South Korean and Tottenham Hotspur winger Hueng-Min Son has always been very vocal about his admiration for the Portuguese maestro Cristiano Ronaldo. The former Bayern Leverkusen star met the five-time Ballon d’Or winner in the Juventus vs. Tottenham pre-season friendly in 2019.
According to reports, after the match, Hueng-Min Son was very nervous, as he knew that he was set to meet someone he had looked upon since his childhood. In the post-match interview, when asked about his experience meeting the former Juventus star, Son said, “Before I met Cristiano Ronaldo, I was nervous because he is my role model”.
The Premier League side won that match against the Serie A giants with a scoreline of 3-2. Argentine midfielder Erik Lamela scored the first goal of the match for the English side in the 30th minute.
This was shortly followed by a goal from another Argentine, Gonzalo Higuain, who equalized the scoreline at the 56th-minute mark of the game. Juventus took the lead in the 60th minute of the match thanks to Ronaldo.
🎙 Heung Min Son:
“Before I met Cristiano Ronaldo, I was nervous because he is my role model.” pic.twitter.com/YjTJAmDQfC
— TCR. (@TeamCRonaldo) October 5, 2023
However, this lead wasn’t long-lived, as Spurs came from behind and equalized in just five minutes with a goal from Brazilian star Lucas Moura. To seal the deal for the London-based side, England captain Harry Kane scored in the 93rd minute.
Son Hueng Min talked about his idol while growing up
Tottenham Hotspur star Hueng-Min Son has mentioned that former Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo was his idol in the early days. The South Korean plays in a similar position to Ronaldo and has been one of the most potent goalscorers for his club over the years, after his former teammate Harry Kane, who is the club’s record goal scorer.
In an interview, Son mentioned that Ronaldo had a huge influence on him since his childhood. He said, “Growing up I was watching Cristiano Ronaldo playing because he was at Manchester United together with Park Ji-sung. I watch a lot of YouTube videos of Ronaldo, he is my idol. He is much better than me”.
The striker then added, “I know that being a professional is about more than talent. It’s like my idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, who actually works more than the talent he has. I see many players who don’t have the mentality, who think that talent is enough. But it’s not.”
Son Heung-min talks about his idol Cristiano Ronaldo with Tom Holland. 😍
— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) January 13, 2022
Overall in his career at the North London club, Son has played around 380 games for the club and has scored 150 goals. He made a total of 80 assists as well.
Under the new manager, Ange Postecoglou, Son has been at the peak of his form this season since the departure of Kane. The South Korean striker has scored six goals in eight matches. Postecoglou will surely hope that Son keeps this good run going as they are set to face quite a few tough opponents in the coming days after the international break.