Son Heung-min is Asian football royalty.

He’s the highest-scoring Asian player in both the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League. In the Prem, he’s one of only 34 players to break 100 goals — again, the only Asian player. He captains both Tottenham Hotspur and the South Korean national team, and led the latter to gold at the 2018 Asian Games.

These achievements have made Son a household name. His brand is worth $1.5 billion to the South Korean economy, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Move over, BTS.

The Spurs hitman is everywhere — from beer to ice cream.

Or my personal favorite: Calvin Klein underwear.

But the continent is no stranger to soccer superstars. Before Son, South Korea had Park Ji-sung, who won everything at Manchester United.

“All players have their idols, and you were my idol,” Son said in a recent NBC interview with Park. “I had a dream to become a player like you.”

Without Park, we don’t get Son. He was elite in his own right. But he also represents the mold that Asian athletes are so often forced into.

In one word, Park was a workhorse. Though he was best in midfield, his unreal engine meant he could play anywhere on the pitch.

Whatever job he was given, he did it with relentless intensity. Fans took to calling him “Three Lungs” for his inhuman stamina.

Park was a stalwart of the last great United side, and was always up for the big occasion. In a 2010 Champions League clash with AC Milan, Park was tasked with man-marking Rossoneri midfielder Andrea Pirlo, one of football’s greatest ever playmakers — and he did it flawlessly.

Pirlo was anonymous as United romped to victory. Teammate Rio Ferdinand lauded Park, joking that “Pirlo woke up the next morning, looked at the bottom of his bed and expected to see Ji-sung Park there.”

The Italian still hasn’t gotten over Park’s masterclass. In his recent autobiography, he claimed that “they’d programmed him to stop me and that was the only thing he was thinking about. His devotion to the task was almost touching.”

Pirlo was famously gracious in defeat. Besides his sour grapes, the regista did have one valuable insight.

“Even though he was already a famous player in his own right, he consented to being used as a guard dog, willingly limiting his own potential,” Pirlo said.

Park always put the team first. And when you play with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, you’re never going to be the star. But he anchored a team that conquered the sport, and his contributions are often forgotten. Rooney summed it up best:

“It’s crazy but if you mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo to a 12 year old, they would immediately say, ‘Yeah, he was a brilliant player for Manchester United.’ But if you said ‘Ji-sung Park’ they may not know who he was. Yet all of us who played with Park know he was almost as important to our success,” Rooney wrote.

When Son arrived in England, he seemed destined for a similar fate. Mauricio Pochettino brought him in as a rotation option. He played all along the front four during his first few seasons. In an ill-fated FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea, he even played at wing back.

But he grew into his role in the Spurs offense. He stamped his authority on the D.E.S.K quartet, later starting the Premiership’s greatest ever double act with Harry Kane.

Sonny has had his fair share of vintage moments. The Puskás-winning solo run against Burnley, or his ridiculous curler in the North London Derby. Or his ridiculous curler at Norwich, which secured the Golden Boot. Or, more recently, his ridiculous curler against Fulham.

I think you get the idea.

Football fans agree that Son is world class. It’s an honor that Park perhaps deserved, but certainly never got. And he is beloved by the Tottenham faithful, home and abroad.

Even so, he always played second fiddle to Kane.

Kane is an academy product, and the darling of the English media. Of course, he is also an incomparable footballer. But with his distinctive Essex accent and his receding blond hairline, he looks and sounds like a man who should be leading the line for a Premier League club.

Harry’s gone now, chasing the low-hanging fruit for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Son had to step up. Who else could? New Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou agreed, appointing the South Korean as captain.

And step up he has; Eight goals in Spurs’ opening 10 games as the Lilywhites hold first place.

Kane’s still one of our own, and gave the club his best years.

But his loyalty clearly had limits.

In the summer of 2021, Spurs had just finished seventh and were rudderless without a coach.

Kane ditched training for Florida, awaiting a lifeline from Manchester City.

Son signed a new contract.

His passion for the club bleeds onto the pitch. Kane led by example, through the gravitas of being the best player on the team. He never even held the formal captaincy.

Sonny is much more vocal, rallying his men with equal parts anger and joy.

He’s not content just being a world-class footballer. He is the general at Tottenham Hotspur, who top the table despite selling their talisman.

Recently, more Asian players have followed Son’s lead. Japan’s Kaoru Mitoma amplifies Brighton’s electric offense. And Kim Min-jae, perhaps better known as “Monster”, dominates forwards at the heart of Bayern’s defense.

Even as he and others surpass him, Son gives Park his flowers.

To close out the NBC interview, Son called Park “a legend, Korean national hero.”

As the two embraced, Park issued a slight correction.

“That’s you now!”