Son Heung: ‘Biggest error of my life.’ Min opposed Jurgen Klopp’s move, but Liverpool had the last laugh.
Liverpool will have several reasons to be cautious against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. However, in the middle of the week, it was a reminder that north London had lost its biggest threat.
Harry Kane’s penalty in the first leg of Bayern Munich’s 2-2 Champions League semi-final draw at home to Real Madrid was the England captain’s 43rd goal in as many games since his move to Germany last summer.
Liverpool would love to see full-back Kane. He scored nine goals in 16 games against them for Tottenham and despite winning just one of those games, he was always dangerous when the two sides faced each other.
But he wasn’t the only one, and the Reds may have been just as worried about Kane’s old partner in crime, the always impressive Heung-Min Son.
Son may be regarded as one of the prettiest players in the Premier League, but Liverpool and their outgoing Jurgen Klopp still have reason to be sick of the sight of the South Korean forward. After all, he has scored five goals in his last six Premier League games against the Reds and a total of six in 14 games for Spurs, while returning five goals from five starts against Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund.
Although Son remained unbeaten when coming up against the German boss in the Bundesliga during his spells at Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, it is a different story to his encounter with the Reds.
A 16-time whistle at Liverpool, Tottenham’s infamous 4-1 win at Wembley in October 2017, in which he scored, and then their controversial 2-1 home triumph in September, in which he scored again, are the only times Son has finished. on the winning side against the Reds. And of course, that run includes defeating Spurs in the 2019 Champions League final.
Still, a record 11 goals in 17 starts in all competitions against Klopp’s sides ensures Son is a dangerous man who could deal a major blow to their hopes of a return to winning ways if they keep up that tally at Anfield on Sunday. And one Klopp knows is almost impossible to stop.
“I will be ready for the best possible Tottenham team,” the Liverpool manager told reporters before facing Tottenham last season.
“There were moments when you lost the ball, it was enough to find Harry Kane, and the next moment Son was in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper. I have no idea how to defend it properly, the best way not to lose the ball.”
Is it any wonder, then, that Klopp wishes he had signed Son earlier in his career?
“One of the biggest mistakes in my life is that I didn’t sign Son Heung-min,” he lamented in November 2021 to the Korean site KBS News. “An excellent player. He is fantastic, a symbol of Korean football, and one of the best strikers in the world.
Klopp failed to sign Son for Dortmund in 2013, with the player opting instead to join Leverkusen from Hamburg in a €10m deal.
“I wanted to stay in the Bundesliga. Leverkusen and Dortmund wanted me,” Son later recalled when explaining his decision to offend Klopp. “Both teams are playing in the Champions League, but I thought Dortmund would use rotation more than Leverkusen.”
“That’s why I chose Leverkusen over Dortmund.” At my age, it’s really important to play regularly.”
Two years later, after scoring 29 goals in two campaigns for Leverkusen, he was signed by Spurs for £22m in the same summer that Klopp left the Bundesliga. Now a Tottenham Premier League legend, he boasts 161 goals from 403 appearances in nine seasons. But mainly no trophies.
Given Klopp’s admiration for Son, Liverpool have been sporadically linked with his services over the years. Still, now 31 and a boss who is leaving in the summer, that ship seems to have sailed a long time ago.
But while Klopp may consider it one of his “biggest mistakes” not to sign Son, the Reds will have no regrets. Son is the same age as their famous, now dismantled attacking triumvirate of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and, ultimately, Mohamed Salah.
Firmino would move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League in the same summer as Son, joining Liverpool for £29m from Hoffenheim. Firmino, who endured a slow start partly due to injury, was revitalized after Klopp took over as manager in October 2015 and inherited the Brazilian, becoming a legend at the club.
As for Mane, he was snapped up from Southampton in the summer of 2016 for £34m. Klopp had previously tried to sign the Senegalese for Dortmund, having also tried with Son, but decided against a trade. Klopp later admitted he could have punched himself for such a decision and will make sure he makes amends at Anfield and right the wrong he couldn’t with Son once he is available.
Mane would go on to record 120 goals and 38 assists in 269 games for Liverpool before leaving for Bayern Munich for £35m. Meanwhile, Salah signed for £43.9m from AS Roma in the summer of 2017. He currently boasts 210 goals in 346 games and is already regarded as one of the best players in the club’s history.
Between them, the trio would help transform the Reds’ fortunes under Klopp. While Firmino and Mane would help propel Liverpool back into the Champions League, the addition of Salah has helped transform them into one of Europe’s strongest sides.
All three would win every major honor offered to them under Klopp as the Reds were crowned champions of England, Europe, and the world.
Admittedly, if you’re greedy, you could be forgiven for wondering what else Liverpool could have won if they had Son’s talent to compliment their then-unstoppable forward line. After all, he is certainly a player who fits Klopp’s requirements.
Apart from a few admiring glances of their own, the Kopites never had to wonder what could have been when it came to the South Korean captain. They are more than happy with the hand Liverpool have been dealt.
Whether Son has any grudges of his own, given the lack of silverware compared to his Reds counterparts, only he can say. It’s worth noting that even if he didn’t turn down an approach from Klopp and Dortmund in 2013, that doesn’t mean he would follow the manager to Anfield. Likewise, had he not left Leverkusen when he did, it is impossible to know whether Klopp would have rekindled interest in Son’s services following his own arrival at Anfield.
The son may be a big mistake for Klopp, but the Reds have no regrets. He could potentially have been part of that story at Anfield, but instead, he is just an admired enemy watching from afar as Liverpool won everything there was to win, with Europe’s biggest prize even coming at his expense.
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