AC Milan legend defender praised Kim Min-jae. He has been called Napoli’s most important player.
Kim Min-jae came to Naples from Fenerbahce ahead of this season. His performance was great. He didn’t think of his predecessor, Kali du Koulibaly. His defense was perfect. He didn’t get pushed in the race situation, and he was the best in positioning, clearing, and tackling. His build-up ability was also overwhelming. He recorded the most touches and the most passes, but made few mistakes and was highly accurate.
His progressiveness has helped me a lot in many ways. Coach Luciano Spalletti made good use of Kim Min-jae. As he played aggressive football, he entrusted Min-jae Kim to the rear. Thanks to this, Napoli has become a team with high attack power and stable defense. It was a factor that allowed me to get ahead in the league’s long race. They also performed well in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) and were called the most successful team in Europe this season.
Eventually, they won the Italian Serie A title. Napoli, who had not won the league for 33 years since the 1989-90 season, drew 1-1 against Udinese and scored 80 points, leaving a gap of 16 points with second place Lazio, confirming the championship regardless of the results of the next five games. When the first scuteto (Serie A trophy) in 33 years came to Napoli, the Napoli team and the whole city went into a frenzy.크크크벳
Alessandro Costacurta praised it. Costacurta is AC Milan’s legendary centre-back. As an AC Milan star youth, he played for 19 years in the first team alone, winning numerous trophies, including 7 Serie A championships and 5 UCL championships. He is a defender who made history by building the defenses of Franco Baresi, Paulo Maldini, AC Milan and the Italian national team.
Kim Min-jae’s performance was so great that even the legend fell in love with him. Costacurta said through Italy’s ‘Sky Sports’, “With Kim Min-jae, Napoli can afford to give space behind them. Even if they make mistakes in front, Kim Min-jae is behind them. Great speed, predictive ability, and the ability to read opponents are really good. Just as good as the strikers. It was an important acquisition, maybe even more important.”
It is also evidenced by records. After the Napoli championship was confirmed, ‘Opta’, a soccer statistics media, shed light on two records of Kim Min-jae. It showed that Kim Min-jae had a great influence in Napoli lifting the Serie A trophy in 33 years. The first thing mentioned is the record of allowing dribble breakthroughs. Kim Min-jae allowed only 5 dribble breakthroughs in Serie A, which is the fewest among defenders who have played at least 24 games. ‘Opta’ is expressed as “Wall”.
Then, “Kim Min-jae won 88 aerial contest victories in Serie A. More than 5 times more than other defenders,” he added, “Strong.” Just looking at the records alone, there was credibility in what Costacurta said.