Son Heung-min (33, Tottenham Hotspur) has won the UEFA Europa League (UEL), raising expectations for the possibility of a dual triumph in both UEL and the Champions League (UCL) for Korean players. Now it's the turn of Lee Kang-in (24) of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
On the 22nd (Korea time), Son Heung-min was substituted in the 67th minute during the 2024-2025 UEL final against Manchester United at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, and played until the end of the match. He contributed to the team's 1-0 victory, finally lifting his first trophy in his career.
Tottenham reclaimed the top spot in European club competitions for the first time in 41 years since winning the UEFA Cup (the predecessor of UEL) in the 1983-1984 season. It also lifted a trophy for the first time in 17 years since the League Cup in the 2007-2008 season.
This victory holds special meaning for Son Heung-min. It is his first trophy after 15 seasons since turning professional.
He was also noted as the fourth Korean player to lift a trophy in the Europa League, including the UEFA Cup. The first was 'Cha Boom' Cha Bum-kun, who lifted the trophy twice with Frankfurt (in the 1979-1980 season) and Bayer Leverkusen (in the 1987-1988 season). After that, Kim Dong-jin (current national team coach) and Lee Ho (Incheon United chief coach) experienced UEFA Cup victory with Zenit Saint Petersburg in the 2007-2008 season. However, Kim Dong-jin played for one minute as a substitute in the final, while Lee Ho did not make the roster.
Son Heung-min, who came on as a substitute against Manchester United, became the first Asian player to play in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League finals. He played full-time in the UCL final during the 2018-2019 season. However, Tottenham lost to Liverpool 0-2 and finished as runners-up. This time, as the captain of Tottenham, he raised the European trophy, marking a new milestone of 'victory.'
Attention now turns to Lee Kang-in. His team, PSG, will play Inter Milan in the 2024-2025 UEFA Champions League final at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 4 a.m. on the 1st of next month.
Lee Kang-in is the third Korean player to face a UCL final, following Park Ji-sung and Son Heung-min.
So far, Korean players have attempted four times to win in the UCL final with their teams, but no Korean player has experienced winning while playing in the match instead of just sitting on the bench.
Park Ji-sung played in three finals while with Manchester United. He was not included in the roster for the final against Chelsea in the 2007-2008 season, and the following year in the final against Barcelona, he started and made history as the first Asian player to appear in a UCL final. However, Manchester United lost 0-2. He played full-time in a rematch against Barcelona in the 2010-2011 season but lost again 1-3.
Son Heung-min also started in the final against Liverpool in the 2018-2019 season, but Tottenham remained as runners-up.
It is uncertain whether Lee Kang-in will participate in the UCL final. This season, he has played in 30 Ligue 1 matches, recording 6 goals and 6 assists. He has also played 11 matches in the UCL but has remained on the bench for four consecutive matches since the first leg of the quarterfinals.
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), Paris Saint-Germain, Lee Kang-in, Tottenham social media.
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