McGinn feels South Korea is football obsessed

NIALL McGinn can offer insight to his Northern Ireland colleagues about South Korea’s football obsession, having gorged on chocolates sent to Ki Sung-yueng and witnessed the Son Heung-min highlight reels.

It was in the Celtic dressing-room McGinn shared with Ki when he first became aware of the level of fandom in the South Korean’s home country.

“It was crazy,” said McGinn, who played for Celtic between 2009 and 2012 and who will miss Northern Ireland’s meeting with South Korea tomorrow due to injury.

“Most mornings the amount of fan mail coming in for him was just incredible. He had his own space in the corner and he was maybe taking up three spaces with the amount of fan mail.

“There were times when we were just eating South Korean chocolate and sweets that people were sending. It just brought you back a bit to realise how big these players are in their own countries.”

Ki’s status as his country’s chief superstar has been lost in recent years thanks to Son’s rise to prominence, first in Germany and now with Tottenham.

McGinn, who spent a spell in Son’s native land with Gwangju last year before returning to Aberdeen, was staggered by the treatment the Spurs forward receives.

“Once Tottenham are playing, all the football channels are straight on to Son,” McGinn added.

“Even the half-time analysis — over here you have Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, sitting and talking about different situations happening in the game, but over there it’s more or less as if it’s every time Son touches the ball in the first half.”