A reporter picked the wrong man this week when he quizzed Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou on the value of the Asian Cup, which will cost the injury-hit Premier League club the services of Son Heung-min for a few weeks in the new year.
Postecoglou guided Australia to the Asian Cup title on home soil in 2015 after his Socceroos side beat a South Korea team featuring Son in the final.
“You know I won it, don’t you?” Postecoglou replied when asked for his view on the importance of the continental championship.
“I hope Sonny goes and finishes runner-up to Australia again, mate.” Ange Postecoglou was asked about the importance of the Asian Cup.
He made sure to remind the room about the trophy in his cabinet #PL #OptusSport pic.twitter.com/9tyLuJLHlC
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) December 27, 2023
“So I rank it pretty highly, I think it’s pretty important. A lot of European people think the Euros are pretty important – well, it’s the same for the Asian Cup or the African Cup of Nations.”
Tottenham are without James Maddison, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon, Manor Solomon, Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero due to injury and will also lose forward Son for as long as South Korea remain in the Asian Cup.
Still a proud Australian, Postecoglou could not resist a cheeky dig at the Tottenham captain.
“I hope Sonny goes on and finishes runner-up to Australia again, mate,” he said. “I’d be really happy about that.”
South Korea coach Jurgen Klinsmann has included Tottenham Hotspur’s Son in his 26-man squad as well as Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae, Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Hwang Hee-chan in an attempt to win a first title since 1960.
The Koreans are one of the continent’s traditional powers and have qualified for every World Cup since 1986, reaching the semi-finals in 2002 when they co-hosted the tournament with neighbours Japan.
But their recent record at regional level is disappointing, with the country not winning the continent’s premier title since the second of back-to-back successes were secured in 1960.
Spurs, fifth in the standings after their 4-2 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday, next host 12th-placed Bournemouth on Sunday.
The Asian Cup takes place from Jan. 12 to Feb. 10 in Qatar.
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