Heung-min Son thanks Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino for allowing him chance to earn military service exemption

Homecoming | Son was congratulated for his Asian Games win ahead of the game vs Liverpool
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Dan Kilpatrick @Dan_KP17 September 2018

Heung-min Son has thanked Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino for allowing him to play in the Asian Games and earn an exemption from military service.

Son captained South Korea to the gold medal in Indonesia, earning the 26-year-old and his team-mates a release from their country’s mandatory 21-month conscription, which must begin before the age of 28.

Son’s former clubs, Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen, blocked him from playing in the Asian Games in 2010 and 2014 respectively, so he missed the chance to earn exemption. Pochettino joked this week that Son should buy him a thank-you present and the forward, who returned to the Spurs squad for the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday, admits he owes his manager a debt of gratitude.

“My managers at Hamburg and Leverkusen didn’t let me go,” he said. “So I’m really thankful to the gaffer. He took the risk. I made it, but without him and without his choice, I couldn’t have won gold. I’m thinking of a present for him!

“I’m looking forward to playing for Spurs. I felt sorry [to go]. It’s my team. I’ve played for three years with my heart and missed four weeks of this season.”

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