SPURS star Heung-Min Son is facing taking a two-year break from his football career to serve in the South Korean military.
All Koreans must complete 21 months of mandatory army duty before turning 28 or face imprisonment. And Son, 24, is running out of time to earn an exemption to let him continue his career. Footballers including Swansea’s Ki Sung-yueng, Park Ji-sung and Lee Young-pyo have dodged their duty or got huge reductions in the past thanks to their accomplishments on the pitch.
Spurs fans hoping Son can storm them to a Premier League title to save his future at the club will not get their wish. Only brilliant performances in international tournaments will be considered worth of granting an exemption – with the team’s semi-final appearance in the 2002 World Cup on home soil an example.
Winning the 2018 Asian Games could be enough for Son as would Asian Cup glory in 2019. Son’s last hope could be politician Nam Kyung-pil – who intends to make the military voluntary if elected president.
(The Sun)
