Two SONs at the “My Love Sonny” training center… The fans cheer like crazy
Everywhere you looked, you could hear voices cheering for “Captain” Son Heung-min (31, Tottenham). The cheering was as intense as the training. You could even spot Son Heung-min (?) among the fans.
The South Korean national football team, led by coach Jürgen Klinsmann, held a training session at the Paju National Football Center (NFC) on Tuesday to prepare for two A matches in October. Day 2. The players sweated it out in an open training session watched by 300 fans for about an hour from 4pm.
Klinsmann’s men will play Tunisia on October 13 at the Seoul World Cup Stadium for the first match of the October Evaluation. The team will then move to Suwon World Cup Stadium on the 17th for the second match against Vietnam.
All 24 players on the roster participated in the training session. The squad was completed with the arrival of Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), Cho Kyu-sung (Meatwillan), Hwang In-beom (Tsubena Zvezda) and Park Yong-woo (Al Ain) in the morning.
‘Captain’ Son Heung-min, who joined the national team after playing non-stop matches for Tottenham Hotspur, focused on recovery on the second day following the first day of training (Day 9). He started off the day by forming a ‘circle’ with the players, before heading off to the cycling area.
After about 20 minutes on the bike, Heung-min stretched with physical coach Werner Reutart before running and walking around the field where the players were training.
It’s his recovery training for a reason. Son boarded a flight to South Korea immediately after the Tottenham game, where he played in the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) match against Luton Town, which ended at 10:30 p.m. ET on July 7.
Tottenham were reduced to a man down when Yves Bissouma was sent off for a straight red card just before the end of the first half at Luton, but Micky van der Penn’s goal seven minutes into the second half sealed the deal. 1-0 win. Son Heung-min started up front and played the full 76 minutes. He had three shots, two chances created, and two fouls, according to soccer stats site Footmob. Shortly after the game, Son returned home and joined Klinsmann.
In England, there are concerns about Son’s fitness after playing so many games for Tottenham. Adding to their concerns is the fact that he recently suffered a groin injury.
The 300 fans who had the opportunity to participate in the open training session showed their support for Son Heung-min.
A small banner dedicated to Son stood out: “Dear Heung-min (Heart), don’t get sick, don’t get hurt. Stay healthy. Play long and happy soccer, but please don’t get married,” it read, along with words of support and personalized wishes. 스포츠토토
Another fan printed out a picture of Son Heung-min’s face. The fan had the wit to post the photo on top of Son’s No. 7 jersey.
After his recovery training, Son waved his hands in front of the fans and thanked them for their support.
The jerseys of Cho Kyu-sung, Oh Hyun-gyu, and Hwang Hee-chan were also spotted among the fans. The players received plenty of support from the fans as they practiced. The cheers never stopped.