Bayern Munich center back Kim Min-jae recorded his first help since entering the Bundesliga, but failed to avoid harsh evaluations from the local media in Germany.
Munich drew 2-2 in the 24th round of the Bundesliga against Praburg in the 2023-24 season at Europa Park Stadion in Freiburg, Germany, on the 2nd after conceding an equalizer at the end of the second half.
Munich, which had just one point, had 17 wins, three draws and four losses and 54 points, failing to narrow the gap with Bayer Leverkusen 61 points, which had played one game less. If Leverkusen wins at Cologne away game, the gap will widen to 10 points. Munich is now in a difficult position to win the league title.
Kim Min-jae, who was paired with Eric Dier as a central defense on the day, failed to prevent two runs even though he had one assist, so he could not avoid a poor evaluation.
Freiburg came out in a 4-4-2 formation. Noah Atubolu defended the goal, and Kylian Sildilia, Mathias Ginter, Manuel Goulde and Christian Ginter formed the defensive line. Doan Lith, Maximilian Egestein, Nicholas Höffler and Vincenzo Grifo formed the midfield. Roland Shirley and Lucas Holler worked together as the front two-top.
The away team Munich pulled out a 4-2-3-1 formation. Manuel Neuer kept the goalkeeper’s gloves on. Rafael Geheiro, Kim Min-jae, Dyer, and Yojua Kimmich made it to the back four. Leon Goretzka and Aleksandar Pavlovici worked together in the midfield, and Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller and Mathis Tell were in the second line. Harry Kane played as the front-line one-top and aimed for a goal.
Munich beat rival Borussia Dortmund in the last season to win the Meister-Chalet championship. It has secured the title for 11 consecutive seasons, further cementing its position as the strongest team in Germany.
Munich’s goal for this season was 12 consecutive losses in the league. However, with Leverkusen’s emergence, it has become difficult to achieve its goal. While Munich was slowing down in the league, Leverkusen remained undefeated and steadily accumulated points.
In particular, after losing the match against Leverkusen on the 11th of last month, the team started to fall behind in the championship competition. Prior to this match, Munich was closely trailing Leverkusen, the leader, by two points. If it had won, it could have overturned the ranking and taken the lead, but failed to overturn it due to a 0-3 complete defeat.
In the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, they also lost 0-1 to Lazio. In the 2023-2024 UCL round of 16 first leg away match at Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy, they failed to overcome numerical inferiority and lost, leading to two consecutive official matches.
The team lost 2-3 in an away match at Bochum, losing its third consecutive game. The gap with Leverkusen widened to eight points. It is not easy to win the league title. Tuchel, which had lifted the trophy in the final round of the league last season following the elimination of the DFB-Pokal Cup and the UEFA Champions League, is in danger of having no win this season.
In the end, Munich agreed to shorten the contract period with Tuchel by one year and separate it at the end of this season. In addition to the worst performance of three consecutive official matches, calls for Tuchel to be dismissed were growing, and Munich could not continue to ignore the angry public sentiment.
After the official announcement of his separation from Tuchel, Munich defeated the difficult opponent Leipzig 2-1 and escaped a losing streak. It was not impossible to come from behind because there were still many league games left. In order to continue the pursuit of Leverkusen, it was important to get three points from Freiburg away.
However, this game was not easy either. Freiburg was given a chance from the beginning of the game and was dragged to the ground. In the first minute of the first half, Grifo opened the scoring by attempting a bold mid-range shot from outside the penalty box. Grifo’s shot slightly missed the post.
Freiburg took the lead. Shirley headed home Grifo’s cross in the 11th minute. Neuer hit it but the ball went to Freiburg’s players, and Ginter, who received a pass from Höffler, fired a left-footed shot into the Munich net.
Freiburg continued to try to attack. In the 15th minute of the first half, Ginter hit a low and fast shot at the near post, but Neuer blocked it. Munich also fought back. In the 18th minute of the first half, Geheiro’s cross was headed to Kane. Kane led to an accurate header shot, but the ball went off the side of the net. Freiburg received a pass from Doan and Shirley hit a right footed shot outside the box, but this was also far from the goal.
Freiburg took the lead. In the 22nd minute of the first half, Schirleri passed with a right footed shot in the box. However, it also did not lead to a goal.
Munich returned the game to square one. In the 34th minute of the first half, Tel caught the ball from outside the box and beat the defense with a fantastic turn. Immediately after, he curled it with his right foot strongly and accurately, and the ball was sucked into the corner of the goal. Goalkeeper Atubolu stretched his arm out, but the trajectory was so good that it was not enough to prevent it.
Munich gained momentum. In the 38th minute of the first half, Mueller tried to shoot, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 42nd minute of the first half, Geheiro penetrated into the box and shot himself, but it fell off the side of the net. The first half ended 1-1 with no additional points.
In the second half, Munich opened the scoring first. Kane, who received Musiala’s pass at 2 minutes in the second half, attempted a shot in the box. However, it went off the side of the net. Freiburg countered straight away. In the fourth minute of the second half, Shirley’s pass went to Egestein, who hit him with his right foot but went over the goal.
Freiburg and Munich then exchanged battles. In the 12th minute of the second half, Freiburg tried to score through a corner kick set piece, but Egstein’s shot went over the goal. Munich responded with Kane’s powerful shot, which also went over the net.
Munich has another chance. Musiala, who was penetrating into the box at 25th minute in the second half, received a penetration pass and hit a non-stop shot. However, he swallowed the regret as he was blocked by the goalkeeper’s good defense. Kane’s header shot was cleared by the defense before crossing the goal line in the ensuing corner kick attack.
Munich finally succeeded in turning the tables. Musiala, who received a pass from Kim Min-jae in the 29th minute of the second half, attempted a solo dribble from the left side to the inside of the box. Musiala, who penetrated the Freiburg defense, did not miss the space between the two defenders and hit a half-beat fast shot using dribbling skills. The ball shook the net as it was. In fact, Musiala made the goal through solo play, but Kim Min-jae’s assist was also recognized.
However, Munich couldn’t smile. Freiburg quickly launched an attack with a long-range throw-in at the 42nd minute of the second half when the team was poised to win. The ball was immediately put into the box, and Holler, who caught the ball dropped by Michael Gregorichu, shook Munich’s net with a surprise shot. The shot came at an unexpected timing, so goalkeeper Neuer had no choice but to look at it.
Munich, which conceded the equalizer, tried to score an additional goal, but it was not good. In the end, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Local media in Germany criticized Munich for missing out on the victory. “Munich was a better starter, and even gave way to an opponent who took advantage of the game but did not give up,” Bild said, describing it as the Freiburg shock. “As a result, I missed the opportunity to put pressure on Leverkusen. It is another setback for Tuchel and his players.”
Kim Min-jae, who was excluded from the starting lineup in the last match, returned to the starting lineup in this match. According to Footmob, a website specializing in soccer statistics, Kim recorded a good record of 95 percent pass success rate, one assist, 100 percent tackle success rate, and 80 percent win rate in competition with a ball in the air while playing full time. He also posted a 7.9 percent rating, the highest among defense players.
Another media statistics outlet, Husscore Dotcom, also received the highest rating among the defense with 7.2 points, and SofaScore also scored 7.3 points, ranking first in the defense.
However, media ratings were different. “Kim Min-jae replaced Matthijs Dericht, who was suspended, as center back, but Munich was not safe defensively for 30 minutes,” said Augsburger Algemeine. “He repeatedly allowed the opponent a surprisingly large space.”
“I played as a central defender with Dyer, but there was some uncertainty. I cleared it once with a great tackle in midfield,” Avent Zeitung said, giving him a four-point rating. Dyer and Geheiro had the same rating.
TZ also gave four points, saying, “I got off the defensive line at the wrong moment and went aggressively. He unnecessarily crushed Munich’s defensive line and caused confusion. As a central defender, he did not play well.”
Recently, Kim Min-jae faced a crisis in Munich. Coach Tuchel has decided to leave, and German media are criticizing him day by day.
It was Tuchel who desperately wanted Kim Min-jae, who had world-class performance in Napoli last summer. Tuchel sent a love call to Kim Min-jae, who played world-class center back then in Naples, Italy.
Kim revealed in an interview with Germany’s Bild last summer that Tuchel’s call was the deciding factor that led him to Munich. Kim said, “The call was very decisive and touching. Tuchel spoke very positively about me. He knew everything about me and my game and told me in-depth. He also has clear plans for me. It was very detailed. It gave me a big feeling, confidence, and stability,” he said, directly referring to how Tuchel persuaded Kim.
“His thoughts on my game and my strengths were exactly what I thought. I immediately made the decision during my conversation with Tuchel,” Tuchel said, acknowledging that his transfer to Munich was crucial after learning about his strengths and performance.
In fact, it was known that Kim Min-jae was a player that Tuchel wanted a lot when he moved to Munich. The German media Tak24 also reported, “Munich has signed Kim Min-jae, and all that is missing is an official announcement. As a substitute for Hernandez, Kim is expected to form a core defense team with Matthijs Dericht and Dayo Upamecano. Tuchel also praised the recruitment of Kim Min-jae, saying, “He has acquired a dream player named Kim Min-jae at center back.”
Coach Tuchel showed infinite affection by starting three consecutive pre-season games immediately after Kim Min-jae was confirmed.
In the match against Kawasaki, where he played for the first time in Munich, Kim Min-jae showed his cross into the box in the 11th minute of the first half by attempting a daredevil dribble that broke through directly to the left space of the penalty box, and in the 29th minute of the first half, when the ball flowed and was allowed to break through while blocking the opponent’s dribble, he immediately caught up with the opponent’s striker at a high speed and cut off the ball to show off his defense.
Tuchel told a news conference, “I am very satisfied. Today’s match was Kim’s first match. He is training very hard and doing well,” adding that even though it was his first match, he showed good performance.
Kim Min-jae, who finished the match against Kawasaki, even scored an attack point in the match against Liverpool. Kim Min-jae’s long pass from the back passed through Liverpool’s defense in the 33rd minute of the first half and connected to Gnabry. Upon receiving the ball, Gnabry turned his right foot outside, beating the following Matip, and calmly pushed it into the goal with his right foot.
Coach Tuchel showed strong faith in Kim Min-jae in the match against Liverpool following the match against Kawasaki. When asked at a pre-match press conference whether new recruit Kim Min-jae, Bangjamain Pavard, and Dayo Upamecano have the qualifications to become the world’s best central defender in Bayern Munich, he answered, “It’s a very easy question.” The fact that Kim Min-jae and three other defenders have the talent to become world class center backs meant that it was a natural story that needed no explanation.
“I love Kim Min-jae,” he said in an interview with the Bundesliga’s official media. “He is so calm and upright. His facial expressions, mentality, games, and passes are not too loose, high, or unusual. I love this because it’s exactly what I want in the build-up,” he said, praising Kim’s play.
As for Kim’s build-up ability, which is one of his biggest strengths, he also praised his ability, saying, “It’s really good because it’s something I want from Kim Min-jae. His defense is very brave and fast. He is helping his team, and Kim always finds somewhere he can help over his shoulder.”
In the past, Tuchel coached Park Joo-ho retired and Koo Ja-cheol when he was a Mainz player. Among them, Park was also with him in Dortmund. “I met two players from Korea so far. Kim Min-jae is exactly the same. He is well-trained, friendly, humble and clear. So far, I have received a very good impression from Kim,” Tuchel said. “I have received a good impression from Kim just like I did back then.”
90 min Germany also gave their opinions to Tuchel’s compliment. The media reported, “Kim Min-jae is an important freshman who is already loved by Tuchel. Of course, the addition of Kane was a big focus for Munich, but Kim Min-jae, who cost about half of his transfer fee, cannot be left out. The new central defender can not only stabilize Munich’s defense but also take it to new heights,” praising Kim’s performance. In particular, Munich compared Harry Kane and Kim Min-jae, who paid the highest transfer fee ever, confirming that Kim Min-jae was important in defense.
“The importance of recruiting Kim Min-jae is still underestimated by some fans, and Tuchel knows how precious Kim Min-jae is,” he said, stressing that Kim Min-jae is as important a recruit as Kane.
The affection for Kim Min-jae, which began even before the recruitment, continued even after the season began. Coach Tuchel played Kim Min-jae every game to the extent that controversy arose over the abuse.
Starting with his debut DFL-Super Cup substitution, Kim Min-jae played all 18 official games before taking a break against Copenhagen in the Champions League, and started 17 games, making a super-strong run.
In particular, German media, which suspected Kim Min-jae’s ability by playing full-time in 15 consecutive games until the match against Cologne, except for Bundesliga opener Werder Bremen and Augsburg, the second round home opener, recently raised excessive criticism, saying Kim Min-jae seemed tired.
Nevertheless, Kim Min-jae firmly defended Munich’s rear area. Colleagues Duricht and Upamecano remained firmly in their positions despite alternating injuries. If it wasn’t for Kim Min-jae, Munich’s performance in the first half could have been worse.
However, the German media did not have good reviews. After the first half of the season ended, the German kicker ranked Kim Min-jae 11th overall in the league center back by selecting the rank and ranking by position in the first half of the 2023-2024 season. He was not in the international class, which was won by the top four players, but in the national class. He was ranked the second highest among Munich center backs.
He was clearly undervalued. He boasted playing time almost exclusively due to injury to his partner center back throughout the season, but was assessed as having ups and downs in his performance. The prevailing view was that his performance was lower than that of the Napoli days when he displayed perfect performance.
Kim Min-jae’s rating by game was lower than expected by kicker and other German media, which made Kim Min-jae’s first-half performance seem normal overall.
Not only kicker but also Bild’s Kim Min-jae rating in the first half of the year was lower than expected. When he settled the first half of Bayern Munich on the 23rd of last month, he rated 20 people. In this case, Kim Min-jae took a shocking ranking of fifth place from behind.
In fact, Bild was criticized not only by Korean fans but also by Germans for scoring 3 to 5 points on Kim Min-jae’s play during the season. Nevertheless, he kept giving a cold evaluation of Kim Min-jae, ranking 16th out of 20 Munich players in the first half.
Munich legend Lothar Matheus also made an appearance on Sky Sports Germany, excluding Kim Min-jae as he selected the best 11 players for the first half of the Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season. The defense was all made up of Bayer Leverkusen players. Jeremy Frimpong, Jonadanta, Edmond Topsova, and Alejandro Grimaldo were chosen.
German media continued to criticize Kim even after the second half began. The kicker recently gave Kim 4.5 points, the lowest rating among the Munich defense, right after the match against Bochum. Rafael Geheiro scored 3.5 points and Matthijs Dericht scored four points. Media outlets rated Kim as the second lowest after the offense, which showed poor performance except for Musiala.
Despite the team’s poor performance, including Upamecano’s exit, Kim Min-jae was firmly in charge of defense. Based on the soccer statistics media foot mob, Kim Min-jae recorded an 89 percent pass success rate, six long passes successful 7 attempts, two chances created, four tackles successful 100%, one blocking, one clearing, one intercept, five recovery, four ground contention successful 6 attempts, and five aerial contention successful 9 attempts. The media gave Kim Min-jae a rating of 7.2 points.
Kim Min-jae performed as well as a defender could. However, the kicker, who is recognized as Germany’s most prestigious soccer team, had a different opinion. Despite his good performance, German media criticized him constantly.
This summer is the first crisis. Kim Min-jae’s position will also change depending on what kind of coach Tuchel will be, what style of defense he would prefer, and what type of player he would prefer. 토토사이트