'Abracadabra!'
Son Heung-min (Tottenham) came off the bench on the 22nd (Korean time) in the final of the 2024-2025 season UEFA Europa League, held at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, leading Tottenham to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
Tottenham's goal came in the 42nd minute of the first half when Brennan Johnson's shot deflected off Luke Shaw's foot, resulting in an own goal, and that single goal became the decisive moment in the match.
After being substituted in the second half, Son Heung-min blended into the team's tactics with dedicated movement despite returning from injury, participating in defense until the final whistle to maintain Tottenham's lead. Immediately after the match, he ran around the field draped in the Taegukgi, sharing hugs with teammates as he relished the joy of his first career championship victory he had waited 15 years for.
Son Heung-min, who started his professional career in Hamburg, Germany, in 2010, moved to Bayer Leverkusen before donning a Tottenham jersey in 2015. Although he spent 10 years at Tottenham and reached the finals of the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and Carabao Cup multiple times, he never lifted a trophy. Therefore, this UEFA Europa League victory is not just an achievement but a decisive turning point in Son Heung-min's soccer life.
The most brilliant moment was the victory ceremony. Son Heung-min became the first Korean captain to hold the trophy in a major European final. In the ceremony that followed the match, he proudly lifted the 15 kg trophy first, and this moment, which spread around the world, remains a symbolic snapshot of Son Heung-min rewriting the history of European soccer as an Asian player.
Along with the joy of victory, he also bore wounds on his body. In a video released by Tottenham, Son Heung-min showed a cut on his forehead and said with a laugh, "At the moment I lifted the trophy, someone pushed me, and my forehead hit it." Although the wounded area was swollen and had scrapes, Son Heung-min seemed to forget about the pain as he shouted joyfully to celebrate the victory.
He didn't even receive a medal right after the champions ceremony. Because of the personnel limit, Son Heung-min was left out of the award distribution order and could only hang the medal around his neck later.
This victory was the first club tournament trophy that Son Heung-min grasped in his career. While he had a gold medal from the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, it was from an age-specific tournament that is difficult to evaluate as an international major competition, making this UEFA Europa League victory even more special.
Tottenham also applauded Son Heung-min's leadership. Immediately after the match, the club's official website praised him as "the first Korean captain to lead the team to victory in a European tournament," and the online fan community was filled with accolades.
Local British media noted, "Son Heung-min's comments were not simple joy but sincere. He has come to represent the club's history beyond himself," and evaluated, "That night, he transformed from 'the symbol of the club' to 'the legend of the club.'"
Son Heung-min's achievements at Tottenham are already countless. He has earned numerous titles attached to his name, such as the top scorer among Asian players in the Premier League, Goal of the Year, and Fan's Player of the Year. However, he has always been followed by the qualifier 'trophy-less,' which was a heavy burden for him. But now, that shadow has completely disappeared.
In a video shared via Tottenham's official social media, he could be seen pointing to his wounded area and smiling brightly as he said, "At the moment I lifted the trophy, someone pushed me from behind. That's how I got this wound on my forehead."
Fans shared in the joy through comments in the video section. Comments included, "A cooler wound than Harry Potter's," "A true champion's symbol," and "A mark of 15 years of dedication."
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