On Thursday night, Son Heung-min will lead Tottenham against Chelsea in a game vital to the north London club’s chances of finishing in the top four and securing Champions League football. If the Spurs captain hadn’t gone to Asian Cup midway through the season, it is possible that his club would be closer to the promised land, not only because Ange Postecolgu would have his top goalscorer available for those few weeks, but also because the striker could be in better condition at the time since then.
In England, the discourse around mid-season continental tournaments has focused on the inconvenience to clubs as players head to Asia or Africa. Less talked about is the physical and mental effect on those involved. Mohamed Salah, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool must regret that the Egyptian never made an appearance for the Africa Cup of Nations in January, given the injury he suffered and the loss of form that followed.
The Asian Cup in January and February was a particularly traumatic tournament for South Korea and the country’s biggest players. The pressure was on a team that had not lifted the trophy for 64 years. The run to the last four was more of a stumble under Jurgen Klinsmann’s chaotic “Zombie Football”. and then, when everyone thought that the Taeguk Warriors would go through Jordan and reach the final, they lost 2-0. If that wasn’t bad enough, it soon emerged – in the Sun – that the day before the game, Son had dislocated his finger in a training camp brawl with the team’s rising star, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in. This became a huge issue in the distraught Land of the Morning Calm, with Lee coming under heavy criticism and eventually heading to London to apologize to Son. It was a story not limited to the sports sections.
A little understanding should be given to those who depart for continental adventures in the middle of the season. If they are big stars for the big European clubs, they are usually the same and more so for their countries, with all the demands and pressures that come with that. Son played for Spurs on New Year’s Eve, seven times for Korea from 6 January to 6 February, then again for his club on 10 February.
Klinsmann is not the first Korean coach to appear determined to squeeze as much soccer juice out of Son as possible, but with the Asian Cup opener against Bahrain won with more than 20 minutes remaining and a place in the second round secured with a group match for Son’s stay for every minute of all six games at the Qatar tournament, including two extra-times, seemed excessive (his seventh appearance in Korea was a 45-minute stoppage in a pre-Asian Cup friendly).
It’s not just physical exertion. Players like Son and Salah are the favorite players of entire nations, the main players on and off the pitch. South Korea may not be a footballing country in the way that, say, England is, but the national team occupies a higher position. The admiration is huge, but so are the expectations and pressure. After losing Jordan, Son was so upset he could barely speak, and it was no surprise that he hinted that he was fed up.
Just four days later – it’s a stark contrast that after this summer’s European Championship final on July 14, the Premier League kicks off on August 17 – here he is, fingers crossed and back in English Premier League action. He hasn’t been this sharp since.
Hwang Hee-chan arrived at the Asian Cup in the top 6 of the Premier League scoring charts, but with an injury. He made four appearances, not the first Korean star brought back too quickly by a desperate national team coach. It was only recently that he started playing regularly for Wolves again.
Kim Min-jae must have wished he was injured for Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final. The Bayern Munich defender had a bit of a nightmare 2-2 draw in the first leg against Real Madridout of position for the first goal and awarding a penalty for the second.
after the promotion of the newsletter
Klinsmann – also out of position a few days after the Jordan game – he may have considered the Son-Lee situation a reason for Korea’s semi-final defeat, but he has never publicly thrown his players under the bus as deeply as Thomas Tuchel. The Bayern manager described Kim, who was named the best defender in Serie A last season as Napoli cruised to the title, as greedy and aggressive against Madrid. Kim can’t complain about too much playing time, but he was an automatic starter before he went to Qatar and was no longer soon after.
Mid-season continental competitions may not be the only or even the biggest cause of late-season slumps, but a string of intense games at major tournaments that often end in crushing national disappointment and controversy must lead to some sort of hangover . Yet the cure seems to be a very, very strict, return to club action as soon as possible and a quick forget about it all.
