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| Tottenham's Son Heung-min kicks the ball during a Europa League third qualifying round football match between Shkendija and Tottenham at the National Arena Todor Proeski in Skopje, North Macedonia, Thursday. / AP-Yonhap |
By John Duerden
It doesn't take long for frowns to turn upside down in football. After the first game of the new English Premier League season on Sept. 13, Tottenham Hotspur fans were down in the dumps after an insipid 1-0 loss at home to Everton.
It wasn't just the result but the performance. It suggested that there was not much to look forward to in the coming months. Fast forward a week however and Spurs and Son Heung-min were the talk of the football world.
And rightly so. It is not just fans who were shaking their heads at the exploits of the Chuncheon-born attacker. This writer has been watching South Korean players play in Europe ever since Ahn Jung-hwan left Busan I'Park in 2000 to play for Perugia in Italy.
That didn't end especially well but there have been highlights since. Park Ji-sung won title after title in seven years with Manchester United, becoming a valued player at one of the world's biggest and best teams. There have been others who have had fine careers in Europe such as Lee Young-pyo, Seol Ki-hyeon, Koo Ja-cheol and Ji Dong-won. Others went west but were back home before long. That is the way it goes sometimes, it doesn't always work out.
But it is hard to remember such a performance as the one Son produced on Sept. 20. Tottenham was playing in the second game of the season at Southampton and was quickly losing 1-0. A second straight defeat at this early stage would have been a major problem given that last season was not exactly a success.
Much has been written about what happened after Southampton scored the first goal. Son scored four goals, four fantastic well-taken goals, to inspire Spurs to a 5-2 win. He was lethal and it was a world-class display. The attacker was simply devastating and it made headlines around the world.
There is no doubt that Son is at the top of his game right now. On Thursday, he scored one and made two assists as Tottenham went to North Macedonia to defeat Shkendija 3-1.
For now, Son is acting as an inspiration to all Asian players in Europe. Son is at the very top of his game in one of the world's best leagues. If the 28-year-old can keep producing anything like the same consistency for the rest of the season then these next few months could be something special.
There has been a turnaround over in South Korea too. Suwon Bluewings has endured a dismal season in 2020 with the four-time champion languishing near the bottom of the K League standings to flirt with relegation.
Then came two wins in the past two plays. A victory over Gangwon FC was followed on Saturday with a 3-1 win over rival FC Seoul.
A fantastic hat-trick from last season's top scorer Adam Taggart slayed Seoul. The first was world-class. The Australian striker received the ball just inside the area, flicked it up and turned to volley his shot into the top corner of Seoul's net.
Suddenly, Suwon fans are smiling and relegation is receding into the distance. It only takes a game or two for the whole mood to change in football.
