Never mind his rich vein of goal-scoring form, the reality is that Son Heung-min’s first team appearances for Tottenham are only a healed Harry Kane ankle ligament away from being snatched away from him.
Despite bagging five in five in the absence of England’s favourite corner-taking striker, the South Korean will almost certainly be benched by Mauricio Pochettino when Kane is back to full fitness. At the very least he won’t be used in such an attacking role.
But that’s just a short-term problem for the former Bayer Leverkusen forward. As pointed out by the Daily Mail, Son must start 21 months of compulsory military service back in his homeland by the time he turns 28 years of age (he’s now 24).
This would mean that Son would have to miss almost two years of a playing career which sees him bank tens of thousands of pounds a week, instead taking a maximum of approximately £130-a-week if he manages to make the highest rank of Sergeant.
Now at this point – because it’s very topical this week – you’re probably wondering if there are ways around such rulings. Fortunately for Son, there are; unfortunately for Son, time is very much running out.
Swansea fans may recall that Ki Sung-yeung, their South Korean midfielder, missed the final game of last season against Manchester City as he served four weeks of military duty. Clearly, this is a long way short of the 21-month term that Son faces as things stand, and is actually a result of the part Ki played in his country’s bronze medal win at the London Olympics four years ago.
Yep – South Korean sportsmen can avoid serving the full term of their military service in exchange for success at international level. Park Ji-sung, formerly of Manchester United, and Lee Young-pyo, another one of Son’s countrymen to have represented Spurs, also benefitted from this. The pair were both part of the South Korean team that reached the last four of the 2002 World Cup, meaning they and their teammates were exempt from military service.
Unless there is a change in the country’s political landscape (politician Nam Kyung-pil has promised he to make the military voluntary if elected president), Son has only a few opportunities to avoid serving the full term. A gold in the Asian Games – to be held in Jakarta in 2018 – would be enough, as would a medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. A victory in the Asian Cup would also be sufficient.
The clock is ticking, Son.
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