Son Heung-min's emotional victory

[Anchor]

Son Heung-min is a star representing Korean football, but he has often shown tears due to his lack of luck with championship titles.

It took him a staggering 15 years to achieve his first professional victory.

Ultimately, the times of frustration have shaped the Son Heung-min we see today.

Reporter Park Sun-woo reports.

[Report]

In 2010, at the age of 18, Son Heung-min announced the birth of a new legend by bypassing the goalkeeper and scoring a fantastic debut goal.

After playing for Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, Son Heung-min joined Tottenham in 2015, where he created numerous memorable moments.

He showcased outstanding performances, winning the Puskás Award and becoming the Premier League's top scorer, but he had a particularly difficult relationship with championships.

He couldn't beat Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final, and in the English League Cup final, he bowed his head after being blocked by Manchester City.

Even while wearing the national team jersey, his time was absent of any crowns, having broken down in tears in the pain of elimination from the World Cup and the Olympics.

[Son Heung-min/Interview during the 2018 Russia World Cup: "I hope people understand that the players really did their best on the field."]

In the 2015 AFC Asian Cup final, when he was closest to winning, he scored a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time of the second half but once again faced disappointment.

Ten years later, standing alongside Australian coach Postecoglou, who had comforted him back then, he shakes off the long-standing frustration.

[Son Heung-min/Tottenham: "2015 Asian Cup, he beat me in the final, and today, 2025, after 10 years, we win together. Football is mad, and I'm very happy."]

Fans who came to the hotel in Bilbao sang cheers for the captain who wrote a new history, showing their passionate support.

[Tottenham fan chant: "Nice one, Sonny. Nice one, Son! Nice one, Sonny. Let's have another one!"]

The tears of joy shed by Son Heung-min carry even more meaning as they are the result of overcoming numerous frustrations and failures.

This is Park Sun-woo from KBS News.