The attacking midfielder, from Korea Republic, sits two goals behind the tournament’s leading scorers, Bienvenido Maranon of Ceres Negros and Yangon United’s Sekou Sylla, and one adrift of Persija Jakarta’s Marko Simic – a trio who have all been eliminated from the competition.
Indeed, his most likely challenger for the top scorer accolade, 4.25 SC’s An Il-bom, will line up against Home United in the Inter-Zone semi-finals on August 21. Like Song, the DPR Korea international has eight goals and is undoubtedly his side’s biggest threat in the current campaign.
Born in Incheon, Song moved to Singapore in his teenage years and made his Home United debut in 2012. But it wasn’t until 2017 that he made his first AFC Cup appearance, a 1-0 defeat to Myanmar side Yadanarbon, before he netted a brace in a 3-2 victory over Vietnam’s Than Quang Ninh.
Song scored another as his side ousted the Philippines’ Global Cebu in the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals, but Home United exited the competition to Ceres in the next round. A year later he would return in inspired form.
The 2018 campaign began with Song back in Myanmar, and this time Home United were on the right end of a 1-0 scoreline after the 24-year-old scored the only goal of the game against Shan United. The ensuing 1-1 draw with Ceres remains the only match in which the Korean has failed to find the back of the net.
An early strike in a surprise defeat away at Cambodia’s Boeung Ket FC was followed by another goal in a 6-0 win over the same opponents as Home United looked to close the gap on Group F pacesetters Ceres.
Song was again on target as Shan United were seen off 3-2 before the attacking midfielder’s penalty wrapped up a 2-0 victory against Ceres in Bacolod City as the Singaporean side topped the standings.
“Playing with him makes my job a little easier because we understand each other. We both know what our roles during a match,” said club captain Izzdin Shafiq, who opened the scoring in the Philippines.
“Sometimes we don’t even need to communicate verbally; simply just by observation, we already know what to expect from one another. He is a player with exceptional quality and technique.”
Persija awaited in the ASEAN Zonal semi-finals, where Song’s hot streak continued in the first leg as he burst forward half the length of the pitch and coolly slotted home to make it 2-0 after nine minutes as The Protectors eventually claimed a 3-2 home victory.
A daunting return fixture at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, packed to the rafters with a record AFC Cup attendance of more than 62,000, failed to daunt Song, whose neat angled header on the stroke of half-time put his side 3-1 up to kill the tie in a 6-3 aggregate win.
"Song is a complete player – both in attack and defensively. He is even getting better now; a lot more wise when making decisions on the pitch,” said Home United coach Aidil Sharin at the same stage of the 2017 campaign.
Without their injured talisman, Home United’s five-game winning run came to an end in the Philippines following a 1-1 draw with Ceres that left the second leg on a knife edge.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man as Song returned for the reverse fixture in at Jalan Besar Stadium, where he found space in the box with 15 minutes to play to score the decisive second as Home United avenged the loss of a year earlier to advance to the Inter-Zone semi-finals.
“I’m really happy to win this big game, especially (in helping) my team by scoring,” said Song after the victory over Ceres.
‘Actually I felt sorry for my teammates (in the previous match) because I couldn’t help them due to injury but today I finally could (contribute). So, I’m really happy with that and currently I just want to enjoy the moment.”
The run deep into the tournament evokes memories of the inaugural AFC Cup when Home United reached the semi-finals. With Song at his inspirational best, Sharin’s team will be confident they can eclipse the class of 2004 and become Singapore’s first continental champions.
