Now that Harry Kane (30-Bayern Munich) is gone, it’s clear where Son Heung-min (31-Tottenham Hotspur) fits in. Tottenham Hotspur’s 141-year-old English Premier League (EPL) club has released its anniversary poster, with ‘Korean’ Son Heung-min front and center.
“Tottenham was founded on this day in 1882,” the club said on its official social media accounts on May 5 (KST), revealing a poster featuring key players who have played for the club.
Founded in 1882, Tottenham first appeared in the top flight in the 1909-1910 season after winning the FA Cup over Sheffield United in 1901. They won their first top-flight title in the 1950-1951 season and reached their peak in 1958 when Bill Nicholson was appointed as manager. Under Nicholson, Tottenham won their second and to date last league title (1960-1961), as well as three FA Cups.
The club also shone on the European stage. In the 1962-1963 season, they won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, the first ever European trophy for an English club, and were the inaugural winners of the UEFA Europa League in 1971-1972. Since then, the club has been a perennial fixture in the top flight, bouncing back and forth between the middle and top of the EPL until the Son Heung-min-Harry Kane era.
Unsurprisingly, the team has had its fair share of English legends. Jimmy Greaves, a member of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad and Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer, Gary Lineker, the 1986 World Cup winner in Mexico, Glenn Hoddle, the midfielder who helped Tottenham win back-to-back FA Cups, and ineffable striker Teddy Sheringham. Other notable Spurs players include Gareth Bale, Robbie Keane, and Dimitar Berbatov.
But it was Son Heung-min who took center stage on the poster. The club chose to feature Son in the center of the poster with his hands over his mouth in a kissing gesture. Bale and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris are in the bottom right corner, while best friend Kane is dwarfed by Robbie Keane on the left – the majesty of the captain.
Son Heung-min is the man who transformed Tottenham from a perennial EPL mid-table team to one of the Big Six alongside Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Prior to Son’s arrival in the 2015-2016 season, Tottenham were a one-man team, relying on specific players like Bale and Kane.
However, with Son forming a soulful duo with Kane, Tottenham not only qualified for the Champions League, but also challenged for the title. Under Mauricio Pochettino, Spurs finished third in the EPL in 2015-2016, second in 2016-2017, third in 2017-2018, and were in contention for the league title by the end of the season, before reaching the Champions League final for the first time in club history in 2018-2019 (where they finished as runners-up).
Son was Tottenham’s leading goal scorer during this period, combining with Kane for 47 goals, the most in the EPL in that category. In 2021-2022, he became the first Asian player to lead the EPL in scoring with 23 goals in the league and 24 goals and eight assists in 45 games overall. He shared the award with Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), but the fact that it was a pure field goal, with no penalties, made him even more highly regarded in England. 온라인카지노
Following Kane’s move to Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga this summer, Tottenham handed the captain’s armband to Son Heung-min. In his first season as captain, Son has been the team’s mainstay this year, leading Spurs to a second-place finish. One of the highlights of the season came on February 2 against Burnley in the fourth round of the 2023-2024 EPL, where Son scored a hat trick in less than 80 minutes to move into fifth place on Tottenham’s all-time goalscoring list with 148 career goals (80 assists). He also became an integral part of EPL history. His 106 league goals are tied for 30th all-time in the EPL, surpassed only by Cristiano Ronaldo (103) and Didier Drogba (104).
Authoritative media outlets such as the BBC and the EPL Secretariat did not hesitate to include Son in their top 11 lists for the fourth round of the EPL. On June 6, the Daily Mail updated its EPL player power rankings and moved Son to the top of the list. “Kane’s move to Bayern Munich raised eyebrows at Tottenham, but Son has proven to be more than capable of filling the void. He was silent in rounds one through three but showed what he is capable of with a hat-trick against Burnley.”