Now it’s showtime, Super Sonny

Super Sonny Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur is ready to capture the fascination of South Korean football fans with their bloodshot eyes open over the night time.

Tottenham's striker Son starts the first round of the 2020-2021 English Premier League in a home game against Everton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at 12:30 a.m. on Monday (Korean time). The Hotspurs wrapped up the previous season in 6th place while the Toffees ranked 12th.

All eyes are on the 28-year-old Korean star who joined the ranks of top strikers in European leagues by achieving his highest offensive points of 30 (18 goals and 12 assists) in the last season. The key point is whether Son is able to score his first goal in the very first match of this season. Recording four goals throughout four of the preseason games, Son is expected to make his start as a left winger against Everton.

“We will likely be relying on him to provide us with the breakthroughs against Everton,” according to the Spurs Web. “If Kane and Son can both stay fit for the entire season, I back them to fire us into the top four, no matter who the likes of Manchester United or Chelsea sign this summer,” said the British online news media outlet.

The COVID-19 pandemic may allow Son Heung-min, one of the key players in South Korea’s national team, to be free from international A matches and tiring long-haul travels around the beginning of the season but instead to dedicate himself to the Hotspurs. Added to this, Son will likely concentrate on his job as a goal-maker with less burden of playing the defense on his shoulders thanks to the joining of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, a mid-fielder with incredible defense skills who is expected to protect the central part of the field.

Son Heung-min said that he hopes “to be sharp and to be better than last season,” adding, “We created many chances and maybe we deserved more goals, but we missed some chances, missed some final passes, but it's the first game and we know we can do better.”

Awaiting his 6th season in Britain this year, Super Sonny has high hopes of making the 100th goal in Tottenham (85 goals as of now) and pointing a double-digit score for five consecutive seasons. His fans look forward to Son’s joining of the so-called “10-10 club” (10 goals and 10 assists) for two consecutive seasons by showing off his enhanced assistance skills.


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com