Kim Min-jae (28), who started after a long time and showed an iron wall mode, was recognized for his performance.
Football statistics media ‘Huscoard Dotcom’ selected the ‘Team of the Migration’ in the 30th round of the German Bundesliga in the 2023-2024 season on the 22nd (Korea Standard Time).
In the 3-5-2 formation, Lee Ju’s team had Kim Min-jae at left center back. The rating is 7.56. Eric Dyer, who competes for the position in Munich, is excluded.
Robin Haak and Harry Kane were selected as the front two top players. The second line was taken by Pares Shaivi, Andrei Kramarich, Leon Goretzka, Thomas Müller, and Matisse Tell. Three-backs were held by Kim Min-jae, Christopher Klar, and Ozan Kabak. The top goalkeeper for this week is Marcel Schuen. Five Munich players were listed, nearly half of them.
Munich beat Union Berlin 5-1 in the away match of the 30th round at Stadion An der Alten Försterai in Berlin, Germany on the 21st (Korea time). Munich, which has won its second consecutive league championship, maintained its second place with 66 points (21 wins, 3 draws and 6 losses).
A welcome name stood out in the starting lineup on the day. Kim Min-jae started in pairs with Dyer after four official matches. Kim Min-jae’s last start was against Heidenheim on the 6th. In the meantime, Thomas Tuchel has put forward the Dyer-De Licht combination as the main center back. However, after a long time, De Licht was benched and Kim Min-jae took out his card.
Kim Min-jae perfectly lived up to Tuchel’s choice. He played for about 59 minutes until he was replaced in the 14th minute of the second half. Munich scored three goals while Kim Min-jae was playing and did not lose a single goal. It was regrettable that Kim Min-jae was replaced in the early and mid-second half as he was playing a stable defense.
In the 36th minute of the first half, when Berlin’s lobbing pass came in toward the front, Kim Min-jae instructed Dyer to point his hand behind him and fall back. In the 39th minute of the first half, Kim Min-jae and Dyer clapped hands after successfully defending. On this day, Dyer revealed weaknesses in speed, which was pointed out as a normal problem, such as missing the opponent’s striker.
According to the soccer statistics magazine Foot Mob, Kim’s pass success rate reached 98 percent (58/59). He also succeeded in both by trying two long passes. In addition, he recorded three attempts to clear the ball, two interceptions, three recoveries and one tackle. Both the ground ball and the aerial ball contest each had four attempts, and succeeded in three attempts.
The results were both positive and disappointing. First of all, 90 MIN, a soccer expert, said, “He was full of enthusiasm and sacrificed himself in all competitive situations. He displayed aggressive attitude as well as aggressiveness. He led the team in competition with the opponent team’s striker.” German TZ said, “He displayed solid defense by taking the starting pitcher’s opportunity. When Berlin counterattacks, he displayed confident defense and good speed.”
On the other hand, Germany’s Bild gave Kim Min-jae a rating of 3. The media gives the media a rating of 1 to 5, but the smaller the number, the better they performed. In the last match against Heidenheim, Bild gave Kim Min-jae the lowest score of 5, saying he was responsible for all three runs.
Kim Min-jae, who successfully entered Munich this season, played as a starting member of the team until the middle of the season, sparking controversy over excessive labor. However, he became a bench member in the second half of the year after losing out to “transfer student” Dyer.
Kim Min-jae was excluded from eight of the last 10 games after serving as a starting member all season. The 23rd round against Leipzig at the end of February was the beginning of his trip to the bench. Dyer-de Licht started and Kim Min-jae was put in at the end of the game and played for about nine minutes. He returned to the 24th round as a starting player with Freiburg, giving his first assist in the league, but was excluded from the starting lineup again in Lazio and the UEFA Champions League. In the 25th round with Mainz, he started on the bench and played for about 15 minutes as a substitute for Dyer in the 30th minute of the second half. He then remained on the bench for all 26 rounds with Darmstadt and 27 rounds with Dortmund.
He then returned to the starting lineup after five matches in the 28th round against Heidenheim, but showed regret. He lacked strong defense capability. He was responsible for all three goals lost. Notably, he made mistakes in the process of handling aerial balls. At the time of the equalizer, Kim Min-jae missed the mark man when the cross was coming up, and was pointed as the cause of the loss. Munich took the lead by scoring two goals in the first half, but lost 2-3 by conceding three goals in the face of defense collapse in the second half. It then sat out the first leg of Arsenal’s UCL quarterfinal and the match against Cologne. The second leg of Arsenal’s UCL quarterfinal against Cologne only lasted about 14 minutes as substitute players for 31 minutes in the second half.
Kim Min-jae’s frequent absence is the first time since his debut in Europe. Since moving from Guoan to Fenerbahce in 2021, he has been playing as a starter all the way to Naples and Munich, which is unfamiliar to the current situation.
However, Tuchel will likely continue to stick to the Dier-de-Licht line. “It was okay. You did a good job,” Tuchel told a press conference right after the match against Leipzig. “The opponent had two attacking midfielders and several speedy players. However, they defended well.” Tuchel continued, “The combination of the two is not unique. They also used this combination in the three consecutive matches against Union Berlin, Augsburg, and Mönchengladbach. De Licht and Dier can play well together.” The “three consecutive matches” Tuchel mentioned were when Kim Min-jae played at the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar. Kim was absent at the time, but this was the first time that Kim was not selected for no specific reason, such as disciplinary action or injury. As Tuchel himself stated, the reason for Kim’s exclusion from the starting lineup was a “rest.” “Kim Min-jae needed rest. He continued to play as a starter. As I was participating in the Asian Cup, I didn’t have a proper rest in the winter. That’s why I used De Licht and Dier.”
However, Tuchel continued to operate the Dier-De Licht combination in subsequent matches. After the 8-1 victory over Mainz, Tuchel said, “It is difficult for Kim Min-jae. He is qualified to play and is very good. But sometimes he is. Dier and De Licht won two difficult home matches.”
Before the match against Darmstadt, he openly praised Dyer and De Licht. Tuchel said, “They are winning by using combinations of the two. Dyer-de Licht shows good combinations. Not only that, but he also shows good combinations with other full-backs and midfielders. There is no reason to change it.” “Of course, Kim Min-jae and Dayo Upamecano are good, but Dyer-de Licht has shown better performances recently. There is a high possibility that they will continue to play as starters.”
It was expected that Dyer, who became the main player at the end of the season, would play an important role in Munich next season. The British “Bayern Strikes” predicted on the 5th, “What will happen to Dyer in Munich where Thomas Tuchel leaves? Next season, he will play an important role in Munich.”
“Dier had been suffering from injury for about a month after moving to Munich, and displayed sluggish performance. Things have changed, however. Whether he starts or replaces Dier, Tuchel is likely to actively utilize him as a center back,” he added.
Dyer will become an even more important resource for the next season, according to the media. “Dyer has shown poor performance with Kim Min-jae and Matthijs de Licht in the back four so far. However, Dyer has shown good performance mainly in the Tottenham Hotspur and the England national team,” Dyer said. “The new Munich coach could use the back three. Dyer, who has outstanding capabilities in both the back four and back three, could be a good option for the new coach.”
Rather than a defensive midfielder, Dyer is expected to display more competitive performance at center back. Media outlets reported that Dyer also played as a defensive midfielder for Tottenham. However, he has little chance of grabbing No. 6 spot over Aleksandr Pavlovic. For Dyer, a defensive midfielder is just an urgent option. “From a reasonable point of view, Dyer could be used as a competent defensive utility resource next season.”
“Dier fought for himself to earn time in Munich and this challenge deserves praise. The new coach will want to have a strong player like Dier in the squad,” he said, stressing that Dier will play an important role in Munich’s long season, where he has to challenge for every trophy next season.
In the field, Kim Min-jae’s exclusion from the starting lineup was also heavily addressed. Germany’s Kicker said last month, “Kim Min-jae is not guaranteed stability in the starting lineup. The central defense solution could be a Dyer-De Licht combination.” After the report was released, Kim Min-jae was on the bench against Lazio.
When Kim was absent from the match against Mainz last month, Bild also said, “Kim Min-jae, who has 50 million euros, has not been able to play. He could become a new loser under Tuchel,” adding, “He has found a new combination called De Licht-Dier. The two players have shown good performances in the past two games.” “Kim Min-jae started 25 out of 29 games this season. However, he suffered a slump after playing at the Asian Cup. He played in only nine minutes at the match against Leipzig and took the bench against Lazio. He only played for 15 minutes against Dier at the match against Mainz.”
Germany’s Avent Zeitung also praised Dyer, who beat Kim Min-jae to become the main player. The media outlet said last month, “Dyer, who came to Munich from Tottenham through the winter transfer market, has become one of the pillars of Munich’s defense. There were doubts about Dyer, but he proved to be a lucky man. He is in charge of the Munich central defense line along with De Licht.” 밤알바
When Kim Min-jae was excluded from the starting lineup, rumors spread that he would transfer to Real Madrid and Inter Milan, a prestigious Serie A club. “Inter Milan is keeping an eye on Kim Min-jae,” Italy’s Gazeta delo Sport said last month. The possibility of disciplinary action against center back Francesco Acerbi for alleged racist remarks has emerged. “I think of Kim Min-jae as the right person to fill the vacancy.” Regarding the rumor of a transfer to Real Madrid, Spain’s “Picha Hess” also predicted last month that “Munchen could use Kim Min-jae as a trade card to bring in Antonio Rudiger.”
In the meantime, Giuseppe Vergomi, a former Inter Milan defender, gave a stingy evaluation of Kim Min-jae, who was rumored to be transferred to the club. Vergomi is a legend and one-club man who played for Inter Milan for 20 years until 1999. According to Calcio Mercato, Kim Min-jae does not fit as a center back in the center position of Vaxri. Above all, he lacks charisma to lead the defense. Kim Min-jae will struggle on this occasion.”
“Of course, Kim Min-jae has reliable capabilities. As he played for Napoli, he knows Serie A well. However, he needs different abilities in that position. Inter Milan uses different tactics from Napoli in the final line. If I were them, I would not choose Kim for the center position of the back three. He said, “He is better suited to the right-back position, but we already have Bangjamain Pavar and Jan Aurel Bisek.”
However, Kim is committed to continuing his competition in Munich. Florian Flettenberg, a soccer expert who is well versed in Munich news, said on his social networking site on Wednesday, “Kim is not satisfied with the current situation, but he is not considering moving to the next summer. He wants to prove his true value in Munich. He also feels comfortable in Munich. The contract is valid until 2028.”
The German Sport Bild recently reported that although Kim Min-jae has been pushed out as a substitute, he feels stable in Munich. He is committed to regaining his starting position under the new coach next season. “He is not considering transferring to the next summer.”