Участник:"Who Suspected the Monster", the Bundesliga's most pass "new record", and the 7th round best 11 "swept"
Bayern won 3-0 in the seventh round of the German Bundesliga in the 2023-2024 season against SC Freiburg at the Illianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on the 9th (Korea time) with Kingsley Coman's multi-goal and Leroy Sane's score. With the victory, Bayern continued its unbeaten run after the opening. Bayern, which added three more points, rose to third place after Leverkusen (19 points) and Stuttgart (18 points). Freiburg dropped to ninth place with 10 points.
Kim Min-jae started the day and played full time again to lead the team to a scoreless victory. Kim Min-jae recorded a 92% pass success rate, one key pass, two long passes, three interceptions, 10 recoveries, and a 100% aerial ball rate in 90 minutes. He also scored 8.3 points, ranking third in the team after Komang (9.2) and Sane (8.5). Sofa Score also gave the highest rating of 7.8 points in the defense. Alfonso Davis scored 7.5 points, and Nusair Mazrawi and Upamecano scored 7.3. In particular, Kim Min-jae blocked Freiburg winger Maximilian Philippe's breakthrough in the box in the third minute of the second half with a strong physical fight, inducing a standing ovation from Bayern fans. Kim Min-jae made clear his position as a key defender in the team by clearly changing the mood toward him with the play.
It was the pass record that I should pay attention to. According to Opta, Kim Min-jae recorded the most passes in a single Bundesliga game this season. Kim Min-jae made a whopping 171 passes against Freiburg. Opta said, "It is the most record since Leverkusen's Aleksandar Dragovic scored 178 times against Dusseldorf in February 2019."
The Bavarian leadership was also impressed. On the 10th, Germany's SPOEX highly praised Bayern's director Christophe Proint, saying, "Kim Min-jae is getting better as he goes by." Kim Min-jae's passing ability is truly overwhelming. On top of that, he was praised, saying, "Defensive ability is basically installed." Freud then said, "Kim Min-jae has been an outstanding player since he was recruited. "He's getting better and better," he said. "He's a player who focuses entirely on soccer and training, especially."
Due to this performance, Kim Min-jae was named the best 11 in the 7th round of the Bundesliga by various media. German media 90min included Kim Min-jae in the defense along with Grimaldo (Leverkusen), Schlotterbeck (Dortmund), and Honorat (Mönchengladbach). The best 11 strikers were Zane (Bayern Munich), Girassi (Stuttgart), and Coman (Bayern Munich), while the midfielders were Hoffman (Leverkusen), Palacios (Leverkusen), and Freumel (Hofenheim). Riemann (Bochum) was selected as the goalkeeper.
He was also included in the best 11 in the seventh round of the Bundesliga selected by German kicker. Along with Kim Min-jae, Kiker selected Girash, Jana, Hoffman, Coman, Grimaldo, Schlotterbeck, Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Larsson (FFC Frankfurt), and Birz (Bayerkusen) as the best 11 in the seventh round of the Bundesliga. Soccer statistics website "Huscoed Dotcom" also ranked Kim Min-jae as the best 11 in the round with the highest rating among defense teams with 7.93 points.
Following his strong performance in the European Champions League match against Copenhagen, Kim Min-jae showed good performance until the game, completely changing the mood toward him. Kim Min-jae has been in a crisis recently. Bayern had a 2-2 draw with Leipzig in the sixth round of the German Bundesliga in the 2023-2024 season at Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, Germany on the 1st. Bayern continued its six-game unbeaten run after the opening with a draw on the day, but fell to third place. Bayern struggled with its defense shaking on the day. Bayern, which gave up the first goal to Royce Oppenda in the 20th minute of the first half, also allowed Castello Rukeva to score six minutes later. Harry Kane's penalty chase goal in the 12th minute of the second half and Leroy Zane's equalizer in the 25th minute managed to draw.
Kim Minjae will be here this day I worked with Upamecano. He played full time in 90 minutes and recorded two tackles, two clearances and two interceptions. The pass success rate also hit 92 percent. European soccer statistics site Huskored Dotcom gave Kim Min-jae a 6.5 rating. Another statistical media, Footmob, had a rating of 7.3. Kim Min-jae recorded 11 recoveries, the most in the game.
After the game, the fire started on Kim Min-jae. It was because of the loss scene. In the scene where he gave up the first goal to Oppenda, Kim Min-jae followed him to the end and tried to block it, but the shot was deflected off his foot and sucked into the net. Sven Ulreich's miss was huge in the second run. Kim Min-jae was surprised by Ulaihi's miss that missed the ball, but it was after the opponent had already shot. Kim Min-jae raised his hands in regret.
Coach Thomas Tuchel said, "It took time to execute the plan and find space. There were too many mistakes. The game was too slow and static. There was also a sloppy defense. Still, it got better in the second half. Mental strength, speed of play, and determination have improved. That's why we deserved to come back," he said. German kicker said, "Coach Tuchel directly criticized Munich's defensive duo, Kim Min-jae and Upamecano, in the situation of losing the first point." According to the media, Tuchel said, "Kim Min-jae had no reason to go one-on-one. Upamecano reportedly criticized the two, saying, "Refusing to protect Kim Min-jae, he went out and gave up space."
Under these circumstances, "German Legend" Rotair Mateus also joined. Matheus is a legend for the Bayern and German national teams. Through Sky Sports, he criticized, "Kim Min-jae is not yet close to what we expected, and it is Bayern's anxiety factor." "He has to get used to the Bundesliga. I'm not saying Kim Min-jae is bad, but considering his achievements in Italy, he hasn't met my expectations for him yet.
This is an unusual criticism considering that Matheus was pro-Kim Min-jae. He said in a personal column in June, before Kim Min-jae confirmed his trip to Bayern, "Kim Min-jae will be a really good transfer." Matheus said, 'Kim Min-jae is a really good transfer. He had a fantastic season at Napoli and for that reason alone he would be very suitable for Bayern.' Kim Min-jae, who will join Bayern instead of Luca Hernandez, expected to perform well.
Kim Min-jae, who wore a Bayern uniform for 50 million euros in July, the third-highest amount in the club's history, drew expectations by increasing his playing time from the pre-season despite the aftermath of military training. Kim Min-jae, who made his official debut as a substitute in the Super Cup (0-3 loss) against Leipzig, has been playing as an undisputed center back since the league opened. Kim Min-jae, who played 67 minutes as a starter in the opening game against Werder Bremen (4-0 win), then played 80 minutes in the home opening game (3-1 win) against Augsburg. He then played full-time for the first time since joining Bayern in the third round (2-1 win) against Mönchengladbach. Kim Min-jae gradually increased his playing time and seemed to improve his condition.
Kim Min-jae, who played two consecutive A matches against Wales and Saudi Arabia in Europe, then transformed into a Bavarian monster again. Kim Min-jae, who played all 90 minutes against Leverkusen (2-2 draw), which was considered a watershed in the early competition, also played full time in the first European Champions League group match against Manchester United (4-3 wins) during the week, establishing himself as a clear starting player. Kim Min-jae is playing outstandingly every game. Especially in the match against Manchester United, he even earned the title of 'Kaiser' in a good appearance. Kaiser is the nickname of Franz Beckenbauer, an absolute legend of Bayern. As such, it seemed to be positioned as the core of the clear defense.
Kim Min-jae also showed great performance against Bochum. Kim Min-jae played full time and proved his solid defense, including 76 pass successes, 94% pass success rate, and 10 clearings. He showed unwavering defense while changing his partner to Matthijs de Licht and Upamecano. Bayern played its best game under Tuchel and won a great 7-0 victory. Kim Min-jae gave a thumbs up on his performance. However, there are concerns about Kim Min-jae due to the sluggish match against Leipzig.
Last season Bayern managed to win the league title. The team has been refurbished. The first place I touched was the central defense. Last season, Bayern was centered on De Licht, with Upamecano and Benjamin Pavard at the center. It wasn't very satisfactory. Hernandez suffered from frequent injuries. Bayern wanted to clean up Hernandez and Pavard and bring in new defenders. That was Kim Min-jae. Bayern was eager to recruit Kim Min-jae. According to Bild, Tuchel even reportedly made a video call with Kim Min-jae. Coach Tuchel, who worked with Koo Ja-cheol and Park Joo-ho, reportedly appealed this fact. Bayern, which is full of big stars, embraced Kim Min-jae with the highest level of treatment.
Coach Tuchel was happy like a child when he met with Kim Min-jae. Tuchel is known to have kept an eye on Kim Min-jae since his time at Chelsea. When he saw Kim Min-jae at the first meeting, he approached him and hugged him with a big smile. Coach Tuchel greeted Kim Min-jae hand in hand and even stroked his cheek. You can see how much you wanted Kim Min-jae. Tuchel said, "It's nice to meet you. I'm really glad. You're gonna do a great job. I'm sure," he said. He then praised Kim Min-jae whenever he had the opportunity.
"Kim Min-jae is a real man," Tuchel said. "I'm really happy to be here," he praised, "He's tall and fast." I had a few video calls with Kim Min-jae. He's already ready," he said. "I love him," he continued. "He's so calm and right. His expression, mental, game, and pass are not too loose, not too high, and not unusual. This is exactly what I want in the build-up, so it's so good," he said. "It's really good because it's what I want from Kim Min-jae. His defense is very brave and quick. "I'm helping the team, and Kim Min-jae is always looking for a place to help over his shoulder," he praised.
However, the atmosphere seems to be changing due to the disappointing game. The German media, which praised Kim Min-jae, also responded similarly. For Bayern, Kim Min-jae's performance is very important. Bayern is desperate for a treble this season, and the role of defense is important. Boateng, who is likely to return to the team with De Licht missing due to a knee injury before Bochum, is also said to be unable to play immediately. In the case of Dericht, the knee injury is still painful, and it is known that it is difficult to move the knee properly.
For the time being, he should play as a combination of Kim Min-jae and Upamecano. Kim Min-jae, who played perfectly without adaptation in Fenerbahce and Napuli, is certainly having some difficulties in Bayern. First of all, the aftermath of military exercises cannot be left out. Kim Min-jae went to military training this summer, and his weight has been noticeably reduced since then. In the case of Ki Sung-yueng, he also said, "I had a hard time for six months after military training." Kim Min-jae couldn't even take a proper rest and immediately joined the pre-season and even went on to play. He even managed the national team's schedule from time to time. As Kim Min-jae, who previously had a murderous schedule, the aftermath may remain. Certainly, Kim Min-jae is not as good as he used to be in speed and power.
It could be growing pains. Bundesliga is another stage from Turkiye and Italy mentioned earlier. The pressure is different. Bayern is a good team, but the style of solving it is also different. Unlike previous teams that played aggressive defense, it is true that Tuchel's style now somewhat does not match Kim Min-jae. Unlike his aggressive defense going around like a wild horse, Tuchel is using Kim Min-jae statically. It is mainly used to cover the rear, mainly guarding it. It is also true that Kim Min-jae needs time to adapt to this role.