East Asia Korea

Son ties with Cha Bum-kun to be the top-scoring Korean in Europe

Written by Youngsub Lee

Football Tribe Korea

Asia’s sensation, Son Heung-min has engraved his name alongside his senior, Cha Bum-kun as the top-scoring Korean in Europe. Firing two behind Red Star Belgrade’s net during last night’s Champions League fixture, Son has tied with Cha’s 121 goals.

It was an eye-opening game for the home fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The fans were showered with five goals and witnessed hopes to survive in their Champions League campaign, especially after a horrendous 2-7 defeat at home by Bayern Munich.

Harry Kane jump-started Tottenham’s fiery artilleries with a header in the 7th minute. It was followed by Son’s fourth and fifth goals for Tottenham this season to make it three at the halfway mark. Eleven minutes into the second half, Erik Lamela hammered home with his stunner inside the penalty box. Kane added a fifth on 71 minutes to relish the crowd.

Son, who made his debut as an 18-year-old expatriate at Hamburger SV had moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen before donning the white Spurs jersey in 2015. It only took nine years for Son to tie Cha’s 121 goals in Europe, which is the shortest time spent to top the record.

This may well be a boost for his race in the 2019 Men’s Ballon d’Or award, as he was shortlisted as one of the 30 candidates.