Heung-Min Son: “Everyone said, ‘Sonny, you’re going to do this, believe it’”
Mon 23 May 2022, 15:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
How things can change in a matter of seconds - just ask Heung-Min Son.
With mission accomplished and us 3-0 up at Norwich City on the season’s final day, fourth place and Champions League qualification secured, one question remained - could Sonny win the Premier League’s Golden Boot?
The South Korean star went into the match one goal behind Liverpool’s Mo Salah on 21, with Salah starting on the bench for the Reds against Wolves. But things weren’t going Sonny’s way. He was denied point-blank by Tim Krul, then he couldn't quite get to Dejan Kulusevski's pass/shot in front of goal, then he was sent clear one-on-one and the goalkeeper denied him again.
He wasn’t going to be denied though. Just seconds after that Krul save, another opportunity presented itself and Sonny made no mistake this time, latching onto Lucas Moura’s lay off and firing low into the corner for 4-0 – and goal 22.
Five minutes later, he moved clear of Salah with a goal to remember, our 69th in the league and one of the best. This time, Sonny picked up a clearance from Lucas’ cross, controlled, got away from Teemu Pukki and curled a beauty into the corner from 25 yards for 5-0. That was goal 23, later equalled by Salah, the pair eventually sharing the prestigious goalscoring award.
Speaking to Spurs TV at Carrow Road, holding the Golden Boot, Sonny talked us through a day to remember. “Before I scored, I missed a big chance as well, a one-v-one situation, but I still believed it, to be honest,” he said,
“Everyone was pushing me. If I was on my own, I couldn’t make it, but everyone next to me was pushing me - Lucas when he came on, Stevie, Eric, H, Ben, every player next to me said, ‘Sonny, you’re going to do this, believe it, you’ll get another chance’, and then I scored, then when I scored the second goal, it was incredible.
“Today, I missed the easiest chances and scored the toughest! I’m really grateful for the team. They helped me a lot, especially all season, but today, at 3-0, everyone was like, ‘come on Sonny, you deserve this’. I really appreciated that.
“It feels amazing. When I saw it for the first time, I was quite emotional. When I was a kid, I dreamt of this. It’s incredible to have this award, literally, in my hands.”
