From a step inside the penalty arc, Son Heung-min unleashed a livid right-footed shot that curled across the arms of the diving goalkeeper.
The shot crashed into the submit.
No aim.
And that was roughly it. Son didn’t have some other actual probabilities to attain in LAFC’s 2-1 defeat to FC San Diego.
LAFC ahead Son Heung-Min (7) and San Diego FC midfielder Manu Duah (26) battle for a ball Sunday at BMO Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Related Press)
Son’s first sport at BMO Stadium was a serious occasion, similar to David Beckham’s and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s debuts with the Galaxy, similar to Lionel Messi’s preliminary months with Inter Miami.
No matter its shortcomings, Main League Soccer can stage main occasions, and Son and LAFC delivered the newest on Sunday night time.
Son’s duplicate jerseys have been all over the place, together with some that have been of the Tottenham Hotspur selection. A number of South Korean flags have been waved in LAFC’s standing-only supporters part behind the north aim. Tickets for seats within the stadium’s second deck have been promoting on the secondary marketplace for upwards of $150.
Translating such a landmark second into sustained viewership, nevertheless, is one thing the MLS continues to be determining. How Son performed — or, extra exactly, how LAFC deployed him — gained’t advance the trigger.
LAFC has constructed a faithful fan base, and its followers will proceed to pack BMO Stadium. The priority isn’t about them. The priority is concerning the numerous different soccer followers on this nation.
There may be clearly an urge for food to see world superstars who beforehand might solely be watched on tv, and Son belongs in that class of attraction. However as soon as the common soccer fan has seen Son within the flesh, will that very same fan observe him week after week, both on the stadium or on MLS’s Apple TV broadcasts?
Son has competed within the English Premier League. He gained the Europa League three months in the past to ship a trophy to hardware-starved Tottenham. By comparability, MLS appears like a step or two down, and if followers view these video games as glorified exhibitions, what number of of them will care sufficient to speculate the mandatory time to observe his quest for a championship right here?
Will the stage matter to followers of Korean heritage, for whom Son is what Shohei Ohtani is to the Japanese? Or are in addition they more likely to disappear after watching Son play a couple of times?
Followers wave indicators honoring South Korea and Son Heung-min throughout LAFC’s match in opposition to San Diego FC Sunday at BMO Stadium.
(Eric Thayer / Related Press)
For LAFC to have any likelihood at holding onto the brand new phase of its viewers, it must showcase its star attraction higher. Son needs to be extra concerned than he was in opposition to FC San Diego. As admirable because it was of him to relentlessly press the opposing again line, the followers didn’t pay to observe him run and run and run. They paid to observe him create some magic with the ball, and his capability to do this was compromised by the group’s restricted service to him.
Son was primarily a winger with Tottenham, however LAFC has performed him as a middle ahead with main scorer Denis Bouanga on one aspect of him and rising star David Martínez on the opposite. Beginning midfielders Timothy Tillman and Igor Jesus have been sidelined with accidents — Jesus gained’t return this season — and Son didn’t contact the ball a lot till late within the sport when the groups turned fatigued, main areas to open up. LAFC outshot its opponent 17-6, however solely 4 of its pictures have been on body.
“It was not a problem of positioning,” Son stated.
He added that if he’d scored on the 78th-minute shot that hit the submit, “Nobody would say [anything.] I think this is all results-oriented.”
Son has performed in 4 video games for LAFC, the final three as a starter. He nonetheless hasn’t scored within the run of play. He drew a important penalty in his debut, he registered an help in his second sport and scored on a free kick within the third.
Whereas appreciative of the nice and cozy reception he acquired from the house crowd on Sunday, Son sounded as if he knew he couldn’t take the followers with no consideration.
“I’ve been in amazing stadiums and experienced a lot, but today was very special and I feel like the fans were amazing,” he stated. “That’s why I’m upset, because they deserve more than one goal or zero points.”
