 |
| Photo=To the Rain Back |
|
The free-kick pattern prepared by Son Heung-min and James Madison has become a mockery.
Tottenham lost 0-1 in the first leg of the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League (UEL) round of 16 away match against AZ Alkmaar at 2:45 a.m. on the 7th (Korea Standard Time) at AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Tottenham, which tried to win the championship, should prepare for the second game in a disastrous performance.
It was the worst game. Tottenham rested well for more than a week and left for the Netherlands with an advantage in objective power, but Tottenham's performance against Alkmaar was to eat sweet potatoes without water. Tottenham's tight-knit attack went 90 minutes after a flurry of missteps.
Another tease was the free-kick pattern that Son Heung-min and Madison tried. Madison scored a free kick in the 33rd minute of the first half when he was dragged after giving up the first run. It was a good position to score enough.
Son Heung-min and Madison prepared as kickers. The captain and vice-captain sought to score by talking to each other. In the end, Son Heung-min stepped down as a kicker. Son Heung-min was positioned next to the defensive wall. It turns out that the two players prepared a pattern play before kicking a free kick.
The two players' plans were like this. If Madison gave Son Heung-min short, Son Heung-min stepped on the ball so that Madison could shoot in a better position. However, in the process of Son Heung-min giving it back, the two players did not work together at all.
 |
| Photo =Daily Mail |
|
Son Heung-min brought the loose ball back and gave it to Kevin Danso behind him to continue the attack, but Danso's pass, embarrassed by the pressure, became Alkmaar's ball in vain.
The British Daily Mail reported after the match that `Tottenham fans witnessed one of the worst free-kick routines in recent memory during the 0-1 UEL defeat against Alkmaar" and began to mock.
The Daily Mail also captured the reaction of fans teasing the scene on social media. One fan commented "It was the most Tottenham free-kick imaginable," he said sarcastically. Another fan commented "I can't believe this isn't made by artificial intelligence (AI)," he teased.
If the two players had led Tottenham to victory in different scenes, there would have been no such ridicule, but Son Heung-min and Madison were replaced at the same time in the 27th minute of the second half, despite being key players. Son Heung-min and Madison, sitting side by side on the bench, looked very bad.
After the game, Son Heung-min said "It was far from our performance. I'm very disappointed with this performance, including myself. It should be a game of great alarm. The next game is the most important game of the season." He also expressed his disappointment in himself.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
