Ever since he heralded as the next big thing in Asian football — initially after breaking through in the Bundesliga with Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen and then when he moved to Premier League giants Tottenham, Son Heung-Min has always been the man that South Korea have placed their hopes on in their quest to win a third AFC Asian Cup.
Up till now, three previous attempts have proved futile.
Having entered his 30s, Son is fast running out of opportunities and the ongoing Asian Cup in Qatar could be his final chance to help South Korea reclaim their status as continental champions for the first time since 1960.
And based on Monday’s 3-1 opening win over Bahrain in Group E, Son and South Korea could perhaps finally do so — for the fact that their talismanic skipper is no longer the sole world-class player in the team.
South Korea have always had quality in their side with their best XI over the past decade littered with Europe-based names.
Still, from former captains Koo Ja-Cheol and Ki Sung-Yueng to current stalwarts like Hwang Hee-Chan, Hwang In-Beom and Lee Jae-Sung, they have always been reliable role players who never let the team down — rather than genuine game changers.
But on Monday, with Bahrain giving Son special attention as he was at times double and triple-teamed by his opponents, it paved the way for Lee Kang-In to step up.
After Hwang In-Beom had opened the scoring for the South Koreans with a classy finish in the 38th minute, a plucky Bahrain — who had offered plenty in the first half — then threatened to pull off an upset when they equalised six minutes after the break through Abdullah Al-Hashash‘s close-range finish.
Nonetheless, parity was restored for all of five minutes before Lee stepped up as he received the ball on the edge of the area and proceeded to fire away an unstoppable effort that arched perfect inside the post.
Nine minutes after the hour mark, the Taegeuk Warriors finally had room to breath — once again thanks to Lee, who was found inside the area and casually cut inside a defender before finishing into the far corner to seal the win.
It was not just Lee’s ability to find the target that made him stand out, as he also twice played incisive through-passes to release Son — only for the latter to be uncharacteristically let down by his finishing.
Lee’s potential has always been hyped from the time he was coming through the ranks of Valencia and, having previously spent the entirety of his career in LaLiga, a new chapter beckoned for the playmaker last summer when he completed a massive move to Ligue 1 powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain.
Having been involved in the senior team as early as 2019 — when he was still a teenager – Lee did however have issues with former South Korea coach Paulo Bento, who reportedly was not satisfied with the youngster’s attitude and fitness levels.
It led to Lee spending much of South Korea’s most recent FIFA World Cup campaign as a substitute but, when they desperately needed to salvage a game, he would always offer inspiration off the bench and ultimately earned a starting berth when they produced a remarkable 2-1 victory over Portugal to book their spot in the knockout round.
With Jurgen Klinsmann now at the helm, Lee appears to have no such problems.
With the threat of Son being nullified on Monday, South Korea will be grateful they had someone like Lee waiting in the wings.
And when Son does eventually come good as the tournament progresses, they could just have the dynamic duo required to end a 64-year wait to win the Asian Cup again.