On the eve of tonight's Champions League Final, Mauricio Pochettino was nothing if not relaxed as he faced the mass media for the final time before kick-off, but the Tottenham manager was determined to underline the unique pressure facing his players against Liverpool.
No-one in his squad will be feeling that more keenly than Heung-min Son. The South Korea forward is the most altruistic of elite sportsmen and he will be acutely aware that he is carrying the hopes of an entire nation at the Wanda Metropolitano this evening. You only need to visit Tottenham's training ground in Enfield, a 30-minute walk from the nearest railway station, to understand what Son means to his country. Tens of South Koreans wait for him by the entrance every day.
Even Victor Wanyama, who is aiming to follow his brother, former Inter Milan midfielder McDonald Mariga, in winning the competition, cannot count on the support of his entire homeland, because a percentage of Kenya is siding with Liverpool's Divock Origi, the Belgium international whose father Mike played for the African nation.
An estimated five million South Koreans – 10 percent of the population – will wake-up or stay-up for the 4am kick-off and a massive big-screen event has been organised in the heart of the Seoul.
Liverpool are one of the most popular clubs in the country but so much of the support will be for Son, a national figurehead who transcends partisanship.
"I’m really grateful for every single bit of support and every single message I receive,” he has said. “It’s not that easy [to get up at 4am]."
Pochettino will not tell his players until a few hours before kick-off who is in the starting XI and the sheer level and effort of support for Son would make it particularly crushing if he is sacrificed from the starting XI for fit-again Harry Kane and the semi-final hero Lucas Moura.
The prospect seems an unlikely given the season Son has had, and his journey to Madrid is all the more intriguing because of what could have been.
In summer of 2016, Pochettino tried to sign Sadio Mane from his former club Southampton but – in a clear demonstration of the difference between the two clubs – Liverpool could offer the Senegalese more money and better terms.
Around the same time, Son knocked on Pochettino’s door and asked to be allowed to leave Spurs after a difficult maiden season in England. He wanted to return to Germany. Had Spurs signed Mane, Pochettino might easily have granted Son’s request but the Argentine said no.
Mane and Son are both expected to start on the left, where their directness and speed should trouble the respective right-backs, expected to be England internationals Kieran Trippier and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who can both be reasonable considered the weak defensive link in the two back fours. The speedy wingers could be decisive in deciding the contest.
Of all the sliding doors moments that helped Son to this stage, Mane joining Liverpool has to be considered one of the most significant, even if the winger has proved he would have been a fine addition to Pochettino’s armoury. For Son, lifting the European Cup would be a remarkable at the end of a campaign which began with the prospect of mandatory conscription still weighing heavy on his shoulders.
South Korean’s group-stage exit at the World Cup, despite a famous win over holders Germany, was not enough to grant Son and his teammates a reprieve and he travelled to the Asian Games needing a Gold Medal to avoid a service.
In the searing heat of Indonesia he delivered with a string of selfless performances to send his homeland wild and the early risers will be hoping for the same outcome in Madrid tonight.
