‘Son has Ibrahimovic’s confidence without the arrogance’ – Spurs star hailed by former team-mate Petric
- Korean has spent seven years in England
- Has become a global superstar
- Always believed he would reach the top
WHAT HAPPENED? The South Korea international has become a global superstar across seven years at Tottenham, with an impressive 134-goal haul allowing him to claim a Premier League Golden Boot while earning a standing as a fan favourite in north London. Petric, who worked alongside Son at Hamburg, says the 30-year-old forward always believed that he would reach the top and has never been afraid to talk up his own ability.
WHAT THEY SAID: Former Croatia international Petric has told The Athletic of the many qualities that Son brings to the table: “What impressed me also was even in his first season he was full of self-confidence. He had so much self-confidence it was almost like Zlatan Ibrahimovic. He didn’t act like that — absolutely not, always a very kind person with both feet on the ground. But when he was talking to the other players his age, his friends, he would tell them, ‘I will become one of the best players in the world’, and would say, ‘I’m better than this guy’ — even people who had had good careers.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Son is up to 335 appearances for Spurs and recently opened his goal account for the 2022-23 campaign by netting a hat-trick off the bench in a Premier League clash with Leicester.
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WHAT NEXT FOR SON? Tottenham will be back in Champions League action away at Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday, before then looking to offer a position response to their 3-1 derby defeat against Arsenal when returning to domestic action at Brighton on Saturday.