Played full time and helped win 3-1… Napoli lead with 8 games unbeaten
September opponents Lazio-AC Milan… Leave a strong impression with the second goal
Serie A president “Player of the Month Award for sure”
Kim Min-jae (26, Napoli), who returned to Italy after playing both matches in September A in Korea, was chosen as Serie A’s ‘Player of the Month’. Kim Min-jae is the player First Asian to be named ‘Player of the Month’ in Serie A.
Kim Min-jae took a flight to Italy on the 28th of last month, the day after the evaluation match against Cameroon at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, and arrived in Naples after more than 12 hours of travel. And in three days, he played full time in the league game and contributed to the team’s victory.
On the 1st, Kim Min-jae started in the home match of round 8 of the 2022-2023 Serie A season against Turin and helped the team win 3-1. Napoli, who continued their unbeaten run in eight league games after the opening, kept their first place by increasing the points to 20 (6 wins, 2 draws). Kim Min-jae, who played full-time in both games of Game A in September, showed a bit of physical strain that day. Around the 25th minute of the second half, the look of agony with his back bent was caught on the television broadcast screen. However, in every moment of crisis, he showed concentration and speed to thwart Turin’s attack.
On this day, Kim Min-jae recorded 4 blocked shots, 7 kicks, and 2 interceptions, all of which were number one in the team. He also recorded six recoveries, quickly recovering the ball passed to the opposing team. Sports statistics website ‘Sophascore’ gave Kim Min-jae a score of 7.4, the third highest in the team. Kim Min-jae recorded a total of 39 kicks in the 7 league games he played this season, and from the 2nd, he is the first in this division.
Before the match against Turin, Minjae Kim was awarded the ‘Player of the Month (September)’ trophy. Min-jae Kim, who made a strong impression since his Serie A debut in August, played full-time in two of Napoli’s three league games in September (local time), contributing heavily to wins against Lazio and AC Milan. He also scored a goal against Lazio. Serie A president Luigi de Siervo said, “You can see how well Napoli did in the summer transfer market by looking at Kim Min-jae. A defender who deserves to be named Player of the Month.”
After the match against Turin, Kim Min-jae said, “I am very happy to be able to play for Napoli.” “The manager of Napoli, Lucano Spalletti, is special. “I have to improve on defense, but I believe I can do it with Spalletti.”
Kang-in Lee (21, Mallorca), who was selected for the national team after 1 year and 6 months, but could not take part in two consecutive A matches in September, played full time in the match against Barcelona , the No . Sofa Score gave Lee Kang-in a score of 7.3, the highest score in the team. Mallorca lost 1-0 to Barcelona.
Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham) started in the English Premier League (EPL) visit against Arsenal on the 1st and played until the 27th minute of the second half, but failed to score. Tottenham lost 1-3.
By Kim Bae-jung, reporter want@donga.com
