Son Heung-min bid his likely farewell to the Tottenham Hotspur fandom in front of a capacity crowd in his home country of South Korea in a moment of pure magic and emotion.
Oh, and there was a football match on as well. Tottenham Hotspur continued their unbeaten preseason run, drawing 1-1 with Newcastle United in a hard-fought match. Brennan Johnson scored the opener, slotting inside the left upright from the top of the 18-yard box after Kevin Danso won the ball in the press; Harvey Barnes then evened the ledger just before half-time, cutting inside Pedro Porro following a quick break and beating Antonin Kinsky at his near post.
Here’s my top ten talking points from Spurs’ first match on their Asia tour.
Thomas Frank continued his tinkering with Spurs’ midfield structures and combinations in this match, this time going back to more of a 4-3-3 to start. In fact, it was reminiscent in some ways of Ange-ball, with Rodrigo Bentancur operating as a single pivot and Archie Gray and Pape Matar Sarr pushing higher either side of the Uruguayan. They pressed in a similar shape as well, before dropping into more of a mid-block 4-4-1-1 as Newcastle moved into the Spurs half - also not unlike Ange-ball. It was a more reserved approach in the second half, however, going back to Frank’s more typical 4-2-3-1.
Speaking of the press, this match feels like the first time we’ve really seen Frank’s squad engage in a very tactical pressing shape. Sarr and Gray were key to this in the first half, stepping up late but aggressively on Newcastle’s midfield as the Magpies tried to play out from the back. Kevin Danso often followed suit, covered by his center back partner in Romero and the fullbacks holding deeper; an interesting tactical tweak from which Spurs profited as Danso’s pressing created the turnover that led to Johnson’s opening goal. A more reserved setup in the second half meant Spurs seemed less vulnerable to the counter in the second 45, but at the cost of some excitement.
I must admit, I am dubious as to Archie Gray’s ability to succeed at Spurs - at least this season. Yes, he is still very young and has largely played out of position, but up until this match nothing I’ve seen has really indicated that he has the tools required to become a key contributor under Frank. Today changed this. Maybe he’s not a #6, but a #8? He was very good, sharp in the press, with quality on the ball as well, showing good feet on a number of occasions to avoid pressure and moving the ball quickly via passing. He dropped off a little in the second half where he played in more of a defensive midfield role, but one to watch for the rest of preseason at the very least.
Does Cristian Romero just really, really hate Brazilians? We know his history with Richarlison before Richy arrived at Spurs, and Cuti seemed keen to engage in a similar battle with Bruno Guimaraes today. One interaction acted as bit of a tinder box: Cuti went in hard in a sliding challenge on the Brazilian, before dropping his shoulder into Bruno in the Spurs 18-yard box. Bruno wasn’t a fan of the attention, exploding (metaphorically, of course) and wrapping his hands around the Argentine’s throat (unfortunately, quite literally). It was a moment that would have seen further scrutiny in a Premier League match, but in the context of a friendly was frowned upon but largely ignored by the referee.
Frank has worked hard this preseason to strike a good balance between building match fitness and protecting the players from overwork. He named a strong side against Arsenal, and rather than make wholesale changes at the half, treated it more like a competitive fixture, subbing through the second half at regular intervals. He did the same in some ways in this match. He made a handful of halftime substitutions, largely for those who started the Arsenal match, before slowly rotating other members of the starting XI off the pitch. It’s been a well-thought-out and executed approach.
One of Frank’s talking points through preseason has been to build Spurs’ fluidity on the ball. Though the Lilywhites have been structured and robust in the friendlies thus far, they have also struggled at times to create. Things seemed to click a bit more in this match, especially in the first half, with a number of exciting passages of play that created shooting opportunities. Unfortunately, this didn’t last, as the second half especially suffered a number of interruptions from knocks, regular substitutions, and a cooling break, but there are some positive signs there.
Oh no. Thomas Frank has been extremely conservative in integrating James Maddison back into the squad following his recovery from a knee injury; but all that could be for naught, as a seemingly innocuous coming together resulted in Maddison putting his head in his hands before collapsing on the pitch in agony. It wasn’t long before the stretcher had to come out, with it potentially looking like it was the same knee that was the source of Maddison’s pain. One thing is for sure: with a dearth of creative options in Spurs’ squad, any #10’s Spurs are targeting will have just seen their transfer fees go up by around £10 million.
One benefactor of Maddison’s misfortune was young winger Yang Min-hyeok. Spurs’ other South Korean winger may not have expected to see the pitch tonight, but was called upon when Maddison could not continue. It was likely a huge moment for the 19-year-old, playing in front of fans from his home country, but he didn’t seem overawed, showing off a couple of bright pieces of play.
One feature of Franktics is the space it can create for runners in behind. This was on full display today, with a number of breaks for Spurs unfortunately not quite converted. Mathys Tel found himself one-on-one with the keeper in the first half, unable to slot it past Nick Pope; Richarlison looked like he was fouled as he ran past the last man through on goal, and Yang took a poor first touch that just took him a little wide and allowed the defense to cover. Again, though, encouraging signs, but can Spurs please find their finishing boots?
It’s over. Today was all about Son, in what was likely his final appearance for Tottenham Hotspur. A faithful servant to the club for over a decade, he gave the best years of his career to Spurs and was instrumental in helping Spurs lift their first trophy in over 15 years.
You could tell the occasion was getting to him a little, and to his teammates as well. There was pressure to find Son on every play, to try and help him finish on a dream note. It wasn’t to be, but that didn’t take anything away from an extremely memorable occasion, shared with teammates and fans alike.
When it came time for him to step of the pitch in a Spurs kit one last time, he was surrounded not just by his teammates, but by the Newcastle players as well, embracing one and all before the teams created a sort of guard of honor to shepherd him off the pitch. What really got me, however, was his final moment before he left the field: an embrace with his best friend Ben Davies, before handing him the captain’s armband for the last time. Son then sank back into his seat on the reserves bench before allowing the emotion of the occasion to overwhelm him.
I’m not too ashamed to say I did the same.
Thank you for everything Sonny. You are a legend, and we’ll miss you.