Son scoops ‘Best Footballer in Asia’ award for seventh time
Mon 03 January 2022, 12:00|
Tottenham Hotspur
Heung-Min Son has been named the ‘Best Footballer in Asia’ for the seventh time in his career.
The annual award, presented by Chinese sports newspaper Titan Sports, is voted for by a panel of journalists and, once again, our South Korean forward's incredible performances for both club and country have been recognised.
Having previously won the award in 2014 and 2015, Sonny has since gone on to claim the prize in each of the last five years (2017-2021).
It has been an outstanding last 12 months for our number seven. Having kickstarted 2021 by scoring his 100th Spurs goal in our 3-0 win over Leeds United on 2 January, the forward went onto score a further 16 goals for us in all competitions. Across the calendar year, he also provided 13 assists, seeing him to 30 goal contributions in 51 outings in our colours.
Having marked his Spurs century in that win over Leeds, it was Sonny's creativity that shone through in the spring. Having provided an assist against the Whites, he followed that up with key passes against Sheffield United, Burnley and Crystal Palace – an assist which saw Sonny and Harry Kane break the Premier League’s record for goal combinations between two players in a single season (14) – while he also delivered a hat-trick of them in our FA Cup fifth round tie away at Everton.
Then, when Ryan Mason took charge as our Interim Head Coach in April, Sonny scored in each of Ryan’s first three matches, including the winner in his opening game, a 2-1 triumph over Southampton at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Those goals helped him to 22 in all competitions - his best yet in our colours – while his fine form saw him named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year for the first time.
In the summer, the forward then committed his future to the Club as he put pen to paper on a new four-year contract, which will run until 2025 – and he celebrated that new deal in the best way possible, opening the 2021/22 season with the match-winning goal in August’s 1-0 victory over Manchester City. He followed that strike up with a further winner against Watford (1-0) and a vital goal in a 3-2 victory over Newcastle, while he also made his 50th European appearance for the Club – now 53 - as we qualified for the Europa Conference League group stage with a 3-0 home win over Pacos de Ferreira (3-1 on aggregate).
And, since Antonio Conte took charge as Head Coach in November, the forward has continued to excel. Scoring the opener in the Italian’s first game as we defeated Vitesse 3-2 in the Europa Conference League, he has since contributed to seven goals in his last six Premier League games. That run includes a goal in our 2-2 draw with Liverpool on 19 December as the forward made his 300th appearance for the Club.
On the international stage, he earned a further seven caps and scored another four goals in 2021 – all seven of those games coming as captain in his side’s qualification campaign for 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Sonny’s national team remain second in group A of Asian qualifying, eight points ahead of UAE in third, with four matches remaining and the group’s top two qualifying.
