How good is Son Heung-min? On the night LAFC celebrated Carlos Vela’s induction into the team’s ring of honor, Vela asked for Son’s autograph.
And he’s not the only one. Small crowds of fans have begun gathering outside LAFC’s training center at Cal State Los Angeles, some waiting for hours, to request Son’s signature on scraps of paper, photos and plush likenesses of the South Korean star in a Tottenham uniform.
On a recent afternoon, Son stopped his car and obliged every one of them.
Forget, for a moment, what he’s done on the field — which isn’t easy to forget since he’s scored six times and assisted on three other goals in seven games, only one of which LAFC lost.
The transformation Son has brought everywhere else since joining the team seven weeks ago has been breathtaking.
He arrived just as the dog days of summer were becoming ferocious. LAFC had been eliminated from the FIFA Club World Cup and the Leagues Cup, had won just four of its last 12 games in all competition and faced a severely compacted fixture schedule going forward.
Yet by dint of personality alone, Son immediately lightened the mood.
“He brings a smile to work every day,” coach Steve Cherundolo said.
A month later he was even more effusive.
“What I’m most impressed [with] is how Sonny treats people. His fans and his teammates,” Cherundolo said. “He’s an incredible human being. He’s very gracious. He’s patient. And he’s just a fine human being.”
That’s why everyone from teammates to security guards at the team’s training center use superlatives like humble, special, gracious, down to earth — and, yes, nice — when describing Son.
Midfielder Timothy Tillman, who was born in Germany, said Son, who played there for five years, surprised him when he began speaking to him in “very good” German.
“I love that he’s talking German with me. Having someone speak in German on the team feels good,” said Tillman, who quickly added what’s become the rote reaction to Son.
“I really, really like him,” he said. “I like that he’s here.”
LAFC’s Son Heung-Min forms a rectangle with his fingers after scoring against Real Salt Lake on Sept. 17.
(Chris Gardner / Getty Images)
Being kind hardly qualifies one for the Nobel Prize. Nor does being liked and appreciated by your co-workers. In many ways, those things seem like the bare minimum we should expect from one another.
But those traits are, many times, rare among superstar athletes — or celebrities in any field. Vela, an MLS MVP and the league’s single-season scoring champion, was often moody and aloof during his seven years at LAFC. Zlatan Ibrahimovic dominated the score sheet during his two seasons in MLS, yet he wasn’t shy about harshly criticizing teammates, which may be one reason why the Galaxy won fewer than half the games he played in.
Son, on the other hand, lifts everyone around him. Last spring, as he neared his final season in the Premier League with Tottenham, an English journalist — who rated players on charity, personality and sportsmanship — christened Son the nicest player in soccer history. (Speaking of sportsmanship, in 2019 when a dangerous Son challenge fractured the ankle of Everton’s André Gomes, Son broke into tears on the pitch. After apologizing — profusely and repeatedly — to Gomes, Son refused to celebrate two Champions League goals against Red Star Belgrade, choosing instead to look into the TV cameras with his palms pressed together in prayer for Gomes’ recovery.)
Now that Son, 33, is playing in the U.S., MLS is getting its first up-close look at what fans in South Korea, England and Germany have known about the player for years. And Son’s kindness and humanity is proving contagious.
Last week teammate Denis Bouanga, who is in the race for the MLS Golden Boot, declined to shoot at an open net, instead slipping the ball to Son, who scored to complete his first MLS hat trick.
“I could have scored. The goal was open,” Bouanga admitted through a translator. “It was good for him to have the feeling to score a hat trick. We celebrated together.”
On Sunday, Son returned the favor, setting up two of Bouanga’s three goals. Bouanga’s second hat trick in three games gave him 22 goals for the season and tied him with Lionel Messi for the league lead. It also made him the first player in MLS history to score at least 20 times in three successive seasons.
“Sonny is a very good player and a very good pal on the field and outside the field,” Bouanga added. “This connection that we have, this chemistry, it was automatic.”
Transformative too: Bouanga and Son have combined for all 12 goals in their team’s last three games — all wins — becoming the first teammates to score hat tricks in three straight games. The most potent attacking duo in the league has also given LAFC (14-7-8) a firm grip on a home playoff berth and made it a legitimate MLS Cup contender.
Son, predictably, deflected the praise, saying that he appreciated the welcome he’s received.
“What should I say? I never expected, to be honest, that welcome or support,” he said after Sunday’s win. “It seems very crazy. But I love that. I’m a very, very happy guy, lucky guy, having this amazing support behind me. I want to give always something back.
“I just want to say thank you.”
That’s exactly what everyone at LAFC has been saying since Son arrived.
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
