Son Heung-min is considering retiring from the South Korean team! Before the Asian Cup battle, he had infighting with Lee Gang-in, resulting in a dislocated finger
In the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, the favorite South Korea lost 0-2 to Jordan, which is still unacceptable to South Korean football and fans. In the early morning of February 14, Beijing time, the British media broke the news that before this game, serious infighting broke out in the South Korean team, and captain Son Heung-min even suffered a finger injury and dislocated his finger in the conflict with Paris Saint-Germain star Li Gangren!
According to the live broadcast footage at the time, Son Xingmin's right index finger and middle finger were indeed bandaged in the Asian Cup semifinals, and his emotions in the game were not very high. Subsequently, the relevant person of the Korean Football Association confirmed the authenticity of the British media's revelations.
In the 24th round of the English Premier League on February 10, 2024 local time, Son Xingmin's right index finger and middle finger are still tied together with bandages According to Visual China
According to British media reports, during the dinner the night before the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, the young star of the South Korean team, Lee Gang-in, who performed well in this Asian Cup, and several other young players quickly finished dinner, and their purpose was to seize the time to play a game of table tennis after dinner, which is the most popular entertainment for the young players of the South Korean team in addition to training and matches in the Asian Cup.
It was a normal little thing, but the young players left the restaurant too early to cause the displeasure of the team's captain, Son Heung-min, because in his opinion, the team should act in unison, and dinner time was seen by him as an opportunity to bond with the team.
So, Son Heung-min stepped in to stop the young players' behavior, and he asked the team staff to call the departing players back. After the players returned to the restaurant, Son Heung-min criticized Li Gangren, who took the lead in leaving, but the latter believed that he had done nothing wrong, and playing table tennis with his teammates could also promote relationships and feelings.
In traditional Korean culture, there has always been a strict hierarchy of seniors, and Koreans must use honorifics for their elders, and when toasting, juniors must not have a higher glass than their seniors, and so on, emphasizing the culture of "respect and absolute obedience to elders or authority".
Li Gangren, who was born in 2001, naturally caused the unhappiness of captain Son Xingmin, who was born in 1992, and the two sides began with an outburst of verbal altercation and escalated into a physical altercation. Although the others present quickly pulled Sun Xingmin and Li Gangren apart, Sun Xingmin's fingers were injured and even dislocated.
Sun Xingmin (right) and Li Gangren Photo by Visual China
In the semi-finals with Jordan, although coach Klinsmann still let Son Heung-min and Lee Gang-in start in the front line, the overall performance of the South Korean team was not ideal, and finally lost 0-2 to the Jordan team and missed the final. Son Heung-min played with his right index finger and middle finger wrapped in bandages in this game, which affected his state to some extent, and the infighting before the big game will definitely make the team lose cohesion.
After the news of the British media was released, the relevant person of the Korean Football Association also confirmed the authenticity of the matter: "The report is basically accurate, Son Heung-min expressed dissatisfaction with the young players leaving the restaurant to play table tennis, and there was a fight. Yonhap News Agency had previously vaguely said that during the preparation for this tournament, there were scenes of returnees on the training ground who were dissatisfied with the defenders playing in the K League.
After the exit from the Asian Cup, Son Heung-min was in a rather depressed mood, and when he left the field, he even said in the mixed interview area: "I have to think about whether I can continue to play for the national team in the future, Coach Klinsmann may not think about me anymore, and I don't know what will happen in the future." Combined with the latest news, Sun Xingmin's intention to retire at that time should be related to the pre-game infighting.
South Korean media "Jingxiang Sports" wrote an article saying that judging from British media reports, Son Heung-min and Lee Gang-in's remarks after being eliminated should not be an apology in the real sense, but a self-blame for their behavior that caused a rift in the team.
Red Star News reporter Jiang Shan
Edited by Ou Peng