‘Sonaldo’: Son Heung-min gets a new nickname from teammates

November 7, 2014
From left: Leverkusen's Stefan Reinartz, Son Heung-min,, Hakan Calhanoglu  and Stefan Kiessling celebrate a goal during the German first division Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Saturday Oct. 18, 2014.  (AP Photo/dpa, Bernd Weissbrod)

From left: Leverkusen’s Stefan Reinartz, Son Heung-min,, Hakan Calhanoglu and Stefan Kiessling celebrate a goal during the German first division Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and Bayer Leverkusen in Stuttgart, southern Germany, Saturday Oct. 18, 2014. (AP Photo/dpa, Bernd Weissbrod)

Teammates of Bayer Leverkusen forward Son Heung-min have deemed him worthy of the nickname “Sonaldo,” and Son sees no problem with that.

“I am delighted about this nickname since Cristiano Ronaldo is my role model,” Son told ESPN FC.

The 22-year-old striker is having his best season ever so far, already scoring 10 goals in 17 games setting him on pace to almost double his previous career-high from last season.

Son is known to be a versatile attacker with an ability to handle the ball equally well with both feet making him a threat wherever he is needed.

“I don’t care [what position] I play,” Son told Germany’s Hamburg Morgen Post. “The main thing is I’m in the game. I can play as a second striker or behind. What the coach says, I’ll do. I don’t have a favorite position. I’ll be anywhere and always on the throttle.”

This attitude makes Son an potential asset for any team, but for now, he is the South Korean gem of Bayer Leverkusen.