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Kim Min-jae overcame all the criticism against him and returned to his original form.
The International Sports Research Institute (CIES) under the International Football Federation (FIFA) on the 11th (Korea time) released the rankings of center backs who have shown the best performance so far this season. Several players who have been performing well this season were listed on the rankings, which were scored and released through CIES' own standards.
The main character of the first place was surprisingly Kim Min-jae. Kim Min-jae, who scored a total of 91.1 points, was at the top of the ranking table. Since the score is based on the overall performance of the centerback, it is safe to judge that Kim Min-jae's performance this season was the best among the five European league centerbacks.
Under Kim Min-jae, Manchester City defender Díaz ranked second (89.7 points), Liverpool defender duo Ibrahima Konate ranked third (89.5 points), and Virgil van Dijk ranked fourth (89.4 points). Kim Min-jae's partner Dayo Upamecano ranked sixth with 88.9 points. In addition, Manuel Akanji (88.2 points), Inigo Martinez (88.2 points), Willie Orban (87.1 points), and Marton Duron (87.0 points) were included in the rankings.
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As for Kim Min-jae, it can be said to be evidence of his performance that completely refutes the criticism he heard from the second half of last season to the beginning of this season.
Kim Min-jae is again playing as the main center back under Bang Sang Kompany this season. It's different from what I felt sorry for last season. Last season, Kim Min-jae had a disappointing performance in the second half, but in the first half, he played almost without a break to fill the vacancy without Dayot Upamecano and Matthias Derricht, taking charge of bad things. It is inevitable due to injuries to teammates, but Kim Min-jae also had a difficult time, showing signs of exhaustion during the league game due to continued full-time digestion. In the end, he had to keep the bench behind Eric Dier at the end of the season along with a disappointing slump in the second half.
When Matthias Diricht left the team this summer, fans were concerned. Until the two players were sluggish against Wolfsburg in the opening game, these concerns seemed to become a reality.
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There was a steady stream of criticism. Last season, Bayern legend Lothar Mateus turned to Kim Min-jae and said, `Kim Min-jae is not at Bayern level"It will be difficult to show who you were during your Napoli days. It is a factor of instability in Bayern," he criticized, and German media Bild consistently gave disappointing ratings and evaluations even in games where Kim Min-jae played.
However, Matheus also turned his mind to Kim Min-jae's recent performance. He added "Bayern defenders have recovered their confidence. Center backs take risks, too. Kim Min-jae and Dayo Upamecano, who have been criticized for the past year, both returned with confidence. If you watch Kim Min-jae's game, you can see why he was the best defender in Italy's Serie A two years ago," he said in compliments.
Shocking claims were also made. Michael LaHood, a former professional at CBS Sports, turned to Kim Min-jae and said, `Kim Min-jae should stop being aggressive, be more conservative, and remember where Upamecano's strengths lie. Kim Min-jae should be a calming factor, and Upamecano should be connected to other defenses. Bayern needs to find a new centre-back. We need to recruit him right away. If you play and defend this way, you'll be completely ruined" he also criticized.
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Kim Min-jae reversed this concern. He continued to start and showed excellent defense. This season, Kim Min-jae's forward timing is being accurately instructed under Kompany, and when Kim Min-jae advances, both fullbacks and Upamecano cover the back space to form a secondary cordon. As Kim Min-jae's advance plays the primary defense, the opponent's attack is cut off from the center and immediately leads to Bayern's counterattack.
Recently, they even set a milestone. Kim Min-jae was listed as the first player to record a 100% success rate by trying to pass more than 103 times during the game against Benfica on the 7th. Kim Min-jae is also the player who recorded the most forward passes (398 times) this season in the five major European leagues. Through this ranking, he has overcome all the forced criticism and is once again able to stand tall as the world's best center back.
digh1229@sportschosun.com
