The new season of the Champions League is all set to begin soon with the group stage draw being completed last Thursday in Monaco.
However, Tottenham attacker Son Heung-Min has admitted that he still retains the emotional scars from last season’s defeat to Liverpool in the final.
Tottenham defied the odds to get to the final and put in some memorable performances along the way but were outplayed comfortably in Madrid by the Reds.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Son revealed that the pain of seeing the Liverpool players lift the trophy is something he is still trying to get over.
The 26-year-old said: “I couldn’t count how many times. For me, the goal was to win the Champions League, not to play the Champions League final.
“After the game it was real pain. Every day. I went away to play for the national team in a couple of games straight away and that was fine, but afterwards, I started dreaming about it every day.
“It was pain. I am not a guy who is happy to lose. Every day and night I would see it in my head. I remember them with the trophy, lifting it, celebrating. For me, I think of that bit with the trophy.
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“When they were celebrating, it was, wow, so painful. They were celebrating, we are standing there looking at the floor, and watching that — it is painful.”
The South Korean international said that he did his best to get his mind off football during a summer break back in his home country and insisted that he now feels fresh and ready to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
He added: “I love being home. I can do things there, go to shops, have coffee, anything. After the final, I was so happy to be home.
“I saw my friends and family and did not see football. We were doing stuff that wasn’t football.
“We did a lot of driving, some shopping, went for coffee, played around on the computer — no football games — just trying to have fun to be better again. I love football. Without football I don’t have a life — that is how much I love it.
“But in my holidays I had to get out of this situation. I had to and because I know how much pressure was coming when the season starts. After that, I didn’t want to think about anything and it helped me. Now, I am fresh.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is likely going to take a long time for the Spurs players and fans to recover completely from last year’s defeat particularly because Jurgen Klopp’s men were there for the taking in Madrid. Hopefully, the players use it as extra motivation to drive them to success this season.
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