Ange Postecoglou has defended Son Heung-min for "being Sonny" after the Tottenham forward dislocated his finger in an altercation on South Korea duty.
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Son dislocates finger on international dutyCame in argument over ping pong requestPostecoglou defends captain's actionsWHAT HAPPENED?
The South Korea captain was involved in a row with his younger team-mates at the Asian Cup, reportedly a result of their desire to leave dinner early to play ping pong. Son injured his finger and Paris Saint-Germain's Kang-in Lee came out to publicly apologise shortly after. But Postecoglou backed his skipper and claims those events show his high "standards", which can lead to being put "in the firing line" of a squad.
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The Australian said in Friday's press conference: "It was Sonny being Sonny. When you're a leader, sometimes you get in the firing line. That's what leadership is all about. Leadership is not about being popular and trying to make everybody happy, it's about when you see something that you don't feel is right then you stand up for it because it's the best thing for the group. I see that in Sonny.
"Sometimes people are mistaken about Sonny because he's such a positive guy, who whenever you see him is smiling and everyone has a real affection for him, but he wants to win. He doesn't like standards slipping and I've seen him do that around here. If something is not right, he will say it. Sometimes it is not the popular thing to do. Sometimes that puts you in the firing line with the playing group and with coaches or the club, but as a leader if you think this is the right thing to do, then you should go strongly on it. Sonny by nature is a nice guy. He is very polite and very respectful but that doesn't mean he can't be a real winner and a guy who has high standards."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The bust-up between Son, Lee and others happened before Korea's semi-final exit to Jordan, who place 64 spots below them in the world rankings. That dire showing, combined with the ping pong fiasco, led to Jurgen Klinsmann's demise at the helm. The ex-USMNT boss was relieved of his duties on Friday, with the Korean FA president issuing a brutal statement calling him out for "falling short of people’s expectations". It is believed Son's ping pong altercation played a part in his sacking.
GettyWHAT NEXT FOR SON?
The mercurial forward returned to Premier League action sporting the war wounds of said bust up, making an instant impact to assist the winning goal in Tottenham's dramatic 2-1 win over Brighton last weekend. Spurs are in action later on Saturday against Wolves.