Son leads Hamburg to rout of Hoffenheim

Hamburg SV’s Son Heung-min celebrates his goal during the team’s match against Hoffenheim at Rhein-Neckar-Arena in insheim, Germany, Saturday. / AP-Yonhap

By Kim Tong-hyung

Son Heung-min scored a goal and assisted on another to lead Hamburg SV in a 4-1 rout of Hoffenheim in Sinsheim on Saturday, pushing the hosts closer to relegation from top-flight German football.

The win moved Hamburg closer to sixth-place Eintracht Frankfurt, a team it will have to pass to earn a spot in next year’s Europa League. Next up against Hamburg is Leverkusen, the old club of Korean football great Cha Bum-kun, who scored 98 goals in 11 Bundesliga seasons before retiring from the league in 1989.

Son, a 21-year-old widely considered the best football prospect to come out of Korea since Premiership veteran Park Ji-sung, is enjoying a stellar season that has put him in the center of a bidding war between top European clubs.

Employed upfront as a target man, Son was aggressive out of the gate and nearly scored in the third minute. He didn’t miss 15 minutes later when he perfectly timed a cross by Dennis Diekmeier and headed the ball to the bottom left corner to give his team a 1-0 lead, quieting the crowd at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena.

Son dealt further damage in the 35th minute when he attacked the box, dribbled around Hoffenheim goalkeeper Koen Casteels and unselfishly dished the ball to Dennis Aogo, who tapped it into an unguarded net to make it 2-0.

Hamburg widened the lead in the 60th minute when Petr Jiracek drilled a right-footer into the center of the goal following a set-piece situation. The hosts got one back a minute later when Kevin Volland beat Casteels with a left-footer from the right side of the box.

Artjoms Rudnevs converted Hamburg’s fourth goal in the 88th minute, his 12th goal of the season that put him in a tie with Son for the team lead.

It’s hard to remember whether Park ever generated as much excitement as Son, who is attracting interest across Europe, with Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal and even Park’s old team, Manchester United, listed as potential suitors.

Even in his prime, Park was never the focal part of an offense, but regarded as a role player who contributed with his non-stop running and industriousness. Son, on the other hand, is displaying a potential to develop into a true match-winner, showing a unique combination of skills, pace, awareness and finishing ability.