As the captain of the South Korean soccer team and a forward for English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, Son Heung-min knows a thing or two about becoming a professional athlete.
In an interview with CNBC, Son shared his top tips for turning pro and handling the pressures that come with it.
“Sleep well, eat well and do what you need, like stay in training camp when you need six, seven, eight hours,” he told CNBC’s Arabile Gumede in a video interview on Friday.
Even if distractions are everywhere, sport should always come first, Son believes.
“You have so many options, like, I don’t know, like video games, or like, you always want to do more, you know, like playing games with friends,” he said. “I think you should always think that number one is football.”
Son left South Korea at the age of 16 to join German soccer club Hamburger SV, with whom he made his first appearance in one of Europe’s top soccer leagues in 2010. After spending time playing for Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen , he moved to Tottenham London. in 2015 for £22 million ($26.9 million).
Son also touched on some of the biggest lessons he’s learned from his career thus far.
“I think the lessons are, just don’t try to chase your happiness,” he told CNBC. Lots of people are constantly looking for happiness, she says, when in reality it may come from things right in front of you, like your family or your job, she believes.
Soccer star Son Heung-min shares the best tips to become a professional athlete, the most important lessons he’s learned so far.
Photo by James Williamson – Loves | Getty Images Sport | fake images
One of the key moments where this became clear to him was just before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when he got injured and wasn’t sure he could lead the South Korea national soccer team to the top international tournament. Son had a fracture around his left eye, forcing him to play in a protective mask.
“I was there, so I was playing with the mask,” he said. “I think it’s just a lesson I learned because I think positive. […] Happiness is the most important thing.”
Another way Son says he deals with the pressures of being a professional athlete is by reaching out to his family and making sure to talk to them about his mental health.
“I’m sad, they’re sad, we’re happy, and we’re all happy,” she says. “You can always share the feelings; you can always go with the family.”
Source: news.google.com