The monster is back

Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae was well received as he played in his first game of the season.

Kim Min-jae contributed to a 4-0 victory by playing full-time starting in the first round of the 2024-25 season between Bayern Munich and SSV Ulm 1846 at the Donau Stadion in Olm, Germany on the 17th.

The showdown with Ulm marks Munich's first official match of the 2024-25 season and the official debut of Coach Bangsang Kompany. Although his opponent is a German second division club, Munich sent out a large number of key players including Kim Min-jae to win the match.

It was Munich legend Thomas Müller who scored the first goal of the day. In the 11th minute of the first half, Yozoua Kimmich advanced through Josip Stanisic's forward pass from the right to overcome the defensive contest and try to shoot. The goalkeeper blocked it, but Müller connected the second ball with a shot again and scored the first goal.

Three minutes after Mullen's first goal, Munich scored an additional goal. At this time, Kim Min-jae's fantastic pass served as the starting point.

Kim delivered the ball to Serge Gnabry, who was rushing forward with a precise long pass from the back. Gnabry, who received Kim's pass and had a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper, passed to Müller, who was in the empty space on the other side rather than shooting, and Müller scored multiple goals thanks to Gnabry's selfless play.

Munich, which finished 2-0 in the first half, scored its third in the 34th minute. Michael Olise, who came in as a substitute in the second half, tried to pass the cutback after breaking through the right flank, and Kingsley Cohen closed in to make the score 3-0.

The game was heading towards the end, but Munich's attack did not stop. In the extra time of the second half, world-class striker Harry Kane hit the net with a cross from Müller.

Munich advanced to the second round of Pokal as the match ended with a landslide 4-0 victory. Although their opponents were the second-division team, Munich got off to a fresh start as it wrapped up its first match of the season and Kompany's debut with a big victory.

Meanwhile, compliments poured in on Kim after the game ended. Kim, who started as center back along with Dayo Upamecano in the 4-2-3-1 screening, received positive feedback as he played the entire 90 minutes.

According to the soccer statistics media "Foot Mob," Kim Min-jae showed a solid performance in defense, recording a pass success rate of 88% (94/107), a long pass success rate of 60% (6/10), four clearances, eight recoveries, two interceptions, and 83% (5/6) air ball wins.

Kim Min-jae's sharp passes shone even in the face of the attack. "It was Kim Min-jae's crazy pass," Bayern & Football said on its social network service (SNS), praising Kim's pass in the face of an additional goal in Munich.

The Bavarian Football Works, a German media outlet that mainly delivers Munich news, also praised Kim. The media even described Kim as "Der Kaiser," which means "emperor."

"The monster is back. Kim lost his place under Thomas Tuchel in the second half of last season, but he started in the first official match of the Bangsang Kompany era," the media said. "He had an active night, competed for the ball all over the field, and in the second half, he ran near the center line and kicked it out to prevent the opponent from easily catching the ball."

"Of course, we had passes. It was Kim Min-jae who found Serge Gnabry running behind the Olm defense line just two minutes after Thomas Muller scored the first goal," he said. "The game almost ended early as Muller scored two goals."

Kim Min-jae, who moved to Italy's prestigious SSC Napoli in the summer of 2022 and entered the big league, was selected as the league's best defender as he contributed to Napoli's Serie A victory with a surprising performance. With his performance in Naples, he ranked 22nd in the 2023 Ballon d'Or voting.  토토사이트

Kim Min-jae, who became one of the world's best defenders, moved to Bayern Munich, Germany's prestigious Bundesliga, after the end of the season. In Munich, he was included in the starting lineup in every game in the first half and proved to be the world's best center back in name and reality, but he fell behind in the competition to become a candidate in the second half.

In particular, the possibility of his release was discussed in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid as he played his worst career game.

At that time, Kim Min-jae was pointed out as the main cause of the 2-2 draw as he was involved in both runs, including starting against Real Madrid and conceding a penalty kick. After the game, Kim Min-jae was severely criticized, and Tuchel, then the head coach of Munich, also criticized Kim Min-jae, saying, "He was not smart enough."

Showing a shocking performance against Real, some predicted that Kim Min-jae could leave Munich for the first time in a year, but Kim Min-jae started his return to the starting line as he returned to the club with enough rest and determination during the summer vacation.

Kim Min-jae was praised by the new head coach Kompany for his impressive performance in training early in the pre-season. In a video released by Munich on the club's SNS, Kompany watched Kim Min-jae participate in the training and praised him, saying, "Yes, Min-jae, yes!"

German media 'Bayern Strikes' also expected Kim Min-jae to be revived, saying, "Those in charge of closely monitoring training sessions regularly have a very positive view of Kim Min-jae. Rumors are circulating in Munich that a hungry defensive monster has returned."

Kim Min-jae, who improved his physical condition during the pre-season in Germany, showed excellent performance from his first official game of the season as expected, giving a green light to the competition to start this season.

Kim Min-jae, who got the first step well, will now start preparing for the Bundesliga season in earnest. Munich will play its last friendly match with Swiss Grashofer at 6:30 p.m. on the 20th at the clubhouse, and embark on a long journey this season through an away match against Wolfsburg at 10:30 p.m. on the 25th.