You snooze, you win - Son Heung-min’s secret to success

SINGAPORE – He is Asian football’s hottest superstar, but for a moment on Tuesday, it seemed like Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min was almost embarrassed of the secret behind his rise to stardom.

The South Korean, who was a special guest along with teammate Ben Davies at the AIA Better Lives Fund charity lunch event at the Conrad Centennial Singapore ballroom, was asked what he does to maintain his physical fitness to perform at the highest level.

When the 31-year-old revealed that he sleeps nine to 10 hours a day, it drew audible gasps from the bemused audience of 200 guests.

When the event’s master of ceremonies explained to a confused Son that Singaporeans do not often get to sleep that long – worldwide statistics on sleeping patterns released in 2021 found that Singaporeans are among the most sleep-deprived globally – Son chuckled and was left red-faced.

He said: “There are different options. But for me, sleeping is very important to be at the highest level. Every day I am sleeping nine to 10 hours.

“I try to be as fresh as possible. So I think this may be a very important part of playing at the highest level.”

He will be looking to put the past season behind him after struggling to find top form as a slumbering Spurs finished eighth in the English Premier League. He racked up 14 goals and six assists in all competitions, down from 24 goals and 10 assists in the previous campaign, which also saw him winning the EPL Golden Boot.

But his popularity hardly seemed affected. At the charity event, phones were out from the moment Son arrived at the ballroom, and they were fixated on the South Korean, who has attracted as many fans for his looks as he has done with his footwork.

Son, who has shone with his explosive speed, finishing and two-footed ability since his £22 million (S$37.5 million) move in 2015 from Bayer Leverkusen, has made history, too.

In April, he became the first Asian to

score 100 times in the EPL

and during the 2022 Ballon d’Or voting, Son placed 11th in the rankings, the highest an Asian has ever finished. The award became open to non-European players in 1995.

At Tuesday’s event, he explained that it is a desire for self-improvement that keeps him going.

“As footballers, we have training sessions every day where you can improve yourself,” he said. “When I wake up, I’m always thinking that I should do better than yesterday.

“It doesn’t matter if my performance yesterday was phenomenal, I always got to do better than yesterday. That makes me really motivated.”