'The monster is back' Kim Min-jae washed up his poor performance in the opening game'Fantasy Defense + Long Pass' and ranked 2nd in the team+'Reborn' Praise

Sep 02, 2024

'monster'Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) is back. He escaped a shocking opening error and succeeded in rebounding. Bayern Munich won 2-0 in the second round of the Bundesliga against SC Freiburg in the 2024-2025 season at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on the 2nd (Korea time). Bayern, which had a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the opening match against Wolfsburg, won two consecutive games with the victory. Kim Min-jae found his old self by showing his best performance in both defense and Buildham. AP Yonhap News

'Monster'Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich) is back.

He escaped a shocking opening error and succeeded in rebounding. Bayern Munich won 2-0 in the second round of the Bundesliga against SC Freiburg in the 2024-2025 season at Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on the 2nd (Korea time). Bayern, which had a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the opening match against Wolfsburg, won two consecutive games with the victory.

The eyes were on Kim Min-jae as well. Kim Min-jae was disappointed in the last Wolfsburg match. There was no gap in Kim Min-jae's performance in the first half. Kim Min-jae showed a good performance by not falling behind at all in the competition with Wolfsburg players. The trend, which had been good since the preseason, continued.However, as the team's defense faltered overall in the second half, Kim Min-jae also lost his sense of stability.

Bayern exposed the back space when the defense line collapsed 20 seconds into the second half, and Shasha Boy conceded a penalty in the process to allow an equalizer. Kim Min-jae also made a mistake in the aftermath of the early loss. In the 10th minute of the second half, Kim Min-jae received the ball during a normal rear build-up. At this time, Patrik Beamer tried to press Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae attempted a back pass from Manuel Neuer, but Beamer judged it in advance and intercepted it. Kim Min-jae followed at full speed, but it was a difference that he could not cope with.

Beamer gave it to Robro Mayer in front of the goal, and Mayer scored and Wolfsburg succeeded in turning the tables. Unfortunately, it was a fatal mistake by Kim Min-jae, who cannot be excused. Kim Min-jae finished the game in the 36th minute of the second half when he was replaced by Eric Dier. Fans are also disappointed as Kim Min-jae was not good in the second half of last season from the opening game of the Bundesliga.

It was not like Kim Min-jae's performance. The pass success rate was only 79%, and the long pass succeeded only once in three attempts. The contest was also successful in four attempts eight times. The rating was also the lowest. The only comfort was that the team won 3-2 with a dramatic goal.

After the game, criticism poured out against Kim Min-jae. Various German media gave Kim Min-jae the lowest rating and strongly criticized him. Fans pushed even harder. Some fans commented on the rating article saying, `Kim Min-jae should not be considered well. He is for the sale of Asian uniforms." "We need to send him to the second team. need a new recruitment", "The conclusion that Tuchel excluded Upamecano and Kim Min-jae was correct..." he criticized.

It was disappointing, but internally, it was united for Kim Min-jae. Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said, `I don't want to comment on Kim Min-jae's mistakes. I only want to talk about the team's handling. It was really nice to see that. Everyone responded well"and did not point out Kim Min-jae's mistake. Neuer, the captain and key player, also "Mistakes are part of the game. It's a mistake I don't usually make and I've never seen it in a previous game. It was a careless mistake that was heavily punished. I saw exactly what happened to the mistake. But anyone can make that mistake. Mistakes made against Wolfsburg could be a warning for the future"and covered Kim Min-jae's mistake.

However, criticism against Kim Min-jae has intensified. Bayern senior and legend Lothar Mateus strongly criticized Kim Min-jae. "It is impossible to play like Kim Min-jae did in Naples," he said in a column on Sky Sports in Germany. Bayern are showing a completely different way to what Napoli did in defence. I don't want to hurt Kim Min-jae's feelings, but there is no stable, clear, and fast pass to the level needed for Kim Min-jae. "Kim Min-jae cannot show a good performance in Bayern."

Matheus continued to criticize Kim Min-jae. He said "I didn't like that about Kim Min-jae from the beginning. There is no sense of stability when Kim Min-jae has the ball. That's not the kind of play I expect at the highest level and I can't do that at Bayern. Kim Min-jae doesn't seem to have the combat power he had in his Napoli days"I don't trust Kim Min-jae anymore," he said. Then "Now the defense is Bayern's Achilles heel. All Bayern centre-backs care about themselves. In the locker room, mistakes by Kim Min-jae and Upamecano are also becoming an issue. If Matthijs de Ligt hadn't been sold, Bayern wouldn't have had a headache now. Currently, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen's central defenders are more stable than Bayern's central defenders", he pointed out.

The reason why Kim Min-jae was sluggish was revealed. It was because of injuries. Kim Min-jae participated in the game with an injury. Germany's TZ announced on the 27th that `Kim Min-jae went on an away trip to Wolfsburg, enduring a muscle injury.' Victor Catalina, a reporter working for Germany's AZ, said on his personal social media, "Today, Kim Min-jae did not warm up with the team" he said. The condition was not serious, but it was clear that he was not in normal condition. Kim Min-jae immediately went to individual training and expressed his strong will to return.

However, criticism continued against Kim Min-jae. Rumors have emerged that Mats Hummels has been recruited. Frankfurter Neuefresse said 'Bayern's Kim Min-jae and Upamecano were too unstable to be a risk factor again in the Bundesliga opener. Bayern's leadership must have noticed this as well It is an open secret that Bayern is discussing strengthening its defense. Therefore, Bayern is likely to move the transfer market actively again for a few days. Hummels said his recent move to Sociedad was scuppered, and he is a cheaper alternative than candidates like Ta.

Prospects poured in that he would be excluded from the starting lineup. Germany's Bild predicted a change in the defensive line, saying 'Kompany faced a shaky defense ahead of the home game?' Kim Minjae is Eric Dyer again He predicted that he would work with Upamecano in the central defense. The left fullback also expected to change from Alfonso Davis to Rafael Guerreiro. Kicker also mentioned the possibility of Kim Min-jae being excluded from the starting lineup. The kicker said, `Kim Min-jae has to be healthy, but he cannot be guaranteed to start after the nightmarish game against Wolfsburg. It is still unclear who Compini will choose. Kompany may choose Dyer rather than Kim Min-jae, he predicted.

However, Kompany's choice was again Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae worked with Upamecano again in the center. Harry Kane was one-top, while Matisse Tell, Jamal Musiala, Michael Olise and Sergi Gnabry were in the second line. Aleksandar Pavlovic is in the third term. The four backs were composed by Rafael Guerreiro, Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, and Joshua Kim Mi-hi. The goalkeeper's gloves were worn by Manuel Neuer.

Kim Min-jae showed light physical movement in the defense. He led the defense with active movements and defended Bayern's defense. In the middle of the second half, Kim Min-jae's performance in Freiburg's offensive was brilliant. He blocked the opponent's attack with his whole body. Kim Min-jae's performance did not change despite the change of partner from Upamecano to Leon Goretzka.

In terms of build-ups, he successfully sprayed long passes several times, changing the flow. There have been several scenes of Bayern creating chances through Kim Min-jae's long pass shown in the preseason. Kim Min-jae was the best in two categories with 134 ball touches and 115 passes. It was successful five times with a 95% pass success rate, a successful dribble attempt, and a 71% win rate for aerial ball competition. He left a defensive record in the first inning of ball stealing and five times of clearing. It was second to Gnabry in both teams with a 7.5 rating on the basis of the football statistics company 'Huscored'. It also received the third highest rating after Kane, who scored the winning goal with a 7.7 rating, and Gnabry, who helped with the additional goal.

Germany's Bavarian Football also gave Kim Min-jae the title of `Kaiser (Emperor)' and `Kim Min-jae seems to be a born-again player from his mistake-ridden performance. He showed that power, speed and pass are all powerful. He also heroically blocked a shot from the centre of the Bayern box. He praised his performance, saying that his dramatic recovery despite his poor temper proved not only his physical strength but also his mental strength.

However, other media remained lukewarm. The evaluation of Germany 'Built' was poor. Bild gave Kim a rating of four. Three other defenders were given three points. The media gives a rating of 1-5 points, which means that the smaller the number, the better. However, Kim Min-jae scored four points, not three points. Bild was a medium that gave an unusually harsh evaluation even when Kim Min-jae did well last season.

Other media were similar. Germany's SPOX gave a rating of 3 points, which is a level of compliance within the team, but 'Kim Min-jae did not make serious mistakes, and was generally cautious and dedicated. But sometimes he was too committed when he was hastily defending against his opponent at the center line. Germany's Avent Zeitung gave Kim Min-jae four points, the lowest rating in the team, 'There were some mistakes, but he remained in the starting lineup. It is similar to Upamecano, who has problems starting the game.

Sport in Germany also caused tension in Kim Min-jae at times with a rating of 3 points. He acted irregularly in relation to the ball and revealed a lack of communication with colleagues. However, over time, he won several contests', and RAN also showed some anxiety, along with an average rating of 3 points, but made no mistake. He showed good blocking after the half-time break against a much stronger team and improved performance'I evaluated it.

First, Kim Min-jae succeeded in changing the voice of concern towards him. All that's left is to maintain this skill consistently. If one game is sluggish, the evaluation can change at any time.

Bayern, meanwhile, took the lead in the 38th minute with Kane's penalty goal. Kane's header hit the opponent's defender's hand and a penalty was declared, which Kane neatly succeeded. It was Kane's first goal of the season, who became the league's top scorer with 36 goals last season. In the 33rd minute of the second half, veteran goaltender Müller scored an additional goal. When Gnabry crossed diagonally from the right, Müller put the ball in front of his left foot with his right foot trapping. Müller, who completely destroyed the opponent's defense with one move, scored with his left foot. Müller set a new record for the most players in the club, beating goalkeeper Jeff Meyer, who played from 1962 to 1980, with 710 official games, and even scored a goal to celebrate. It was Müller's 150th career Bundesliga goal.

vanbasten@sportschosun.com