Son Heung-min grabs Europa League trophy to cap trying season
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- All's well that ends well, and the saying offers an apt description of how the 2024-2025 season went for Tottenham Hotspur and their South Korean captain Son Heung-min.
Tottenham edged out Manchester United 1-0 in the final of the UEFA Europa League at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, on Wednesday (local time) for their first trophy since the 2008 English Football League (EFL) Cup.
This was the first career trophy for Son, who made his senior debut with Hamburger SV in Germany in 2010 and joined Tottenham in 2015.
He had played and lost in two previous finals with the North London club -- the 2019 UEFA Champions League and the 2021 EFL Cup. Spurs were also the runners-up to Chelsea in the Premier League in the 2016-2017 season.
This has been a particularly trying season for both Son and Tottenham.
Tottenham have already set clubs marks for the fewest points (38) and the most losses (21) in a Premier League season with one match remaining. They came into the Europa League final in 17th place among 20 clubs, one point behind their opponents for Wednesday, Man United. The only saving grace for Totteham was that they were safely out of the relegation zone, 13 points clear of 18th-place Leicester City. In other competitions, they were eliminated in the semifinals of the EFL Cup and in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Son, 32, has also suffered through one of his least productive seasons in England due to injuries while also showing signs that he has lost a step.
He is stuck at seven goals in 30 league matches this season after reaching double figures in goals every year since his second season with Tottenham in 2016-2017. Son, who was held to four goals in 28 matches in his first Spurs season in 2015-2016, needs a hat trick in the season finale against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday to keep his streak alive. It was only three years ago that Son became the first Asian player to win the Premier League Golden Boot as the top scorer with his career-high 23 goals.
He does have 11 goals in 45 matches in all competitions this season, his lowest total since scoring eight in 40 matches in the 2015-2016 season.
Son has missed seven matches in the league this season, first due to a hamstring injury last fall and then a foot injury this spring. That latter injury also kept Son out of the second leg of the quarterfinals and both legs of the semifinals at the Europa League.
He returned May 11 against Crystal Palace in league action and then logged 73 minutes in a start against Aston Villa in another league match five days later.
Son began the Europa League final on the bench before replacing Richarlison in the 67th minute. Tottenham were clinging to a 1-0 lead by then and were busy trying to keep Man United at bay. Son generated little on the offensive end but still helped his club hang on for the nail-biting win.
Son, who turns 33 in July, has one more year left on his contract with Tottenham, who in January exercised their option to extend Son's deal until the summer of 2026.
In the weeks leading up to that decision, transfer rumors had linked Son to clubs such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. Previously, Son had also rejected speculation over a possible move to Saudi Arabia.
However, Tottenham may be staring at a youth-driven rebuild following a largely disappointing season. And Son, the club's oldest outfield player this season, may face a career-altering decision down the road, with Saudi rumors having resurfaced.
After the European season wraps up, Son will have international duty on the horizon with South Korea about to wrap up their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in June. Son will also be in South Korea this summer with Tottenham for their second preseason tour in his native country in three years.
jeeho@yna.co.kr
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