Today’s episde is leaving me in quite the predicament since if I say anything bad about the upcoming player, I might get cancelled….
Everybody loves Sonny! Along with Ngolo Kante (who I’m gutted isn’t a 94 rated player), Heung Min Son is one of the most popular and likeable players within the game and is considred a god in his native, South Korea. Unlike many of his Asain compatriots, he moved to Europe earlier rather than spending his younger years in his homeland via joining the Hamburg youth team set up before getting into the first team, making a move to Bayer Leverkusen afterwards, and then joining Tottenham Hotspur where he is now considered a cult hero due to his goals, performances and current World Class status.
PLAYER BIO
It amazes me how many ballers on SM are currently at the world class status after being in their primes. This was not the situation 5-10 years ago which indicates how much these ballers are taking care of themselves. Sonny is no different as he has been in his prime since around the age of 27. And do not let his current age fool you, he is still in tip top shape, and with his finishing ability on both feet, you can assure that he’ll be a worthy asset
BEST ATTRIBUTES WITHIN SM23
Looking at the attributes of Sonny indicates that he is one of the best finishers in the game as almost everyone of his main attributes play a crucial part in his ability to do his trademark moves (cutting in off the left with speed; running in behind and finsihing)
BEST ROLES
Similar to Mohammed Salah, Sonny is also someone who enjoys starting his position off the flanks and then using his striker instincts to get in on goal, and depending on who you have as your F(C), you can play around with the usage of his arrowUnlike Salah (lol), Sonny is more prone to getting 1v1 against his Fullback in an attempt to take him on and get past him. So, this means that you can also play him as a ‘Winger’ (an Explosive one to boot) One of his greatest strengths is his exceptional off the ball movement, particularly that run in behind off the last defender’s shoulder. Therefore, if you were to ever consider playing Son as your F(C), he will run circles around opposition defences as your ‘Finisher’ Son can also play comfortably within a front 2 pairing and he adds the benefit of being able to operate as either a ‘General Forward’ or a ‘Finisher’ depending on who you choose to pair him withThere’s a similar pattern coming into play here, as you are blessed with many different options on using Son based on the players you decide to play alongside him
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
Son’s best position is and will always be off the left, and it is VERY important to note that he should only be rotated as an AM,F(L) or F(C), but NEVER as an AM,F(R) since he is one of those wide players whose strengths are maximized when played on one side of the pitch similar to a Vinucius, Rashford, or a Salah
WHO ARE THE BEST TEAMATES?
As a ‘Wide Forward’, Son requires the same type of teamamtes alongside him similar to what Salah requires. The only difference is that Sonny is more comfortable starting and staying wider than usual when paired with a ‘Technical Target Man’ to serve him chances and play a supporting role, while Salah wants to be the main man, hence why he won’t work well playing off the right with anyone one other than a ‘DLF’One trend you should be realizing is the fact that if you want to play someone as a ‘Winger’ who dosen’t play their naturally, you will need to have a ‘FullBack’ behind of him who will be a support to your ‘Winger’ and never aim to overlap him. Another important thing to note is that whenever you play with a ‘Winger’, he will need either a ‘Target Man’ or a ‘Finisher’ to get unto those crosses from out wideIf you wanted to use Sonny as a ‘Wide Forward’ within a formation like the 4-2-3-1B, then you’ll only need to play a ‘Wingback’ who’ll allow Sonny to cut inside and occupy spaces closer to the opposition’s goalOnwards to using him as a Finsher. Son is one of the deadliest goal scorers around the box that isn’t an actual F(C), and his off the ball movement will make him a huge asset to any team that plays him there. The only downside to this is that he is not the most physically gifted player in terms of strength and aerial ability. Therefore, in order to get the most out of him it will require that you have players around him that are all about creativity. And the best teammates for this will be a ‘Playmaker’ who’s conducting the game from the middle third of the pitch, and an ‘Advanced Playmaker’ who’s looking to execute game changing assists for the likes of Sonny from the attacking third. In addition to this, to ensure that Sonny is playing as your ‘Finisher’, you will have to both point is arrow to ‘attacking’ and use him as your Target Man When choosing to play him in a front 2, there are a few options: The first one is to use him as your ‘General Forward’ which will require him to be paired with a ‘Target Man’. While the second option would be to use him as your ‘Finisher’ and pair him with a ‘Deep-lying Forward’ or a ‘General Forward’ who has good playmaking abilities like a Latauro MartinezI hope that you are now recognizing the patterns that is required to not only get the best out of Heung Min Son, but all of your World Class Players since they can either be a blessing and provide an abundance of top performances or a curse and be an extreme giver of migrains…In our final image, I want to share with you what is needed to play Sonny as a ‘General Forward’ and as your main F(C). First of all, despite what SM23 says, Son is not a ‘General Forward’. He is actually a ‘Wide Forward’. Secondly, a ‘Playmaker’ of some sort must always be prevalent once Son is in your team. Thirdly, he is not much of a creative player, so whenever you play him as your ‘GF’ (and as your main Striker), you will need to have players who have good movement around him as they will be swapping their postions often in order to confuse the opposition defenders by making it hard to ping them down
The most likeable player in football is also quite the asset to have on your team, and with the new knowledge of how to truly get the best out him, I expect to be hearing that you now have him scoring tons of goals and performing in the big matches.
Up next, we take a look at one of the most polarizing players of the last decade. Some hate him, some adore him, but one thing is certain: he cannot be ignored!
The Soccermanager Experience 