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| Source=MLS Official Website |
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| Son Heung-min scored a free kick against Dallas. Relay Screen |
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| 사진=LAFC SNS 캡처 |
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'Son National' Son Heung-min (33, LA FC) was selected as the goal winner of the year in his first year on the U.S. stage. This is the first move by a Korean to win the Puskas Prize.
The secretariat of the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) announced Son's award on its website on the 28th (Korea time), saying, `Son Heung-min's first MLS goal remains in history.' Son Heung-min scored his MLS debut goal in the 30th round (1-1 draw) of the MLS regular league against Dallas on August 24 with a right-footed free kick that was sucked into the corner of the goal in the 6th minute of the first half. The debut goal of the year became the goal of the year, which made the presence of 'World Class' on the U.S. stage.
MLS introduced that Son Heung-min, who joined LA with the highest transfer fee in MLS history from English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, scored his MLS debut goal in the third game.
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| MLS 홈페이지 |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Son became the first Asian player to receive the award in the 1996 MLS Goal of the Year event. He is also the first winner in the history of the LA FC club. Son Heung-min beat 15 candidates, including Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) and teammate De Ni Vuanga, in the goal fan vote of the year from the 20th to the 28th.
Son Heung-min's popularity, which boasts not only the artistry of scoring but also the best debut impact in the history of the U.S. stage, is interpreted as being reflected to some extent in this year's goal award. Son Heung-min joined LA in August after completing his 10-year career at Tottenham, scoring nine goals in 10 MLS games.
This is not the first time Son Heung-min has won a goal-related award. Son Heung-min won the Puskas Award for his solo goal after dribbling 80m alone against Burnley in the 2019-2020 season when he was at Tottenham. He was the first Korean and second Asian player to win the prize after Mohamed Faiz Soubry (Malaysia) in 2016. It was also selected as the EPL's goal of the year for the season.
In the 2021-2022 season, he became the first Asian player to win the Golden Boot (scoring king) with his remarkable performance of scoring 23 goals in the EPL.
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| AFP Yonhap News |
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Son Heung-min will now enter the 'Autumn Football' for the first time in his career. Los Angeles, which ranked third in the Western Conference in the MLS regular league, will play in the postseason MLS Cup playoffs and face Austin, sixth in the Western Conference, with two wins out of three. Son Heung-min, who has been resting and training for about 10 days since the match against Colorado (2-2 draw), which scored his ninth goal on the 19th, aims for his 10th goal of the season in his first home game against Austin on the 30th.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
