The ‘Korean Monster’ craze does not seem to cool down on the stage of Italy’s Serie A. In Naples, which is challenging to win the league for the first time in 33 years since the 1989-90 season, Kim Min-jae (27) is recognized as the nucleus of defensive tactics and a special defender representing the league.
Kim Min-jae started in the 2022-23 season Serie A round 23 away match against Sassuolo held at Mapei Stadium in Sassuolo,바카라 Italy on the 18th and played full-time, leading his team to a 2-0 victory.
Napoli, which added victory based on Kim Min-jae’s stable defensive leadership, recently reached 20 wins (2 draws and 1 loss) in the league by continuing the exciting march of 7 consecutive wins (5 consecutive wins in the regular league). They raised their season points to 62 points, maintaining a 15-point gap with Inter Milan (47 points) in second place. Local experts see the chances of Napoli winning as high as 95%, as the confidence of the attacking team has also increased based on overwhelming defense.
The data of Kim Min-jae in the Sassuolo match presented by Footmob, a soccer statistics media, was flawless. He completed 92 of 102 passes for a 90% success rate. 9 passes sent to the opponent’s dangerous area, 5 successful kicks, 6 interceptions, 100% ground ball duel win rate (3 out of 3 successes), 100% aerial duel win rate (6 out of 6 successes) Recorded. The rating given by the media was also very high at 8.1 points. Kim Min-jae, along with defensive partner Amir Rahmani (29), is leading a scoreless march in the last three games in a row.
The praise of the local media continued. Naples magazine summarized Napoli’s victory factors into 5 factors, and ranked ‘Kim Min-jae’s defensive ability’ as the fifth. The media praised, “Kim Min-jae is a wall that cannot be broken and cannot be jumped over,” and “Napoli’s competitiveness is crowned with Kim Min-jae’s defense.”
“I am calm and full of confidence no matter what opponent I meet,” he said. “Kim Min-jae is the protagonist of a crazy coup. He is undoubtedly a top 10 defender in the world for his performance.”
Corriere dello Sport said, “Kim Min-jae and Rahmani are a defensive duo that does not create dissonance. While receiving relatively little help from his teammates, he showed his excellent defense and achieved another scoreless game.” “Kim Min-jae and Rahmani are unparalleled as ‘Duo of the Year’. If they had participated in the Sanremo Music Festival, they would have presented a more organized performance than the singers.”
After the game, Napoli posted a picture of Kim Min-jae carrying two players at once, including teammates Mateo Politano and Giovanni Simeone, through the club’s social media. Politano posted the photo on his social media and commented, “We run after our dreams.” It attracted attention as a symbolic scene showing Napoli’s performance this season, with Min-jae Kim supporting the back with a strong defense from the rear, and the attacking team scoring multiple goals and taking victory and points.
Kim Min-jae is determined to continue his recent rise in European club competitions. On the 22nd, in the first leg of the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, which will be held at Deutsche Bank Parque in Frankfurt, Germany, it is scheduled to play an away game against Frankfurt.