Son named top player

Published : Dec 23, 2014 - 20:51 Updated : Dec 23, 2014 - 20:51

Bayer Leverkusen winger Son Heung-min on Tuesday was named the top South Korean male soccer player of 2014.

Son earned the annual Korea Football Association honors for the second straight year.

The 22-year-old dynamo has netted 11 goals in 26 matches so far this season in the Bundesliga, the DFB-Pokal Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

Son Heung-min (left) and Ji So-yun pose with their Player of the Year awards in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

With the Bundesliga in its midseason break, Son is well on his way to shattering his career-best mark of 12 goals set last season.

Thanks in no small part to Son’s prowess, Bayer Leverkusen is currently ranked third among 18 clubs in the top German league and has also qualified for the Round of 16 at the UEFA Champions League.

Also on Tuesday, Ji So-yun of Chelsea Ladies was named the top female footballer of the year in South Korea for the second straight year. Ji, 23, also earned the award in 2010 and 2011. She scored nine goals in her first season with Chelsea Ladies and helped the club to a second-place finish in the eight-team FA Women’s Super League.

Among other award winners on Tuesday, Lee Kwang-jong, head coach of the men’s U23 national team, received the Special Contribution Award for leading South Korea to the gold medal at this year’s Asian Games. (Yonhap)