Son Heung-min gets remarkable reaction as Tottenham captain returns for pre-season training
The Tottenham captain has returned to Hotspur Way ahead of another busy season and the fans in his homeland gave him a big send-off
Tottenham captain Son Heung-min returned to Hotspur Way on Monday following a big farewell before his flight from South Korea at the weekend.
The spur skipper, who returned to the club on his birthday having turned 32 on Monday, was handed a couple of extra days on his summer holidays as South Korea’s World Cup qualifiers went on a bit longer than many of his team-mates’ international commitments at the end of last season.
Son had matches in Singapore and South Korea last month which ensured his international duty did not end until June 11, which was two or three days after many of his colleagues were able to head off on their holidays. That meant that while the likes of James maddison, Ben Davies and Dejan Kulusevski were all back at Hotspur Way for testing on Saturday and then training on Sunday under Ange Postecoglou and the coaching staff, Son was granted 48 hours extra before his return.
His departure from Seoul’s Incheon International Airport on Sunday was met by large crowds as fans discovered he would be flying home that day. With most fully aware that he would be spending his birthday back in the UK, he was inundated with birthday cards from those who had turned up and even blew out the candle on one cake a fan had made for him.
Korean news channels caught his departure with Star News publishing the video below of his arrival at Incheon as the fans tried to hand over their cards to the player who registered 17 goals and 10 assists in 35 Premier League games last season.
Tottenham will experience Sonny-mania again this month as the popular 32-year-old and the squad will return to Seoul for the second half of a tour to Asia that first takes in Japan and then South Korea, during which the crowds will no doubt flock again to see the Spurs and South Korea captain returning with his team-mates, as they did two years ago.
For now, Son will have met a few new faces when he arrived at Hotspur Way on Monday morning in Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. Son sent Bergvall a welcome text when he signed and may well have done the same for Gray.
“It’s crazy. I’m from Sweden! He’s one of the best players in the Premier League and a real legend,” Bergvall told football London in may. “He texted me after I signed. It was really kind of him because he was at the Asian Cup and I think it was really something for him to do that when he was so busy. He’s a really nice, kind guy for writing to me and making me feel comfortable.”
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