“Do you see that, Harry Kane?” Tottenham fans sang on August 15 as their side beat Manchester City 0-1 in the first round. While the England captain did his best to force club chairman Daniel Levy to sell him to a champions who offered him at least £ 120million, his teammates proved they could do without him, and Sun Hongmin was the main star.
In stark contrast to Kane, the Korean just signed a new contract at Tottenham until 2025, did not think about leaving at all, and was happy to celebrate at the expense of his favorite rival, because he is the ideal player to tackle Pep Guardiola’s style.
The Catalan coach learned this firsthand in 2016. His tenure in England opened with six consecutive league victories and there was a certain sense of euphoria, but the momentum was brutally interrupted by Tottenham who subdued City 0-2 despite the absence of the injured Kane. Sun’s pressure then caused Alexander Kolarov to score an own goal already in the opening, and even before the half – time whistle the Korean in art also cooked for Della Ali.
In a not insignificant way, it was a groundbreaking game for Son. His debut season at Tottenham, in 2015/16 after moving from Leverkusen, was quite disappointing, and that summer many rumors spread about the possibility of returning to the Bundesliga. When this did not materialize, coach Mauricio Pochettino took his trainee for an in-depth conversation, demanding that he be more determined and stubborn, and thus self-confidence was gradually rebuilt. The show in front of the Blues made a critical contribution, and its ascent began. In January 2017, when Tottenham hosted Manchester City, it was Sun who took advantage of Kane’s great move to level at 2-2. Tottenham struggled that season for Antonio Conte’s Chelsea title, while Guardilla’s side were left far behind.
Kane’s cooking in question was unusual for him in meetings against Manchester City, and until yesterday the champion managed to keep it well in the Pep era. His two lone goals against the Blues were scored in 2015/16, when Manuel Pellegrini was still coaching them, and one in general was on penalties. Although he was Guardiola’s number one target for a long time, easy and material last summer, the man who did the most damage was Sun – and thanks to the Korean, Pep’s balance sheet against Tottenham has only deteriorated in recent years.
The most painful blow was landed in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in April 2019. City were then seen as the favorites to lift the trophy, and the assessment only intensified when Kane was injured during the first game in London, but just then Sun appeared to make it 0-1 in a personal operation and a sharp left-footed kick. One of the most wonderful features of the Korean is the ability to finish with the same efficiency on both feet, and in the return match in Manchester he stunned Pep with a lightning pair on the right. City then took an early lead, but by the 10th minute it was already 1-2 for Tottenham. The first occupation was the fault of goalkeeper Ederson, but the second was already a real work of art, and bottom line it was critical. After Raheem Sterling’s invalid goal drama in the closing seconds, Tottenham lost only 4-3, advanced to the semi-finals thanks to the away goals, and continued to the final.
Had anyone told fans then that Pochettino would be sacked soon, they would not have coached, but that’s what happened – and Jose Mourinho was appointed in his place in late 2019. For the Portuguese special, Sun was always the strong card thanks to his phenomenal efficiency in passing attacks. The Korean is not only endowed with dizzying speed, but also specializes in locating free spaces to take advantage of it, and knows what to do with the ball when he gets it in swing. He also runs faster than opponent players, and also thinks faster than them. Unsurprisingly, then, he was very dominant when the battles between Mourinho and Pep resumed in February 2020, bombing the goal that ensured a 0-2 victory in London. Kane, by the way, was again absent due to injury.
And maybe you forgot, but last season Tottenham started with dreams of winning the championship. Mourinho turned Kane into a playmaker without compromising on his qualities as a striker, and the combination with Son was further upgraded. The gallop began with four English-Korean runs in the win over Southampton, and that momentum lasted until November, when a 0-2 London win over collapsing Manchester City lifted the Roosters to the top of the table. Sun – who if not he – then bombarded in the opening a very typical goal in a burst, and Kane provided an assist to Giovanni Lou Celso in the second half. It was a real concert, and Pep looked very gloomy on the bench. At the end of the season he celebrated a championship, while Mourinho was sacked in April, but that’s a different story.
So, for the current season, Son has already had six goals against Guardiola, and in the debut of new coach Nono he added the seventh to remove doubts – he is Tottenham’s most dangerous player against the champions. “Son always gives us problems,” he testified pp Ahead of yesterday’s meeting, in which City was defined as a clear favorite by most commentators, and also in the betting agencies. This was a mistake, because this time the combination of Sun and Kane was fatal. The Korean was as formidable as ever, the English scorer was determined to subdue the team that failed to sign him, and on the way to prove to the fans his commitment.
So far Kane has had a fairly lukewarm season, and he has not even come close to his usual standards. With five goals in 21 league games until yesterday, he was in many cases his own shadow, and also in terms of the cooks the output dropped miraculously – he stands at only two cooks. The stands support him less, because his conduct in the summer left a very bitter taste, and in the background are reports that the star will try to demand to leave again this coming June, especially in light of the fact that his market value will fall. Some argue that at 28, and after a series of injuries that plagued him last year, he may be beyond his peak, but yesterday – well, yesterday it was the good and deadly Kane to remember from previous seasons.
And it started with a brilliant depth delivery to Son, like in the happy days in the middle of Mourinho’s term. Sun saw a huge space in front of him, galloped forward as he knows how, then passed a ball wide to Diane Koloszewski for the new Swedish acquisition from Juventus to roll in. Then, in the 59th minute, after the host equalized and exerted heavy pressure to gain an advantage, Sun cooked for Kane as well. Finally, six years after his previous goal for Manchester City, the striker found the net at a fantastic time for him – and immediately added another goal from Kolosevsky’s foul that was disqualified because the Swede was a tiny dissident at the start of the move.
The drama was exceptionally complete without Son, who was replaced in the 80th minute exhausted by his incessant movement and his excellent defensive contribution. The leader hurried to return the ball to the middle circle when she equalized in injury time to 2: 2 and thought of a winning goal, but the complete opposite happened. Another perfect raise by Kolosevsky ended with a touchdown by Kane, who completed the first double of the season in the league, and the first double of his career against the team whose ranks he longed to move to – and may move on soon.
Should he press Levy again to wear the azure uniform in Manchester at Guardiola? He may play regularly in the Champions League, win championships, and maybe even earn a little more, but the bottom line is he will not find in any team a partner with a telepathic understanding like Sun Hong-min. The Korean is able to get the best out of McCain, and the same is true in the other direction. Now that Kolosevsky’s debut in the squad has yielded such an impressive display, and with a coach in the form of Conte on the lines, one can only fantasize what they will be able to do together next season, after a tidy training camp in the summer, and without the significant lag left by the fired nono.
It would be a shame if Kane ruined that team, but if Manchester City want to have a better chance of regularly beating Tottenham in the coming years, they should even try to sign Sun, right?