Son Heung-min scores 17th goal, close to breaking Cha Bum-kun’s 19

Son Heung-min (23, Bayer Leverkusen) is close to breaking the record of the most goals scored by a Korean player in a single European league season. Son scored the first goal of the match against FSV Mainz in the German Bundesliga, securing his 11th in the league and his 17th in this season. If Son secures three goals in the remaining six matches, he will break the score record that Cha Bum-kun, former coach of the Suwon Samsung, set as a member of Leverkusen in the 1985-1986 season.

However, it will not be easy to break that record. Son has 0.47 goals on average per match this season by scoring 17 goals in 36 matches, including five goals at the UEFA Champions League. But with a 0.39 goal-per-game average, Son has displayed slightly poor scoring capacity by scoring 11 goals at 28 matches in the Bundesliga.

Son can set a new record if he scores at least one goal each at the matches against lower-ranking teams with weak defense, including Hanover (15th) on April 18, and FC Cologne (13th) on April 25. Fortunately, Son has been strong in matches against the two teams. Having four goals and one assist overall in games against Hanover, Son scored the finisher at a match against Hanover in November last year. Against Cologne, he scored his debut goal in the Bundesliga in October 2010, and one assist on November 30 last year.

As the four teams that Son will face off in the next month are strong contenders for Leverkusen (ranking fourth) for a top spot, he might experience difficulties in scoring. Notably, Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich (13 goals), which set to play against Leverkusen on May 3 and May 9, and Borussia Mönchengladbach (22 goals), ranking third, have allowed the fewest goals in the league.

elegant@donga.com