He’s already one of the finest defenders in the world and, at 26 years of age, FC Bayern centre-back Kim Min-Jae has his best years to come.
Strong, quick, aggressive, and with a great reading of the game, the Bundesliga star has all the attributes the top teams look for in a defencive rock. And at 6’3” tall, he is an imposing presence at the heart of Die Bayern’s rearguard.
And Kim’s rise has been meteoric, moving from his club in Beijing to join the second favourites for the 2023/24 Champions League within two action-packed years.
He’s played four games for the Bavarians since his €58 million transfer from Napoli in the summer, one of the big Bundesliga 2023 news stories of the transfer window. The fee makes him the most expensive Asian footballer in history and, nicknamed “The Monster”, he’s one of the last faces a striker ever wants to see.
He’s a pioneer too for Korea, a country which has held Heung-min Son up as their talisman for many years. The Taeguk Warriors have been known for their pace in attack and counterattacking abilities, but now they have a defender who has bust through the barriers of that stereotype.
Just two years ago, the South Korea star was playing for Beijing Guoan when Turkish side Fenerbahce picked him up in 2021. The defender could have gone to Tottenham Hotspur to join his Korea teammate Son, but the Spurs board didn’t deem him to be worth more than £5 million.
I suspect the North London club may be regretting that decision.
In China, Kim developed his one-on-one skills as he came across some very strong forwards then. In Turkey, he played in a system which employed zonal marking.
Of course, the Italians are the world experts in defencive skills and, in his time at Napoli, he quickly drew on all his previous experience to show that he was getting very close to becoming the finished article. He went on to pick up a league winners medal as Napoli picked up a first Scudetto this century.
Bayern fans have taken to Kim already thanks to his all-action and powerful displays in victories over Werder Bremen, Augsburg, and Borussia Monchengladbach, and a hard-fought draw with Bayer Leverkusen. The Bundesliga 2023 betting odds are backing the Bavarians to win yet another title, and Kim’s arrival makes the champions even harder to beat.
His powerful persona and rapid rise to fame has begun the change perceptions about Asian players, and to perform at such a high standard in the Italian league has made him a household name throughout Europe.
He was courted by a number of top clubs before he joined the Bavarians, and it’s quite clear why when, earlier this month, he was nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or as part of the 30-man shortlist which includes World Cup winner Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s scoring machine Erling Haaland.
But take a look at the defenders on the list, and that tells you just how good Kim is.
The Manchester City pair of Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias are the only two center-backs alongside Kim in the nominees. Gvardiol was one of the standout players at the 2022 World Cup, and Dias was one of the Sky Blues’ key players in their treble winning campaign.
“It’s a great honour for me,” said Kim. “It’s a privilege to be one of the names there, as a defender, it is great to be recognized.”
The Bayern man understands the weight of expectation which is now on his shoulders, both in Europe and back home in Asia. He is a pioneer, and Korea football coaches hope more will follow as teams around the world wake up to the idea that Asia can produce top-class defenders.
Kim says his parents drummed into him the importance of improving every day, so he knows there is more work for him to do, and he sees Bayern legend Franz Beckenbauer as the gold standard of defending in the German league as a brilliant defender with the ability to build up play going forward.
If he becomes anywhere near as good as Der Kaiser, then the Korea pioneer will be a Bayern legend.
If you haven’t seen Kim yet, he is ready to line up for FC Bayern against Manchester United in the Champions League on Wednesday. It’s a game we’ve previewed here at SBOTOP and, it’s fair to say, we think the Red Devils will struggle to score.
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