Son Heung-min: Tottenham star's £11m football academy is truly fascinating | OneFootball

Son Heung-min’s ascent at Tottenham has seen him develop into one of the most lethal attackers in European football.

Since joining Spurs from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, Son has steadily grown in importance and is now one of the team’s most vital assets, right alongside teammate and strike partner Harry Kane.

It’s taken a while for people to appreciate him as a truly world class attacker, but there is no denying it anymore when you look at his stats and performances over the last few seasons.

But when not pleasing Spurs fans and ripping up the Premier League with his unrelenting technique and eye for goal, Son is also flying the flag for South Korea, his home country.

Already regarded as one of the greatest Asian footballers ever by many, the 30-year-old is one of South Korea’s biggest footballing success stories and carries the hope of the nation on his shoulders, particularly in the international game.

Son was instrumental in helping his country win gold at the 2018 Asian Games, and is the country’s joint top scorer at the World Cup, representing South Korea at the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.

But what makes his story even better is the humble beginnings that Son has come from, pushed by his family, and how grounded he remains despite being one of football’s top stars and a symbol of national pride in South Korea.

So much so, that Son is already giving back in his home country with the Son Academy – a footballing school set up in Chuncheon, where he grew up as a youth.

The Athletic gained exclusive access to the academy, which has been in operation for around a decade, and the insight is seriously fascinating.

Built at a cost of around £11 million, the academy has been funded mostly by Son himself and has expanded in recent years alongside his ascent in football.

Interestingly, the academy hosts just 35 students currently, who are coached by Son’s father Son Woong-jung, and his brother Son Heung-yun, the latter of whom acts as the head coach from day to day.

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There is a strict emphasis on being able to possess total control over the ball, with a desire to create entirely two-footed players like Son, whose rampant goal getting with both feet was drilled into him by his father from a young age.

Speaking to the Athletic during their visit, Woong-jung explained: “Usually when students or footballers are starting, they tend to have a preferred foot — and the ratio is 3:1. Three for the stronger foot and one for the weaker foot.

“Here when they start training, if you’re right footed you always touch the ball with your left foot first — so you develop that other foot. And, eventually, you get to a level of two-footedness.”

He also expanded on how he ensured his Premier League Golden Boot-winning son would become two-footed over his watch: “In Heung-min’s case I knew he was right footed but I made sure that socks, cleats (football boots), shoes, trousers, watch or anything like that, he put on his left side first so he never forgot about the two-footedness.”

But the emphasis on being two-footed goes much further than just ensuring students lead with their weak foot at all times.

Strict rules at the Son Academy

Academy members – who are all in their early teens – are coached up close and personally by Woong-jung, who drills them mercilessly and is said to even use expletives and and suggests children should go home if they lack focus during training, replicating the discipline he drilled into his own sons.

Heung-yun – who played professionally in Korea and in the lower leagues in Germany – takes on a more balanced approach, but ensures the same principles that have been set in place by his 60-year-old father are adhered to.

Most shockingly, the academy members are prohibited from playing in football teams until the age of 15, with the idea appearing alien to some of them.

Woong-jung explained the logic behind this, which again echoes the unrelenting, winning mentality the Son Academy is designed to instil: “For schools, parents and some clubs that have kids playing matches at an early age, it’s not about developing them as players, they care more about winning matches and local competitions — rather than focusing on developing the basic fundamentals.”

Insane stuff. What is even more difficult to comprehend is that on top of not introducing team football to the youngsters, shooting at goal is also not coached to them until the age of 15.

“Before the age of 15, we don’t tell kids to shoot the ball. Why is that? It will damage their ligaments and joints. Because they’re not yet fully matured yet. It was the same with Heung-min.” Revealed Joong-yung.

“And that’s also why I was against my children participating in club matches at that age, and it’s the same philosophy with the current group.” He added.

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So, no shooting at all and no team play, until the age of 15. Can you imagine that? It’s absurd, but it’s also been carefully designed to ensure that the select youngsters in the Son Academy are conditioned to have the best chance at carving out professional careers.

That is also why education is offered on site, specifically language classes, to equip the children with the tools to thrive away from South Korea in pursuit of a professional career.

Facilities at the Son Academy

As well as those classes, the academy – based away from Seoul and requiring families to move their lives to Chuncheon as a result – boasts other top class facilities such as a club house, several pitches including a full-sized one, and stairs designed for fitness drills. There are also plans to build a car park, coffee shop and even a Son Heung-min museum.

Everything about the very intimate and intense academy is about churning out pure footballers who are ready to step into and pursue the professional game from 15 when they graduate. It’s an institution like no other, and goes against what many of us consider the beautiful game, but you have to admire the thought process behind it.

Success in unusual training methods

It works, too. You only have to look at Son’s success, as well as the fact his brother enjoyed a professional career and so did his dad, albeit not to the same level as the current Spurs star.

Two alumni – 19-year-old Choi In-woo and 20-year-old Ryu Dong-wan – are both plying their trade in Germany with SC Paderborn and St. Pauli respectively, having graduated from the Son Academy, and have even come back to the complex in the off-season.

An institution founded on unique principles, unrelenting dedication and a seriously high level of discipline, the Son Academy is fascinating to say the least. You cannot knock the intentions of the Son family for their efforts to improve the standard of professional footballers coming out of their country.