Son reveals special moment at Tottenham training ground that brought players together

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min spoke to the media in Bilbao on Tuesday ahead of the Europa League final between Tottenham and Manchester United.

The skipper will take on his second European final with the club, having lost the 2019 Champions League final to Liverpool and he spoke in Bilbao about the experiences of that night in Madrid, what still upsets him to this day and how he is different to the player who took to the pitch that day.

also spoke about a special barbecue organised by Cristian Romero, Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison at Tottenham's Hotspur Way training complex ahead of the final, an event that brought the players even closer together before the big match. The South Korean star was also asked about his future at the north London club.

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Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Son and here's a full transcript from the press conference in Bilbao.

Ten years now at Tottenham, what would it mean to you on a personal level if you were to go up and lift that trophy tomorrow night?

It will be very special and it will be obviously a historic moment. I've been here for 10 years and I just wanted to win the trophy which nobody has done during my time here during those 10 years.

Tomorrow is going to be a massive day for obviously the club first of all, and for the boys and obviously for me as well.

The South American players organised a barbecue at the training ground and Ange was keen that you all went, how important was that for team bonding ahead of the final?

It was very important that everybody was together, having a good time, spending time together and just talking about their lives and it felt like we were getting even closer, you know, but I mean, especially this season, which has been such a tough season, but we've been always together, we stuck together and that's why we are here. So I think one last step left, so we've got to make it.

The Korean fans will be supporting you at 4am in the morning when this match kicks off so do you have any special message for the Korean fans?

I really appreciate that they are supporting me or us, in the morning time, in the night-time, late night time or early night time. They are always here and then they're always supporting us and as I say all the time that I want to give, give them something back and tomorrow I hope I can give some of my smile and then the trophy and the historic moment that we'll never, never forget. I hope we can enjoy it together and celebrate it together.

How are you feeling in terms of your fitness and how close do you feel to peak sharpness? Can you play for the full 90 minutes if necessary?

I'm ready. I'm obviously back from injury and it was my first game against Crystal Palace and then I played against Villa around 70 minutes, which I didn't expect to play that long, but I was managing to play.

Physically I'm ready, ready to go, and also the boys are ready to go for the biggest game of the season.

You're the only survivor from the starting Tottenham team from the Champions League final, how much can you use the pain of that defeat to make sure that you get a better outcome in this final?

Ben Davies is still here, so don't forget about his commitment and his work rate. It's going to be a huge, huge moment for both of us and also for the boys if we win it. As we always say, the first step is going to be really hard, but if you win that trophy, we can change the mentality, we can change the history and hopefully we can continue to compete for another trophy.

Have you spoken to Harry Kane about tomorrow's final?

Obviously, everybody knows Harry is my best mate, and also it was a huge honour playing alongside him, but after he won the first title, we had a chat about his trophy, but yeah, I mean, he's already on holiday, so he won't want to text me. He doesn't have to text me.

So I just concentrate, myself with the boys and obviously Harry will be biggest Spurs fan tomorrow. I'm definitely sure that he'll be supporting us from holiday.

How important to avoid a bad start like in 2019?

I still don’t think it was handball! We can’t change it. Every game is the same, the first 15 minutes are hugely important to get a game tempo, game rhythm, it’s hugely important. I will especially mention to the boys that it’s important we start well to get our confidence.

You've faced Man United three times, now in a final – does it feel the same or is it special?

Obviously it is special. It doesn’t matter who we play against, it is a special stage, a special tournament and to reach the final, it has never been free. Yeah, it’s going to be a special game, a very tough game, a very difficult game but we just have to do our things, concentrate on ourselves and we’ll see what happens.

You only have a year left on your contract, do you feel like this is now-or-never for yourself to win that trophy at Tottenham?

The future, we never know, the future, we never know. We could play next year Champions League or we could play, I don’t know we might play in a final. We never know. The chance what I have now is real. It is a fact tomorrow is a final and the Europa League final. I will not think about anything else. It could be my last change or another chance, but I just want to concentrate on tomorrow, on winning and lifting the trophy with the boys.

What are the differences to 2019?

Six years ago, I played my first final in professional level and it was very nervous moments and very exciting moments. But I was very nervous and couldn’t believe I was in the Champions League final. Six years after, obviously, I’m a grown man and experienced and want to prepare in my way, calm.

There have been changes, so many years, so many different players, and also my role has changed from just a player to the captain of the club, leader of the boys and I just want to help the boys to lift it together. That is my dream.

Is it easy to forget about doubts after losing so many games in the Premier League?

Yeah, in the league, definitely where we are now obviously is unacceptable but don’t want to think about now that things are not good. It is not the right time to think about it. As I said we are here and reaching the final, you have to beat some good teams as well. You have to travel to away games, have to make difficult games, you have to be disciplined and you have to have belief in yourself, which we did and that’s why we are in the final. We can change the bad season in the league with a trophy and Spurs are just missing the trophy. Some seasons we have been outstanding, we have been in the Champions League, we were finishing second but still we were missing something. This year we can change that, so tomorrow, I hope we can change that.

Have you said anything special to the team?

I mean I don’t need to motivate them because it’s a final and everybody will know how important that is. Everybody will be there to get excited. It will be just telling them we need to be together, to stay calm, to do the right things and the game will be in our hands. Obviously still haven’t talked to the boys to get more motivation, but I will definitely talk to the boys about my experience, real experiences and we will see what is going to happen in tomorrow’s final.

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