Son Heung-min thanks fitness coach Ventrone for staying by his side through

Gian Piero Ventrone, left, and Son Heung-min [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Walking off the pitch after scoring three goals in 13 minutes for a massive 6-2 victory on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min addressed fitness trainer Gian Piero Ventrone directly.

Saturday marked a major turning point for Son after a rocky start to the season. After being silent for the first six games of the Premier League season, Son was relegated to the bench for the first time against Leicester City.

In the 69th minute he was substituted onto the pitch and four minutes later he finally broke his dry streak with a hat-trick that very quickly silenced any of his critics and showed that he is still the same player who won the Golden Boot last season. .

Son Heung-min carries the match ball off the pitch after scoring a hat-trick in a Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Speaking after the game, Son gave a lot of credit to Ventrone, the notoriously tough trainer.

“Yeah, he’s a killer,” Son said. “He is a killer, but I have a very, very good relationship with Gian Piero. So obviously his English is not perfect, sometimes he comes with his phone and translates into English from Italian.

“It means a lot. Not so football-wise, I think that in terms of life he gives me so much advice, which I am very grateful for. He has been a great help, always giving me a big hug in difficult times and even in good times, he has always been by my side and with all the staff.

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“Even today, before we left the training ground, the hotel, we had a couple of minutes of nice conversation that made me feel very comfortable and very grateful.”

Ventrone, who has worked with Conte for years, is the mastermind behind the Italian technical team’s notoriously diabolical training routines, the same routines that sent players collapsing to the ground at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in July. .

But while his exercise regimen may be extreme, Ventrone remains popular with Tottenham players.

“It’s funny because normally when you have a trainer like that that makes you run bad, you start to dislike him, but we all absolutely love him,” Matt Doherty told reporters in Seoul in July.

BY JIM BULLEY [[email protected]]