Kim Min-jae (Napoli) has created two new histories in Italian soccer by winning the Best Defense award.
The Serie A Secretariat announced the winner of the Serie A Best Defender Award for the 2022-2023 season on its official social media accounts today.
“Monster defender” Kim Min-jae beat out two other contenders for the award.
Kim was nominated for the 2022-2023 Serie A Best Defender award alongside Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Theo Hernandez (AC Milan). In the end, Kim was named the winner.
After stints with the K League’s Jeonbuk Hyundai and the Chinese Super League, Kim joined Fenerbahçe in 2021, and donned a Napoli shirt last summer.
In just one season with the club, Kim won the Serie A title. He was a big part of the team’s rise to the top. Behind a solid defense that included Kim, Napoli won the Scudetto for the first time in 33 years, since the 1989-1990 season with the late legendary Diego Maradona.
Kim played in 35 league games this season, logging 3,054 minutes on the pitch. He scored two goals and provided two assists, while also registering 1.6 tackles, 1.2 interceptions, 3.5 clearances, and 0.7 shot blocks per game.
Kim Min-jae has been one of the top performers in the Italian Serie A this season. He was praised for his basic defensive skills as well as his composure and stability in the buildup.
He was also recognized for his challenging passes and active participation in the offense. He was arguably the best center back in Serie A this season.
Kim Min-jae’s performance was highlighted in the last round against Bologna.
Napoli drew 2-2 with Bologna in the 37th round of the 2022-2023 Serie A at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara in Bologna, Italy on April 28.
Having already clinched the title earlier this month, Napoli will not be affected by the outcome of today’s match. However, they will be disappointed to have dropped out of the competition.
Having already won the Serie A Scudetto, Napoli have a stable roster.
After losing to Monza in the first round due to rotation, Napoli showed the quality of a championship team by beating Inter Milan in the previous round.
As such, they also played Kim Min-jae in the match to stabilize their defense. Bologna, ranked 11th, is not a strong team, but they started Kim Min-jae to try and secure a win.
Napoli took advantage of a rare mistake by the opposing goalkeeper to score the first goal. In the 14th minute, Bologna goalkeeper Skorupski passed the ball to a teammate, but instead passed it to Napoli’s Osimhen. All too easily, Osimhen collected the ball inside the Bologna box and fired a shot into the corner of the net, rattling the net.
With momentum on their side, Napoli pushed for a second goal. In the 17th minute, Angisa stepped up. From the front of the arc, he saw the left post and turned to fire a shot, but it was straight at the keeper. The punch was blocked.
Bologna did not stand still. In the 24th minute, Dominguez cut back with his left foot in the congestion near the arc and fired a quick shot that was no match for the goal. A minute later, Barlow broke down the left flank, looked the other way and sent in a cross, but there was no one to receive it.
Napoli were on the counterattack. In the 32nd minute, Osimhen found himself one-on-one with the keeper after a long pass, but was denied by a super-save.
In the 39th minute, Kim Min-jae was cautioned for forcibly interfering with an opponent during a ball competition. It was Kim’s fifth yellow card in the league this season. In Serie A, the cumulative penalty for receiving five cautions is a one-match suspension.
As a result, Kim Min-jae will not be able to play in the next game, which is the league’s final match. This will be his last appearance of the season. Napoli led 1-0 at halftime.
Napoli added another goal at the start of the second half. Eight minutes into the second half, Osimhen received a brilliant through ball in the box and finished with a sharp right-footed shot to complete his hat-trick.
Bologna pulled a goal back. In the 16th minute of the second half, Ferguson picked up the bouncing ball after his teammate’s shot was blocked and tried to shoot again.
In the 33rd minute, Kim Min-jae was the first to go. He was replaced by João.
However, the ‘Minna goal’ came true. Napoli conceded immediately after Kim Min-jae’s exit.
In the 37th minute, Silvestri found himself in a good position to equalize from a corner kick. With just a slight change of direction, he rattled the Napoli net. Just before the end of the game, Sanzone found the back of the net for Napoli, but the goal was disallowed due to offside. In the end, the game ended in a draw.
A goal was conceded shortly after Kim Min-jae left the game. It was a perfect example of the “Minna Goal” rule: when Kim goes off the bench, a goal is conceded.
Kim’s consistent performances throughout the season earned him the Serie A Secretariat’s Player of the Month award in September and the Italian Footballers’ Association’s Player of the Month award in October.
This time, Kim made history by winning the Best Defense award.
This is the first time that the Serie A Best Defender award, which was established in the 2018-2019 season, has been awarded to a member of the winning team. It is also the first time an Asian player has won the award.
When Serie A announced Kim’s award, they applauded him, saying, “Congratulations on a wonderful debut.” Italian media outlet Tuttone Napoli also shared the news, calling Kim “the best defender in Serie A”.
Meanwhile, Kim is likely to move to a new team. 메이저사이트
The British Evening Standard reported on the 30th of last month that “Man United have reached an agreement with Napoli over the transfer of Kim Min-jae.” “Man United offered Napoli 50 million pounds ($82 billion won) as a transfer fee to sign Kim Min-jae. Napoli have accepted United’s offer.”
“United have already agreed personal terms with Kim,” said the Evening Standard, adding, “Kim will be United’s first signing of the summer transfer window. He will fly to Manchester next week to finalize the deal.”