us alone and one press officer.

57:45Jack:I felt bad stopping him because I could see how tired he was, but when I quickly explained what I wanted to talk about, his demeanour brightened considerably. There was a happiness about him and when he talked about the game he got lost in his own words you could feel how much that night meant to him how much he loves the club and the journey he's been on with us my final question to him was did he believe all the way back then that we could make the comeback and he answered with an incredulous yes he told me that and that told me he was being genuine even in a second language at the end we shared a loud nap that i will cherish forever and he wished me all the best with the project.

58:27Jack:I'm so happy as both a Spurs fan and a reporter that was able to get this time with him. A real blow to the Never Meet Your Heroes camp. Yeah. That's pretty good, isn't it? It's just what stands out, isn't it? All the time with Son is just his genuine love and affection for the club. It just... He was never never embarrassed to just be loud and proud about Spurs ever you know and we need a bit more I don't know if you've seen like Bergvold in his kind of in his goodbye message to Sonny was him essentially saying thank you for telling me what it means to be Tottenham what it means to represent this club and you just hope that that kind of torch has been passed to this generation of young lads who won the Europa League with him yeah you know yeah exactly I was going to say that yeah you'd hope that that initial taste of success anyway means that the perception of Tottenham for a guy like Bergwijn now Odebe, Archie Gray people like that is going to be very different than the perception of Tottenham probably to people like some when he first joined the club um breaking down that narrative so quickly on in your Tottenham career as a teenager still it's it's almost unfair in a way they've not had to deal with any of the pain at all um we've just had to uh obviously bear that over the last few years I think it must give a different feeling around the entire club and he's a massive part of that.

1:00:11You're right, that kind of feeling of embarrassment, you sometimes see a reluctancy amongst certain players, I think, to really embrace Tottenham, embrace the badge. From the outset, I guess he's got it. And I guess his main final legacy could be in just changing perception and could be in forcing, potentially taught them to be viewed differently, both externally and internally as well. At least that's what I hope.

1:00:45Jack:I think they all come back around in the end because I think towards the end of his time at Spurs, Bale was like, for example, an ambitious guy. He wanted to leave the club and I think had a certain level of resentment to the club for keeping a hold of him. But you can tell now, and I think he's actually said before, probably the fondest memories of his career with his home playing at Spurs. And you can tell now that Bale's got a lot of affection for Tottenham and he is actually quite a loud and proud Tottenham man and he wasn't for a while. But I think a lot of them do reflect back on after their careers.

1:01:21Jack:Berbatov's quite similar. I think he actually recalls having lovely memories at Tottenham now. Modric, I think has said similar. Carl Walker. I was going to say. that said similar but I guess the difference here is Sonny is somebody that has never hidden from that ever he's and I can't recall many players Ledley King and to your point when you were saying like he's your favourite Tottenham player you can't think like to me it's like it's Son and King now they're like they're alongside one another for that reason for the reason that they were just unashamed Tottenham men and you could see they gave they gave everything everything to the club every time they put the shirt on and yeah you know hopefully hopefully we will have somebody that that carries that forward because that's it it makes a difference that type of thing you know people people can think this stuff is just fluffy intangible stuff for the fans oh it's nice to have a club man or that type of thing but in those moments like Sean is saying there in games against teams like Ajax when it's your darkest hour and the club are a couple of goals down and it feels like we're not going to get back you need those people that are there that are fighting for the shirt that aren't just playing for their own personal accolades that aren't just going to say well it's fine I don't need to shut up because we lost 2-0 and I know the press are all going to say afterwards, oh, that's just Spurs, that's what Tottenham do, and they'll blame Daniel Levy because he hasn't invested enough in summer or something.

1:03:00Jack:You need those players that are going to stand up and be counted and think, no, I want to win this. I want to win this for myself, for a bit of professional pride, but I want to win this for this club and I want to win it for these fans. I feel like that's what we had with Sonny. I'm getting a bit choked up, mate, talking about it. It's been an emotional morning, isn't it? I found it quite cathartic talking about it, actually. I know what you mean. The affection that you mentioned that Gareth Bale obviously feels now was interesting. I felt you could see that in the Europa League final coverage.

1:03:37But I guess he's had distance now from his time being at Tottenham. With Sonny, it all feels still quite rare at the moment. And I think that he, within that kind of pantheon of Spurs players, and they talk about the intangible stuff. Well, as like an emotionally volatile Spurs fan, that stuff really does matter to me. And actually just the simple, the goals, the stats aren't everything. Otherwise, everybody would list Harry Kane as their favourite ever player. And I'm sure there are people that do list Kane in that same way. for me there's a clear difference. I know that this is naive, but I want my players to love Tottenham in the same way I do.

1:04:24I know they never will, but I think just seeing that kind of emotional connection is to me what football is all about. And that collective experience, that sense of collective experience and connection with any particular Tottenham team, I think is only really felt in those emotional moments. It's not just simply about the bare stats in any capacity.

1:04:52Jack:Oh, mate. Like you say, it has been an emotional morning. And thanks to everybody who's sent in their stories and memories of Sonny. I've got loads more. And, you know, some of you all sort of said the same thing. So I hope it's covered it. an apologies to anybody who I haven't read out but there was quite a lot so I do appreciate that and thank you as well Gavin that's yeah I hope I haven't sent you into a pit of despair for the rest of the day for the rest of the week no thank you for having me it's been a like I say quite quite cathartic I think I've been thinking about this a lot over the weekend we didn't even get around to talking about Polina.

1:05:38Jack:He's in. So there you go. Start of a new era. At least we got a beast in midfield again. You're still thinking about the bad news. Yeah.

1:06:09Jack:Honey, yesterday my life was still green Honey, you're smiling at me and really is pain The dark is a gun and the bright is a hit My daddy wants you so sincere Honey, I'm so true, I love you I love you, yeah, I love you, I love you.