Son Heung-min, who holds the record for the most appearances and the most goals scored by an Asian player, will he finish the season empty-handed
? To make matters worse, Son Heung-min, who was unrelated this season, also failed to advance to European club competitions next season, and his career at Tottenham is getting more and more twisted.
Son Heung-min’s Tottenham lost 1-2 in the 2022-2023 English Professional Football Premier League (EPL) round 36 away match held at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on May 13 (Korean time), and the European Champions League, which is given up to 4th place next season (UCL) was ultimately frustrated.
After giving up the opening goal to Jacob Ramsey in the 8th minute of the first half, Tottenham collapsed by allowing Douglas Lewis an additional goal from a free kick in the 27th minute of the second half. In the 45th minute of the second half, Harry Kane scored a comeback goal with a PK, sparking a chase, but was unable to catch up with the game.
Son Heung-min started as a starter that day and played full-time, but failed to add attack points. Son Heung-min, who had to play a role close to a defensive winger in the previous game against Crystal Palace, was deployed more aggressively on this day. He had to be in charge of the team’s attack with Kane-Hisharlison, but Son Heung-min’s long-term penetration into the back space was blocked by offside every time, and he could not take advantage of the opportunity.
Son Heung-min had three one-on-one opportunities with the opposing goalkeeper that day. In the 20th minute of the first half, the shot hit the opponent’s goal, and just before the end, after a fantastic penetration, he shook the net with a right-footed shot, but all the goals were canceled due to an offside declaration, and he held his head. In the end, according to the record, Son Heung-min’s shooting on this day was officially ‘0’. On the other hand, there were 4 offsides. He touched the ball a total of 21 times, and his pass accuracy was only 81%.
Tottenham is currently 6th in the league with 17 wins, 6 draws and 13 losses, 57 points (goal loss +6). On the same day, 4th place Manchester United (20 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses) defeated Wolverhampton and secured 66 points, widening the gap with Tottenham to 9 points. As a result, even if Tottenham wins all of their remaining two matches and Manchester United loses all of them, they will not be able to recapture fourth place.
In the 2010s, Tottenham consistently finished in the top 4 or higher and became a strong team that stepped on the UCL stage every year. In particular, in the 2018-19 season, he even stepped on the UCL final stage.
However, Tottenham is on a downward trend in the 2020s. After finishing 6th in the 2019-20 season and 7th in the 2020-21 season, they failed to advance to the UCL one after another. In the 2021-22 season, with coach Antonio Conte, he succeeded in returning to the top 4 after 3 years and seemed to be rebounding by grabbing the UCL ticket, but this season, he was pushed back by AC Milan (Italy) in the round of 16 in the UCL amid poor performance again, and was eliminated in the league. I was pushed out of the race for 4th place.
Whether or not to participate in UCL, the world’s best stage, has a huge impact on the club’s revenue next season as well as player recruitment and contracts. The more star players, the more they prefer teams that can compete in the UCL. Missing the UCL ticket in a situation where rumors about the transfer of star Harry Kane have already continued is a scene foreshadowing that Tottenham’s reinforcement of power for the next season will not be smooth.
As Son Heung-min is already in his 30s, it is painful to lose the opportunity to challenge for a championship at the top level and build a career. Heung-Min Son scored 19 goals and 5 assists in 55 UCL matches, holding the record for the most appearances and the most goals as an Asian player.
Son Heung-min, whose contract with Tottenham expires in June 2025, can only step on the UCL stage again in the 2024-2025 season when he will be 33-34 years old, even if he recaptures the top 4 next season. In fact, it is likely to be the last UCL challenge opportunity in Tottenham. However, it is difficult to be certain at present whether Son Heung-min, who is concerned about the ‘aging curve’, will maintain the highest level of skills enough to promise to perform on the UCL stage two years later.
To make matters worse, the Europa League (UEL), one level below UCL, is also unclear. Direct tickets to the UEL final group stage are given to the English Football Association (FA) Cup winner and 5th place team. This season, the FA Cup finalists are league leaders Manchester City and 4th place Manchester United, so even 6th place is in the Europa League. can go out
However, 7th place Aston Villa (57 points, goal difference +4), which frustrated Tottenham that day, is now barely ahead of goal difference, and 8th place Brighton & Hove Albion (55 points) played 3 less games than Tottenham. If you finish 7th, you will be given a ticket to the Europa Conference League, the lowest competition among existing European club competitions, and if you fall below 8th place, you may end the season empty-handed.온라인카지노
To make matters worse, the lower the level of competitions he can participate in next season, the less Son Heung-min’s remaining professional career will be in the second half. The current situation is regrettable because it is Son Heung-min, who became the first Asian player to win the EPL scorer with the recapture of the top 4 just a year ago.