Jose Mourinho has dubbed Son Heung-min “Sonaldo” after comparing the Tottenham forward to former Brazil striker Ronaldo.
South Korea star Son raced from one box to the other for a stunning solo goal as Tottenham thrashed Burnley 5-0 in the Premier League.
Harry Kane fired a brace, with Lucas Moura and Moussa Sissoko both on target too as Mourinho’s men romped to victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs boss Mourinho likened Son’s wonder goal to Ronaldo’s mazey effort for Barcelona against Compostela in 1996, before praising the 27-year-old’s work ethic.
“Even before this goal my son calls him Sonaldo, and today he was Sonaldo Nazario,” said Mourinho.
“The only thing that came to my mind was a goal where I had the honour to be sat next to Sir Bobby Robson, in 1996, and Ronaldo Nazario scored a goal against Compostela from behind the halfway line and scored a very similar goal.”
Asked if Son is a manager’s dream given his humility and hard graft, Mourinho continued: “From the outside I had that feeling. I had a feeling, and the experience, not my experience but of some colleagues; I even remember speaking with Sir Alex (Ferguson) about Ji-sung Park.
“It’s probably a cultural think, that players from that part of the world are very coachable, they like to learn and are very humble.
“I met his parents yesterday, and I understood also where it comes from. The kid is fantastic and I am so happy.”
Captain Kane conjured two hugely-impressive goals but still wound up having a top-level performance overshadowed by Son’s star turn.
New boss Mourinho was quick to praise the skipper’s all-round showing however, admitting he is already struggling for accurate accolades.
“It’s not just the goals, it’s the combination play, it’s what he does between the lines, it’s what he does in the defensive process and it’s what he does at a leadership level,” Mourinho said of Kane.
“Incredible. Again: top, top, top player and person. I cannot find any more words to describe him.
“I cannot have a bad feeling with these guys. I’m here to help them.
“So if I can help them to be better then that’s what I want.”
Burnley boss Sean Dyche was left to lament a frustrating afternoon, especially in his side’s slapstick defending in the lead-up to Son’s wonder goal.
“I’m actually annoyed at source, that’s where we didn’t deal with it,” said Dyche.
“And then there’s also time for a technical foul, which we didn’t do.
“It’s very naive and just the detail of the work we do, just not to stop it at source and then not to go for a technical foul.
“We gave the ball away for fun today; five goals from five giveaways, key giveaways, sloppiness, details.
“We don’t normally turn it over that easily. In balance we had two key chances at one-nil and two-nil down.
“I’m not saying we’d have won the game, but that could have given us a foothold. They were super clinical in their finishing.”
