Cha Bum-kun vs Son Heung-min
South Korea against South Korea. The almanac states its case, the crowd votes, you decide.
Cha Bum-kun
South Korea · 1980–88 · RM
- Almanac rating
- 89
- Rank in South Korea
- #2 of 33
- Caps
- 129 · 56 goals
- Clubs
- SV Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- Honours
- Hall of Fame 2019
Bayer Leverkusen trailed Espanyol 3-0 from the first leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final when he scored the goal that made it 3-3 on aggregate and forced the shootout they went on to win. That was his second UEFA Cup after Eintracht Frankfurt's in 1980, making him the first to win the trophy with two German clubs, and he scored 98 goals in 308 Bundesliga games before the IFFHS named him Asia's player of the century. Career record: 129 caps and 56 goals for South Korea; club career at SV Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer 04 Leverkusen; honours include Hall of Fame 2019.
Son Heung-min
South Korea · 2018–25 · LM
- Almanac rating
- 90
- Rank in South Korea
- #1 of 33
- Caps
- 144 · 56 goals
- Clubs
- Hamburger SV, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur
Against Burnley on 7 December 2019 he collected the ball outside his own penalty area and ran 71.4 metres past six defenders in eleven seconds before finishing, a goal that won him the FIFA Puskas Award. He captained Tottenham to the 2025 Europa League in Bilbao, shared the 2021/22 Premier League Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah on 23 goals as the first Asian winner, and led South Korea to Asian Games gold in 2018. Career record: 144 caps and 56 goals for South Korea; club career at Hamburger SV, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur.
The verdict
The almanac puts Son Heung-min ahead by 1 rating point, 90 against 89.
Fans have not settled this one yet. Cast the first vote in the duels.