Son becomes first non-European player in Tottenham history to play 400 games

Son Heung-min, the Korean soccer player, has etched his name in the history of Tottenham. He became the first non-European player to reach the milestone of 400 games for the English premium soccer club. This remarkable feat was achieved on Wednesday, when Son played full time in the 2023-2024 English Premier League (EPL) visiting match (1-1 draw) against West Ham. This was his 400th official game as a Tottenham player, a journey that began with his first league match against Sunderland on Sept. 13, 2015.

Son became the 14th player in club history to have played in 400 games and the first non-European player. He is the third player in the history of EPL, which was launched in 1992, after goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (LA FC, 447 games) and striker Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, 435 games). The record for the highest number of games played is held by Steve Perryman, who played for Tottenham from 1969 to 1986 in 854 games.

Tottenham marked Son’s 400th game with a special tribute. They posted an animation (photo) on the club's social media channel, capturing Son's unique celebration. After scoring a goal, Son does a ‘snap performance’ where he holds up a camera and films key scenes of his team’s achievements. This includes his performance as top scorer in the 2021-2022 season and the winning goal in a 2-1 win against Luton in the league match on Sunday. This victory boosted Tottenham's ranking to fifth place, with Son scoring the highest score of all time at 160 goals.


Hong-Gu Kang windup@donga.com