Son Heung-Min and Leverkusen have concluded the Champions League group stage, finishing second in their group. They leave Estadio da Luz with a 0-0 draw.
Prior to the match, Leverkusen had already qualified for the Knockout stage. After today’s game, they end up finishing second in their group, and Monaco (PCY’s former club) tops it.
The game at Estadio da Luz was a fiesty encounter, Schmidt correctly predicting that Benfica would not go down without a fight. Bayer ended with a total of 14 fouls, 11 shots, and a man sent off at the 90′. Son Heung-Min came on as a substitute at the 70′, but wasn’t able to score within the remaining 26 minutes.
As Jae mentioned via Twitter, the draw situation with Bayer is an unpleasant one. If they had topped their group, they could have faced:
Juventus, Basel, Arsenal, Roma, Manchester City, CSKA Moscow, PSG, Barcelona, Sporting, and Shaktar.
(IMO, these are teams that Bayer are capable of matching up with).
Finishing as runner-ups in the group stage, they could face:
Athletico Madrid, Real Madrid, PSG, Barcelona, Chelsea, Porto.
The Champions League draw will take place next week on December 15, 2014.
Over the course of the past week, there have been reports circulating that Son is being targeted by LVG’s Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspurs. I doubt Son will leave Leverkusen, but the Premier League would definitely provide him with more competitive football. Hoping he makes the move to Tottenham.
That’s it from me. Do you think Leverkusen will get past the Knockout Stage? Is a Son transfer possible? If so, Tottenham or Man United? Leave your thoughts in the comments section.
Stay tuned…
Neither, i think he needs to stay at leverkusen for now. He has to grow more and be consistent enough to make a move. With Leverkusen he has play time in a good league and plays CL what more does he need?
I agree with your point, however, I don’t see why Tottenham would be a bad place for Son. I believe he would receive playing time there, and would be playing in a better team. He wouldn’t receive any CL time though.
Leverkusen, although 4th in the Bundesliga, doesn’t have the kind of fan base Tottenham has. He would definitely be in the limelight.
With that being said, I doubt that SHM would even want to move out of Germany. Another couple of years, then maybe he will consider. Or he might remain as a mainstay in the Bundesliga.
Spurs fan? I don’t see how they are a better team
Oh, and I can say the same about Liverpool right now. =/
I like the Spurs more so than Arsenal, that’s for sure. They are rebuilding, and the players are stronger compared to Bayer’s. Feel free to disagree however.
I’d have to disagree with you on Spurs being stronger than Leverkusen. Lloris is a good keeper and Eriksen is talented, but I’m not sure who else I’d rather have over Leverkusen’s players. Kiessling vs Kane/Soldado? Calhanoglu/Bellarami vs Lennon/Lamela?
spurs more than arsenal?? uh.. no. over my currently pathetic liverpool? yes.
If Leverkusen can keep their current squad, they are going to be even better next season.
FW: Kiessling, Drmic, Pohjanpalo
AMF: Son, Calhanoglu, Bellarabi, Brandt, Henrichs (extremely hyped/talented youngster in Germany)
MF: Bender, Kramer, Castro, Kohr (impressive with Augsburg atm), Oztunali
D: Wendell, Toprak, Spahic, Jedvaj, Donati
They just need to add another defender to partner Toprak (Spahic should be back-up), RB, backup LB (or competition for Wendell), and another AMF/Wing Forward (I doubt Kruse, Ryu, and Yurychenko will be with Leverkusen next season).
Haha, I hate Arsenal with a passion.
”’I need hungry players,’ Stielike says”’ Just read that article on KT….through the glimpses of his ignorance, Im still really starting to like this guy. He’s taking this job very seriously and I applaud his efforts and ‘passion’ so far.
he echoes Daniel’s sentiments as well it appears although I don’t agree with it.
Meanwhile, he went critical over the criticism surrounding former Arsenal striker Park Chu-young and Suwon goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong who have been under fire for their dismal performance and other controversies during the Brazil World Cup back in June.
“The reason I prefer 2-1 victory over 1-0 is that implies we have won the game after covering teammates’ mistakes. I speak of this because there is harsh criticism over some players like Park or Jung after the World Cup. However, I think it would be inappropriate to sideline them from the national team because of the past. If they are making fine performance at their clubs now, they should not be blamed.”
he’s just stating the logical.
Logical to me is giving a guy multiple chances to deliver on the big stage and coming out with similar results time and time again.
Logic in this case would be to give alternatives a chance, seeing what comes about and then basing your argument from there.
Insanity is repeating that failure over and over again.
As we have seen over and over again, some players play better for club than they do on a national team setup. That holds especially true for Kleaguers because it is a subpar league with little exposure. So if youre going to tell me that we should constantly put in Jung because he’s doing so well for club, Im going to say thats a load.
JMO
regarding your last sentence: no, i’m not telling you that. i think if he’s doing well, you give a chance or two. if he sucks again for the NT, then he can wait another year or two while others are tried and if he happens to be playing well or playing well again, and SK still has no established #1 GK or at least one with good potential to be a starter (what a nightmare scenario), then try him again. Something along those lines is the way I’d personally handle it. i wouldn’t ever slam the door shut forever on anyone unless it’s for discipline/poor teammate issue. even then i’d always leave the door open conditionally for them (sort of like vela and mexico, i guess, not that those were his issues).
II realize his performances are linked with the backline. That doesn’t excuse his poor positioning sense and obtuse reflexes when playing better NT sides in non friendly tournaments. He’s proven to wilt in those types of situations.
Keep him as a backup. Thats about it at this point right now. Time to give the new blood a chance. His Kleague ups and downs are meaningless to me.
Which is probably why he got the job. He showed a willingness to throw himself completely into the job, something more established names were unwilling to do. I don’t doubt Stielike is trying his best, but the question is does he have the tools necessary to not only rebuild this team into a cohesive unit, but also navigate the tricky waters of Korean football politics?
Hey, if Son’s going to move, I’d love to have him at MUFC. Then again everyone’s linking MUFC to every player out there these days so…
I doubt he would get any playing time there.
Playing time is most important priority. Son should not go to a big club like man u yet because he’ll likely ride the bench. I’d prefer he stay in the bundesliga or go to a mid major club like everton or swansea. Don’t waste time in the premier clubs like pjy or kagawa please..