"For today, can I be a 'legend'?"

Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham Hotspur), who had been modest until now, said this after breaking the title drought. He expressed his feelings of joy in his own way.

Tottenham won 1-0 against Manchester United (Man U) in the single-match final of the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League (UEL) at Estadio San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain, on the 22nd (Korea time).

Son Heung-min, who was waiting on the bench, stepped onto the field after being substituted for Richarlison in the 67th minute. He had been out for a month due to a foot injury and had gained match fitness through two Premier League games before this match. He played about 30 minutes in the match against Crystal Palace on the 11th and started against Aston Villa on the 17th, playing for over 70 minutes.

Ahead of the match against Man U, there was significant interest in whether Son Heung-min would start. Coach Ange Postecoglou's decision was to keep him on the bench and send out Richarlison.

The 'hero of the winning goal' is Brennan Johnson. He lunged forward to meet a cross coming in from the left side in the 41st minute. The ball deflected off a Man U defender. Seeing the deflected ball, Johnson quickly got his foot to it. The ball was sucked into the Man U goal. The Tottenham players embraced each other in joy.

Son Heung-min, who sat on the bench during the first half and cheered for Johnson's goal, was actively running after he was brought into the game in the second half. In the 81st minute, he looked to create a shooting chance during a counterattack. However, he couldn't manage to control the ball in a struggle with the defense. He also took a free kick in the 85th minute.

According to the European statistics site 'Footmob', Son Heung-min played for 23 minutes (excluding stoppage time), touching the ball 13 times with a passing success rate of 33% (2 successes out of 6 attempts), a dribble success rate of 100% (1 success out of 1 attempt), and recorded 1 defensive action, 3 recoveries, and a ground ball contest success rate of 40% (2 successes out of 5 attempts).

Son Heung-min has finally broken his career 'title drought.'

Son Heung-min, who debuted on the professional stage in Hamburg, Germany, in 2010, and joined Tottenham in 2015 after playing for Bayer Leverkusen, has faced several near misses for titles throughout his career. He finished second in the Premier League in the 2016-2017 season and was a runner-up after losing to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final in the 2018-2019 season. He could not overcome Manchester City in the EFL Cup final in the 2020-2021 season.

The only title Son Heung-min experienced prior to this day was the gold medal he won as a member of the South Korean national soccer team at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games.

Such Son Heung-min has finally lifted a trophy with his club, fulfilling his dream of winning after 15 years of his professional debut.

Son Heung-min has become the second South Korean UEL champion, following former national team coach Cha Bum-kun. Cha won the UEFA Cup (now UEL) with Eintracht Frankfurt in 1980 and 1988. Kim Dong-jin and Lee Ho also claimed victory in this tournament with Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2008.

Tottenham has embraced a trophy after 17 years since the 2007-2008 League Cup.

Finishing 17th in the Premier League this season, Tottenham secured a spot in next season's UCL as the UEL champion.

Tottenham lifted the UEL trophy from the brink of poor performance, transforming their criticism into cheers in an instant.

After the match, Tottenham said in an interview with 'TNT Sports', "For today, can I be a legend? Just for today, I guess." They added, "Today we did something that no one has done for 17 years, so I guess that makes us club legends if we're with such great players."

He went on, "This (the victory) is something I have always dreamed of. Today that dream has come true. (For today) I am the happiest person in the world," and added, "There are always difficult times in a season, but we players have always stuck together. We truly wanted this. I dreamed of this game every night for the past 7 days. It has finally happened, and now I think I can sleep comfortably."

Finally, he concluded, "Today is a day to celebrate. I hope it will be a day I will never forget. I might even miss my flight tomorrow."

Son Heung-min will be remembered in the club's history as the first South Korean captain to lead Tottenham to a championship.

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