‘Really special’: Jose Mourinho insists Tottenham player is ‘the best’ player from his entire continent

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Jose Mourinho has talked up the mentality of Tottenham forward Son Heung-min, who he of course used to manage.

Mourinho is now in charge of Roma and he is with them in Tokyo while the World Cup takes centre stage.

In a press conference, he was asked about Japan’s victory over Germany yesterday and admitted it was not as much of a shock to him as some might think.

And he also took the opportunity to praise Son, who he says is the best Asian player in the world right now.

Mourinho on Son

Mourinho said of the Japan win: “It is a fantastic achievement but to be honest it was not a crazy surprise. Japan is a good team, with good players.

“It is getting an accumulation of experience at these events. The majority of players play in Europe where they develop faster and they understand better the high level game.

“I think the mentaltiy of the players and the team can also make a difference. In European football there is a big focus on the individual and egos.

“When I look to (Japan) as people and a country; I never coached Japanese players but I coached Asian players. In my case I was lucky because I coached the best Asian player.

“The mentality is really special. The team is the most important thing, they play for the team, not themselves.”

Son will get his chance to show the world what he can do today when South Korea take on Uruguay in their first group match.

They have a tough group, with Portugal and Ghana also in there, but Japan got a tricky draw too and have already made their mark.

Son has been shining at club level for a long time now, but his country would dearly love him to take them on a journey in this competition, which would also underline his quality on the world stage.