Postecoglou claims Spurs star would get more praise if his nationality was different
Ange Postecoglou has described Son Heung-min as a ‘great of the Premier League’ and insisted that the forward would be getting a lot more plaudits if he was European or South American.
Son has been incredibly consistent since arriving at Tottenham back in 2015, regularly registering over 20 goal contributions season in, and season out.
The records are now starting to tumble for the 31-year-old, who recently breached the top five in Spurs’ all-time goalscoring charts. Only Kane (280 goals), Jimmy Greaves (266), Bobby Smith (208), and Martin Chivers (174) are now ahead of the former Bayer Leverkusen man.
Son’s record in the Premier League is also astounding, with the forward having scored 118 times and provided 60 assists in 294 matches in the English top flight (Transfermarkt).
Postecoglou is in no doubt that the Tottenham captain is one of the best to have ever graced the Premier League, remarking that the forward is showing no signs of decline.
When asked about Son, the Spurs head coach told Football.London: “He’s a superstar, mate. I think he is world-class. To do it as long as he has in the Premier League – and this year he has missed a fair few games with the Asia Cup, which has happened a couple of times in his journey here – travelling to the other side of the world representing his national team, never missing a beat there either, to keep producing those numbers I would put him right up there.
“I think there is still more to come from him. I don’t see him waning in terms of his abilities or his physical capacities and he can keep crunching out those numbers. Look, I have no doubt he will go down as one of the greats of the Premier League when he’s done.”
Heung-min Son deserves even more credit
Postecoglou suggested that if Son had been from a country that is viewed as a traditional footballing powerhouse, he would be getting a lot more recognition for his achievements.
When asked why the Tottenham man perhaps does not get placed in the same bracket as some of the best players in the world, he responded: “Maybe because of that and I think maybe if he played for another national team. Whatever he does for his national team gets diminished because it’s not Euros or the World Cup qualifiers where they can measure up.
“If he was playing for any other national team in Europe or South America – and I have no doubt he would play for whatever national team he happened to be of that nationality – that maybe takes something away from him. Inevitably people put international records in as well to rank them as players but I still think he has had an unbelievable national career as well, carrying his nation for a very long time.
“But that’s OK. When it is all done and dusted his accomplishments and the way he has gone about it will get him the recognition he deserves.”
Spurs Web Opinion
There is no doubt that Spurs fans realise that Son is a generational player and he is already one of the club’s biggest legends of the modern era. The 31-year-old’s achievements will perhaps only be fully appreciated by neutrals and pundits when his time in the Premier League is over.
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