A rookie who was the top scorer in EPL? Son Heung-min scored 9 goals and 3 assists in 10 games, and became a candidate for MLS Rookie of the Year!
Oct 25, 2025
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The U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) secretariat announced candidates for each part of the 2025 Season Awards on its official channel on the 24th (Korea time). With candidates announced for the Rookie of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Returner of the Year, including Landon Donovan MLS MVP, which is given to the best regular league player in the 2025 season, it is also the Rookie of the Year award.
The Rookie of the Year award is given to a player who made his MLS debut in 2025 among players with professional experience, including Son Heung-min's name. Son Heung-min was listed as the final three candidates for the Rookie of the Year along with Anders Dreyer (San Diego) and Philippe Sinkernagel (Chicago Fire).
Son Heung-min left Tottenham, where he played for 10 years, in August for a new challenge. The destination was LAFC, USA. Son Heung-min entered LA FC with the hospitality of local politicians, including LA Mayor Karen Bath, Federal Representative Dave Min, LA City Councilman Heather Hurt, and Consul General Kim Young-hwan, in addition to club officials such as LA FC co-chairman and general manager John Torrington and senior owner Bennett Rosenthal.
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Next was Son Heung-min. The fact that U.S. soccer legend Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, who played in the English Premier League, and Thierry Henry, who played for the New York Red Bulls, are below them shows Son Heung-min's status. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, and Gareth Bale, who performed on the U.S. stage, did not even make the ranking.
The LA Times evaluated that `Asian soccer star Son Heung-min's transfer to LA FC earlier this month is a large achievement that is not limited to the team.' From the MLS' perspective, it can be an opportunity to pioneer the Asian market in terms of marketing and sponsorship by recruiting the best players in Korean soccer history. In addition, the league's highest transfer fee of $26 million (about 36.3 billion won) is also considered to be sufficiently valuable.
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Son Heung-min is showing his influence right away even inside the stadium. Son Heung-min, who appeared splendidly in his debut match (2-2 draw) against the Chicago Fire on the 10th, assisted the winning goal in his first starting match (2-1 win) against the New England Revolution on the 17th. He also scored his debut goal in the match against FC Dallas on the 24th. In the 6th minute of the first half, he performed his signature 'Click Ceremony' in the United States with a fantastic free kick.
The U.S. was more excited by Son Heung-min's goal. The MLS said Son Heung-min quickly proved his skills in the MLS, adding that Son Heung-min scored his world-class debut goal in the MLS. "Son Heung-min's first three games are worth hanging at the Louvre," said defender Kosi Tapari. "He won a penalty kick, scored an assist, and scored a goal. I don't know what's going to happen next week. He's doing an amazing job, and his energy is really good."
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The chances of winning the prize are not high. The dryer is ahead of the record. Drier has scored 19 goals and 17 assists in 34 games this season. He performed so well that he was nominated for MVP as well as the Rookie of the Year award. Another candidate, Sinkernagel, also scored 15 goals and 12 assists in 32 matches. As Son Heung-min's number of games is only one-third of them, the record is far short, but the impact exceeds them. You can expect an unexpected event.
Son Heung-min will now play in the MLS Cup playoffs. LA FC, which finished sixth in the regular league, will face Austin FC in the Western Conference quarterfinals of the '2025 MLS Cup' playoff.
Reporter Park Chan-joon vanbasten@sportschosun.com
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
