Son Heung-min Shines at MLS All-Star Week
Son Heung-min walked into MLS All-Star week already knowing the story that trails him everywhere. The smile. The handshakes. “The nice guy,” as Ashley Westwood calls him. It’s a simple tag for a life that has been anything but.
In South Korea, he’s more than a captain. He’s a reference point. Across Asia, he’s the player every kid can name, the one whose highlights roll on loop in crowded cafés. With that comes a weight he can’t shrug off, even when he tries.
This summer reminded him of that again. He arrived at the World Cup in a scoring drought and left it without a goal, as South Korea slipped out at the group stage. He started the decisive final game on the bench. When it was over, he didn’t hide. He spoke about doing whatever it would take to win back the hearts of his people.
He has given them plenty over the years. The Tottenham years. The 56 international goals, just two short of Cha Bum-kun’s national record. The big nights, the bigger goals. Those moments are why the spotlight never moves far from him.
At some point, he realised there was only one way to live in that glare: tell the truth about who he is and stick to it. Perfection was never realistic. Authenticity was. So he leans into that.
"I'm just me," he says. "I'm not really showing up in a different way. Like we could say fake. It's just that, obviously, not every person is going to like me. Not every person is going to be a fan of mine, but I still try to be myself. I try to be humble. I try to be grateful to the people that always give me support. This is just me. I'm never showing fake in my kind of stuff."
Over the years he has grown more comfortable letting people see that version of himself. In MLS, that’s part of the contract. A player of his stature doesn’t just sign as a forward for LAFC; he signs as a face of the league. Every camera, every podcast, every handshake is part of the job. He treats it as a chance to close the gap between the man on the billboard and the fan in the stands.
"After all the interviews, all the podcasts," he says, "when people see me in a different direction, or people see me in different ways, it makes me happier, because it feels like the distance is a little bit closer."
In Charlotte this week, thousands got closer still. Son made sure it was worth their time.
The star among stars
For someone of his profile, the MLS All-Star circus could have been an easy target. The travel. The timing. The risk of an injury in a game that doesn’t count in the standings. He mentions all of that. Then the grin returns and he slips into memory.
"It's kind of felt like back in the day when I was like 16, you know?" he says. "It's like when you're in a team, or you get a call up with the national team, and a bunch of random guys are just in there in the camp. Then you just have to know each other. Obviously, there are some big, big names here, but it's not different. We are just all the same: human beings."
Among those “human beings,” Son was the one everyone looked for. The biggest name in MLS colours. The one whose face had been plastered on the promotional material all week.
When the game finally kicked off, he didn’t coast. With the MLS side trailing inside 10 minutes, Son snapped into gear, scoring twice in three minutes to flip the script before being substituted in the 35th minute. It was a brief cameo, but a decisive one. He walked away with the MVP award.
"He's an unbelievable player," said All-Star teammate Hany Mukhtar. "He's a world-class player for a reason. He shows it every week, and we all know how good he is. We see it in training, and I'm not surprised."
The week, in many ways, ticked every box. Son got his goals. Fans got their show. No one limped off with a serious injury. Above all, it felt like fun again.
"Having this experience is once in a lifetime," he says. "I think it is worth it. I try to enjoy this moment and be grateful, as I always say. Getting invited to this All-Star Game, it's not everyone getting it, so I'm very grateful. I'm having these amazing players next to me, and we're playing together. I think it's a huge honor for me."
For many of those “amazing players,” the honour ran the other way. Some knew him as an opponent from the Premier League. Some had only watched him from afar. All wanted to see up close what the fuss was about.
Westwood, who had seen him at full speed in England, was relieved to share a dressing room this time.
"He scored a goal against us when I was at Burnley," Westwood recalled. "He ran through the whole team."
The memory still stings. The smile that follows it is pure Son. It can infuriate defenders who’ve just been beaten. It can disarm them, too. There is no malice in him, not away from the ball. The ruthlessness is saved for his right foot.
That mix of edge and warmth is why so many All-Stars gravitated towards him during the week. Tim Ream, a familiar opponent from Fulham, enjoyed finally defending with him rather than against him. Thomas Muller, one of the other heavyweight names in the squad, quickly slipped into his usual role as dressing-room jester when Son mentioned how excited he was to share a pitch with the German World Cup winner.
"We always try to say nice things in front of the camera," Muller said with a laugh, "but on Saturday he comes with LAFC to Vancouver. I don't know, maybe he's faking being nice to me!
"His German language is really, really good, and, for sure, he knows a little bit about life in Germany. We talk about the good old times, and also as a type of player, we have a good understanding of each other."
The leader behind the smile
Across the week, Son did more than pose and finish chances. He helped run the room.
When the first training session began with a hint of awkwardness — strangers in the same kit, different club loyalties still hanging in the air — it was Son who cracked the jokes, loosened shoulders and drew laughs. That first laugh matters in a temporary team. It sets the tone.
"Listen, when he was in England, he was always the smiling character, the nice guy," Westwood says. "He always had time for you, and he's exactly the same here. He's just him."
The cameras see the goals and the grin. Inside the group, players saw something else: a senior pro quietly taking ownership of the mood.
At one point in his media duties, Son was asked a playful question. Was there anything — any game, any contest — in which he believed he could beat all of his All-Star teammates?
"Nothing," he says. "I'm bad at everything."
Nobody in the room believed him. The truth is he’s very good at a lot of things. The touch. The timing of his runs. The finishing. The languages. The way he slips between cultures without losing himself.
More than anything, he’s good at being Son Heung-min. No one else can quite copy that.
In Charlotte, he did just about everything asked of him. He fronted every media session. He smiled from every billboard. He mingled with teammates, took part in the rain-delayed Skills Challenge, and then, when the whistle blew for the game itself, he did the one thing that has defined his career: he changed it.
Behind each appearance and obligation there was still something unforced. The stages have grown bigger, the stakes higher, but the sensation for him has barely changed.
"I love the ball," he told reporters. "I love the fans, and I love my teammates. From falling in love when I was a child, just chasing the ball, kicking the ball, and celebrating with the boys. I think it's probably what I love most. When I have stress, I always play football. That's why I'm here: I'm enjoying the sport.
"Until the end," he adds. "Until the end, I think, probably, it's the only love that I do."
On Wednesday night, as his teammates lingered on the pitch, soaking in the occasion, Son was already gone. Whisked away, headed back to Los Angeles. Another flight. Another game. Another set of expectations.
The obligations will dry up one day. The cameras will move on. He knows that. He just isn’t in a rush for it to happen. As long as there’s a ball at his feet and a crowd to play for, the smile — the one everyone talks about — isn’t going anywhere.
