Heung-Min Son (29) spoke about his time in Germany at an event in Seoul – and shared unflattering memories.
Sport-wise, Heung-Min Son is one of his country’s greatest athletes. The South Korean striker of Tottenham Hotspur shot himself together with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to the top scorer title in the last Premier League season. With 23 goals, he became the first Asian footballer to achieve this triumph in England.
Son has also experienced more difficult times. The former Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen professional told an event in Seoul, the capital of his home country, on Monday. “I moved to Germany when I was young and I experienced so many difficult, unimaginable moments. I had to deal with racism a lot. During that difficult time, I thought a lot about wanting to take revenge one day.”
And that is why South Korea’s 2-0 group win over the German national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia remains for him the “most memorable moment” of his career. Son scored the final goal, and coach Joachim Löw’s defending champions had to go home early after just three games.
Consolation? Not for Germany
“When people cry,” Son said, “I usually want to comfort them and give them a hug.” He did not feel that way after the win against the DFB team, he said. That was when he got his “revenge”, he said.
Today, Son, who has played in London since 2015, still struggles with racism. Last year, eight suspects were arrested for allegedly using racial slurs against the South Korean on Twitter.
