Kim Min-jae Goes Back to Italy? Disciplinary Blank for Racism, "Dream to Reinforce Inter Milan's Defense"
Italian media La Gazeta delo Sport said on the 22nd, "The dream of reinforcing Inter Milan's defense is Kim Min-jae."
The reason why the news that Inter Milan is interested in Kim Min-jae is deeply related to Francesco Acerbi's situation.
Acervi has been in charge of Inter Milan's defense with his solid performance this season. However, he is facing disciplinary action due to racism.
Achervi is accused of making racist remarks to opposing defender João de Giuse in a match against Napoli on the 18th.
Acervi is denying it, but if he is found guilty, he could face a suspension of at least 10 games.
Inter Milan seems to be interested in Kim Min-jae, who is unstable in his position in Bayern Munich. He seems to be fascinated by the part where he has finished adapting to the Italian stage.
Kim Min-jae made an appearance on the professional stage through Jeonbuk Hyundai. He displayed tremendous presence that was not like a rookie, and moved to Fenerbahce in Turkiye via Beijing Guoan, where he entered the European stage.
Kim Min-jae did not need to adapt to the European stage. He showed off his presence right after joining the team, making a good impression and establishing himself as a key resource.
Napoli, who noticed the possibility of Kim Min-jae, moved and promised to accompany him in July 2022.
Kim Min-jae's presence was also effective in Naples. He dominated the Italian stage by displaying his presence as a monster defender. He made his presence known through amazing performances.
In particular, after helping Napoli advance to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and win Serie A for the first time in 33 years, it won the league's best defensive award, raising its stock price.
Based on his performance in Naples, Kim Min-jae was also listed in the 30 finalists for the Ballon d'Or, which is given to the world's best player.
Kim Min-jae's stock price rise did not stop there.
Global sports media 'ESPN' recently had a time to point out the best players of all ages, including Kim Min-jae.
Along with Kim Min-jae, ultra-luxury players such as Lionel Messi, Kevin De Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah, Bruno Fernandes, Erling Holland and Kylian Mbappe were mentioned.
Kim Min-jae was evaluated as showing off his presence as he was selected as the best player at the age of 26.
ESPN said, "I'm in my second season in the top five big leagues. Am I overestimating my performance in Napoli?"
"Kim Min-jae has the potential to become the world's best center back over the next five years," he said, acknowledging his potential.
Kim Min-jae did not leave him alone. He was connected to a big club every day. Bayern Munich was the most active.
Bayern Munich actively sent a love call and invested the highest transfer fee in Asia to confirm the recruitment of Kim Min-jae in the summer of 2023.
Kim Min-javen was selected as the best 11 as he showed off his tremendous performance even though it was his Bundesliga debut season.
Kim Min-jae was also named in the Langliste in the first half of the 2023/24 season selected by German media Kicker.
Langliste is a grade in which Germany's leading media "Kicker" evaluates the performance of German Bundesliga players and German national players during the period.
Langliste is divided into Weltklasse (World Class), Internationale Klasse (International Class), and Nationale Klasse (National Class).
While Kim Min-jae plays a pivotal role in Bayern Munich, there is also controversy over overwork. Some pointed out that he did not show proper performance as he was exhausted.
Kim Min-jae was in charge of Bayern Munich's defense without a break due to the injuries of Upamecano and De Ligt.
Bayern Munich opened up about the controversy over Kim Min-jae's abuse.
"It is natural that Kim Min-jae plays for more than 90 minutes in every game and loses concentration due to his tough schedule. That is inevitable because he is also a human being," said Christian Prueint, head of Bayern Munich.
There were also doubts about Kim Min-jae's transfer to Bayern Munich.
"Kim Min-jae, who moved from Naples to Munich for 50 million euros this summer, needs to adapt to Munich and the Bundesliga. So far, Kim Min-jae has never played his best on the field," Germany's "Sky Sports" also pointed out.
German soccer legend Lothar Mateusz said, "Kim Min-jae will be a great help. He showed the best performance in Naples. He will also show good performance in Bayern Munich," without hiding expectations when he joined the team.
However, he also criticized, "Kim Min-jae is not performing as well as we expected. You have to get used to the German Bundesliga. He has not had a great performance in Italy. He has not shown what I expected."
Kim Min-jae shook off concerns with his performance regardless. As he became a key defender of Bayern Munich, he felt the atmosphere of successful soft landing of Bundesliga and big clubs.
However, Kim Min-jae's mood has been unusual recently. The atmosphere of losing ground in the selection competition is being felt. He started on the bench for three consecutive games.
Kim Min-jae's position was filled by Dyer, a freshman who left Tottenham Hotspur and joined ahead of this season. As he showed an unexpectedly stable defense when he took the opportunity, he gradually expanded his position, raising concerns that Kim Min-jae might be losing ground.
Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel said, "It's really difficult for Kim Min-jae. He deserves to start, he's a very good player. But this can happen sometimes. Dier and Matthijs de Licht had two difficult home games, and this time it was the same."
German media 'Bild' mentioned Kim Min-jae's name, saying, "New losers have emerged under Tuchel."
"Kim Min-jae was Tuchel's favorite player. However, he started three of the past four games on the bench," he added.
At the same time, "Coach Tuchel spent 50 million euros and even spoke on the phone several times to recruit Kim Min-jae.
BY: 스포츠토토