Kim Min-jae remains a force to be reckoned with amid controversy.
socre90, a soccer content production company, released its best 11 for the 2023/24 German Bundesliga season based on performances so far on Nov. 16.
Kim Min-jae’s name is prominent. He was named alongside Bayern Munich teammates Harry Kane and Leroy Sane.
Kim broke into the European scene when he left Jeonbuk Hyundai for Beijing Guoan and then Fenerbahçe in Turkkiye. He made his mark with his presence.
His next move was to Napoli, and it’s no surprise, as he was a revelation the previous season, putting in some incredible performances.
Kim dominated the Italian scene last season with Napoli as a monster defender. He made a name for himself around the world with some incredible performances.
Most notably, he won the Italian Serie A’s best defense award after helping Napoli reach the UCL quarterfinals and win their first league title in 33 years.
For Kim, Napoli and the Italian stage were narrow. Bayern Munich were lusting after him and paid a record transfer fee for an Asian player to secure his signature.
He has since established himself as a key defender for the Bavarians and is on track to make the Bundesliga and big club transition.
However, there were some doubters.
“After joining the Bavarians from Napoli for €50 million this summer, Kim has had to adapt to life in Munich and the Bundesliga,” said Germany’s Sky Sports. So far, he hasn’t been one of the best performers on the pitch.”
German soccer legend Lothar Matthaeus recently criticized Kim’s performance.
“He would be a great addition. He was at his best at Napoli. I think he will be good at Bayern Munich,” Mateus said when he joined the club.
However, he later added: “He’s not playing as well as we expected. He needs to get used to the Bundesliga. He doesn’t have the great form he had in Italy. He hasn’t shown what I expected from him.”
“Harry Kane has proven it, but Kim Min-jae has hardly shown that he is worth his €50 million transfer fee so far,” said the German outlet Kicker.
Arguably, Kim has been a first-choice defender for Bayern Munich and is developing into one of the best center backs in the world.
However, he has also been criticized for playing too many games. 캡틴토토
In the 11th round of the 2023/24 German Bundesliga season against Heidenheim, Kim played full time. It was the 14th game in a row.
He has been the mainstay of Bayern Munich’s defense since the injuries to Dayo Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt.
There’s been some controversy over his workload as he’s single-handedly responsible for Bayern Munich’s defense. It’s been pointed out that he’s tired and doesn’t perform as well as he should.
Bayern Munich have spoken out about the controversy surrounding Kim Min-jae.
“It’s natural for Kim to lose focus after a tough schedule, playing over 90 minutes every game, because he’s only human,” said Bayern Munich president Christian Pruyne.
Thomas Tuchel added: “At the back, Kim made a clear mistake and it happened with a bad play. It’s not the time to criticize him, it’s true that he played too much,” said Thomas Tuchel.
German media outlet Sport1 reported on Thursday, “Bayern Munich has only three central defenders. Kim Min-jae is the only one who plays consistently. He has played 959 out of 990 minutes this season. He also played full-time in all four Champions League matches.” The report highlighted his recent performances.
“We need to think about the right time to give him a break. Even monsters get tired,” he said, adding that he was concerned about overworking him.
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