‘I started crying’ – Son Heung-min on Ruud van Nistelrooy taking him under his wing at Hamburg before breaking through

A Ruud van Nistelrooy tweet telling fans to keep an eye on a young forward at Hamburg called Son Heung-min went viral in 2011. And, speaking to Kenny AllStar, the Tottenham Hotspur star says he hasn’t forgotten the Manchester United legend's mentoring of him at the start of his career. Tottenham play Arsenal live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Wednesday, January 15.

'I was shaking!' – Son remembers first team call-up from former boss Van Nistelrooy at Hamburg

Video credit: TNT Sports

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min has paid tribute to Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy for the Dutchman taking him under his wing when the pair were together at Hamburg.

Van Nistelrooy was in Germany after spells at Manchester United and Real Madrid when Son was breaking through from the Hamburg academy, and the legendary Dutch forward famously tweeted telling fans to watch out for the rising star from South Korea.

Speaking to Kenny AllStar on his #1s show for TNT Sports, Son recalled how helpful Van Nistelrooy was, particularly around the time he made his debut and suffered a devastating broken leg.

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"I started in the youth team in Hamburg and I got a first-team call-up when I was 17. I went to the changing room really early and as soon as Ruud came, I couldn’t believe it.

"I was like shaking, I was sitting in the changing room and as soon as he turned up, I stood up straight and shook his hand and he said ‘how are you?’. I said ‘all good’ and I had an unbelievable pre-season but unfortunately I broke my foot and I was on crutches.

"Next day we had a team picture and I was on the crutches and he came to me and he said ‘we’re going to wait for you’ and I started crying because it was so meaningful to hear those words from a world-class player.

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"And he was like ‘if you need anything from me then come to me and speak to me'. He was so good, he was like my dad, he was giving so much advice.

"And he still had so much unbelievable quality, I was learning so much from him. Now he’s the manager at Leicester and I can’t wait to see him again."

Son also had words of praise for Park Ji-sung, who helped blaze a trail for South Korean players in top European leagues.

"When Manchester United had their best time he was a big part of the team, as a human being he’s even better.

"He’s a national hero, he made the first step, the first step is always the hardest and he made it, and without any help. Having him as a friend is just unbelievable."

The Tottenham forward also spoke about financial hardships growing up, and his first major purchase following the signing of his first substantial contract.

"When I was a kid I was very poor, my family and my father had to work really hard to be in a good life. He was working in three jobs, and hard jobs, he always woke up 3-4am.

"He always went to the gym before he started work; he worked and then at night he worked with me in the training sessions so he sacrificed for me.

"When I got the first big contract I bought him a big car, he was so happy. He was always cleaning and just looking at it, he didn’t want to get any damage on it.

"The way he appreciates the gift I felt like ‘wow this is something special’."

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