Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham) conquered Europe on the birthday of 'Cha Bum-kun.'
Tottenham defeated Manchester United 1-0 in the UEFA Europa League final for the 2024-2025 season held at Estadio San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain, on the 22nd (Korean time).
Tottenham lifted a trophy for the first time in 17 years since the 2008 League Cup. Son Heung-min, who joined Tottenham in 2015, finally ended a decade without a title. Including clubs like Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, this is his first professional victory.
As the victory was confirmed, Son Heung-min celebrated with the Taegukgi. Acting as captain, Son was the first to lift the trophy and rejoiced with his Tottenham teammates. This was the most glorious moment in Son Heung-min's football career.
After the match, Son Heung-min said, "I feel really great right now. Tottenham hasn't lifted a trophy in 17 years. It took a long time, and today is that day. I think I can now say that I am a legend of this club. This is just for today! I want to enjoy this moment," while shedding tears.
Coincidentally, the day Son Heung-min won the championship was the 72nd birthday of South Korean football legend Cha Bum-kun. Exactly 45 years ago, Cha Bum-kun also led Frankfurt to victory in the UEFA Cup, the predecessor of the UEFA Europa League. Cha Bum-kun made history in 1988 by bringing Bayer Leverkusen, where Son Heung-min played, to the top of the UEFA Cup.
For pioneer Cha Bum-kun, the success of junior Son Heung-min in Europe held special meaning. Cha Bum-kun posted on social media, "Heung-min lifted the UEFA Cup. On my birthday morning. It's a precious gift that is hard to receive once in a lifetime. Knowing the effort he has put in, my heart feels heavy just to celebrate blindly. Our Heung-min did great. You're the best!!!!"
Football fans expressed their emotions, saying, "It's moving to see the support from Teacher Cha Bum-kun!" and "Happy birthday, Teacher Cha Bum-kun!" adding, "Today's Son Heung-min exists because of the past Cha Bum-kun."
Even though the congratulatory messages are the same, the response from fans is entirely different for Jung Mong-kyu, the president of the Korea Football Association. After a controversial term, President Jung is still lacking the support of football fans.
Following Son Heung-min's victory, President Jung said on his social media, "Congratulations on Tottenham's UEFA Europa League victory. Like football fans, I also anxiously cheered for our national team captain early in the morning. Thank you for bringing great joy and courage to our people."
However, the fans' reaction is cold to the point of being frigid. Fans commented, "Please just stay quiet," "You’re stealing the joy of the day," "There’s an association that messed up the national team with such players," and "Who are you to congratulate Son Heung-min?" expressing a sharp contrast to their reaction toward Cha Bum-kun.
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