Son Heung-min (34, LAFC), who learned soccer strictly from his father, said he does not plan to teach soccer directly to his future children.
Son recently spoke about life and marriage in an interview with U.S. entertainment outlet US Weekly. Son shared candid thoughts about the World Cup, his soccer career and plans for a future family.
A playful question arose: "If you have children in the future, will you teach them soccer yourself?" Son waved his hand and drew a line, saying "absolutely not." He added, "I want to be a good father who takes good care of his children."
The reason Son thinks this way is that he learned soccer directly from his father, Son Woong-jung, when he was young. According to Son Woong-jung's autobiography, he taught Son Heung-min the fundamentals strictly and relentlessly. Because Son Woong-jung was poor when he was young and could not train freely,
he did not want to pass that environment on to his son. He is famous for even flying to Germany himself to support Son Heung-min.
Son recalled, "My father trained me personally every day. We hardly had any days off. At the time it was really hard, but the time I trained every day with my father was a great happiness in itself. On most days I was scolded for not meeting expectations, but because of that process I am who I am today."
Son Woong-jung opened SON Soccer Academy in his hometown Chuncheon and still teaches youth players. Son said, "I want to tell young players to just go out and enjoy it. I definitely want to share these stories with the next generation," expressing hope that his experience will help young players as well.
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