For Son Heung-min, last season was a painful one in every respect as he was unable to recreate the form for Tottenham that earned him the Premier League Golden Boot in the previous campaign.
It was only after the end of the season that it was discovered that the 31-year-old South Korean star had played much of the season with a problem that required him to have surgery for a sports hernia after the last game of the season at Leeds United. Son had tried to keep the issue quiet, but he ended up having to talk about it back in his home country.
Now fully fit but yet to play a pre-season game after Spurs’ friendly against Leicester in Thailand was washed out, Son looks happy again with a new head coach in the form of Ange Postecoglou.
“It was really hard moments. I’m the type that always hides the pain. I really didn’t want it to come out officially that I had the surgery, but I’m fine, I feel fresh. I feel like a new man,” Son said during the club’s summer tour.
“Last season, the whole season with pain. It was unbelievable. I can’t even think about the pain, you know. Now I’m really good, healthy. The physios are still working on it, because it’s only been a week, 10 days, so I’m looking forward to being in good shape. I’m ready to rock’n’roll.”
He added: “[Last season] I was in pain every single moment, literally. It sounds strange, but every turn, running, stopping, passing, kicking, it affected everything. It was strange because in normal life, when I didn’t exercise, it felt fine, so I walked excitedly on the track because I didn’t have pain when I walked. As soon as I was on the field for a warm-up I would be frustrated because the pain is there, every action, twist, pass, kick… finally I made the decision at the end of the season to have surgery and I think it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
READ MORE: Cristian Romero admits rift grew between Tottenham stars and Conte, but Postecoglou is the right man
Some wondered why Son didn’t have surgery earlier in the campaign for a problem that was clearly hampering him. It’s a simple answer, he didn’t want to leave Tottenham for what would have been a long period as they struggled to perform under Antonio Conte.
“Probably people are thinking why didn’t I do the surgery as early as possible, but for me it felt like for the club during the season every single moment felt like a difficult moment,” the striker explained. “I didn’t want to let the people down. I didn’t want to let the players and the staff down because it means a lot to me and then the fans who support me take responsibility whether I played well or badly, in pain or not.
“One thing was clear, I didn’t want people to be let down by just walking away in a tough moment because of the pain.”
With no one outside the club knowing about his hernia problem, Son was criticized for his form during the season, despite still managing to finish with 14 goals and provide six assists, making 20 goals involved in 47 games.
“I don’t want to say anything [about that] because I made this decision and had to take responsibility. I can’t say yes, it had a massive effect, but the Premier League is one of the toughest leagues in the world, even if you’re 100 per cent fit, it’s tough, but if you can only perform 60 or 70 per cent, yes, it will be a killer,” he said.
“I made the decision and I take all the blame. One thing that was just clear in these difficult moments, I didn’t want the players and the fans to be let down, so I held my pain and I suffered, but it was all my decision.”
He added: “Everyone thinks differently. Some people with pain they want to tell people. I’m completely different. I didn’t want people to know that. We’re professional footballers, everyone has pain, everyone takes painkillers before the game because you play competitive sport and there’s pain.
“I don’t know how many people go to games throughout the season and feel, ‘Oh, wow, I feel 100 percent fit with no pain’. I think it’s maybe one or two games a season, but you accept it because you love the sport and you have people behind you who support you. For me, it’s not important whether people know it or not. You make the decision and you have to execute the decision.”
For Son, it all came into play in the last game of the season at Elland Road. He helped Tottenham win the game, laying on an assist as they won 4-1, but he struggled with the pain.
“It was every game but to be honest the last game of the season was really painful. I was really close to giving up against Leeds but when I looked at the staff I couldn’t say there was one more game and I’m going to have surgery now. I just closed my eyes and said please let’s win this game and luckily we did,” he said.
Bearing in mind that Son puts himself through the pain every week to try not to let everyone down in and around Tottenham, how did it feel to hear Conte fuming after the Southampton draw when the Italian called the players “selfish” and that they “don’t want to help each other and don’t put their heart”?
“Urmmm… it’s a bit painful, but I think people see it in different ways,” admitted the South Korean captain. “I don’t think he meant it. He was just in an aggressive way, an emotional way after the game.
“I am grateful to him. I can’t say anything bad about him because I take the blame. I should have done much, much better. Two years ago I won the golden boot and the expectations were high. The team needed me in a different way in those difficult moments and for whatever reason, pain or whatever, I couldn’t perform, so I still feel sorry for him.
“I was good with him. The season before was great. I won the Golden Boot with him. I can’t say anything bad about him. I’m grateful to have worked with him. Obviously the ending wasn’t ideal, not what we wanted, but I’m grateful and I’ve learned a lot of things about football and being a person and being more passionate.”
Now Tottenham have a new man at the helm in Postecoglou, and Son has already noticed the slight differences in style of play creeping into the team’s game.
“Everything has changed from last year. It’s too early to tell [the future is] bright or not, but the boys work really hard. That’s what pre-season is all about. We’re preparing really well and playing a bit different than we used to play, different football, so we’re looking forward to next season,” he said.
“You could probably see against West Ham that there is still a lot to improve and still need to change in the way we play, but we want the ball, we want to attack more, play in their half, which I think is really important for us as a team and a club. The club has a style of playing football. You could see against West Ham that it has changed from last season.”
He added: “Obviously it’s a good thing. You want to play in their half, it’s always good, the way to score goals, it’s a shorter distance than if you have 60-70 meters in front of you. Managers are all different in the way they want to play, but you have to accept what they want.
“There’s a new manager and you have to switch on quickly and understand what the gaffer wants. That’s what he wants and I’m really excited to play attacking football because we have quality players and can score a lot of goals and win games.”
Some believed that last season Son did not get out into the wide positions where he caused his most damage, with that role instead being taken by wing-backs such as Ivan Perisic. The South Korean star is at his best when he bursts down the left before cutting in and curling a shot on goal or a cross into the box.
So what will his role be under Postecoglou?
“That’s how I used to play, on the touchline, one-on-one with the full-backs and causing problems for the defensive line. When I stay wide, we’ll have more space inside and also run into space,” he said. “Obviously we didn’t talk about any individual roles, but you could see when I wasn’t even playing against West Ham that I could literally see what my role was going to be. It’s simple. Everyone in his position now knows what to do and how to manage their game.”
Next season, Son will simply remind everyone when he can do it for Tottenham Hotspur.
“I just want to show that last season was not the Sonny we all know. The six seasons in a row, performing in a consistent way was not lucky. It was hard work,” he explained. “Last season was obviously not the best, but I think I learned the most as a 30-year-old. That was the year I learned the most.
“I can’t say it was a great season but mentally it was as good as two seasons ago because I could see I could bring it back from where I started. This season I just want to show that the Sonny we all know is still there.
“As a team we look forward game by game. Basic answer isn’t it? It was a mess last season. As players, young and old, we should all take a big responsibility. Everyone has been around long enough.
“When you wear this shirt, you have to know that you’re playing for Tottenham, playing in the Premier League and it’s not enough to give 99 percent, it’s not enough when the time comes. If we think like that and stick together as a family, we can go back up the mountain and without any mess, that’s very, very important for us as a club.”
Heung-min Son spoke at a sustainability upcycling event with local children from Second Chance Bangkok. The players helped the children convert some of last season’s shirts into new school bags.