Son Heung-Min of German side Bayer Leverkusen is one of a new generation that South Korea’s 2002 World Cup hero Hong Myong-Bo can bring a new era of glory to the Asian side.

Leverkusen paid a reported club record 10 million euros to bring the 21-year-old forward from Hamburg a year ago. His goals, including a hat-trick against Hamburg, have helped them to qualify for the 2014-15 Champions League.

Son’s father also played for the national team and he has started as a ball boy at FC Seoul. He dropped out of school to join Hamburg’s academy and turned down a chance to play for South Korea at the London Olympics so he could concentrate on his Bundesliga career.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014