Kim Min-jae showcases impenetrable defense in UEFA Europa League

Kim Min-jae, the South Korean national football team’s defense player currently playing for Turkish football club Fenerbahçe, showcased impressive defense in his debut game in the UEFA Europa League (UEL).

Kim played full 90 minutes in the first match of Group D in the 2020-2021 UEL against Eintracht Frankfurt held in the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt on Friday. He successfully cut off the opponent’s offense. His team was ranked No. 2 in the group after a 1-1 draw.

Kim blocked the opponent team’s players by predicting their passes and contributed to improving his team’s ball possession with accurate forward passes. He blocked a critical shoot by Djibril Sow with his body at the 23rd minute of the first half and also quickly cut off Filip Kostić’s shoot in a chaotic situation in front of the goalpost at the 30th minute of the second half. Kim got an average score of 6.7 on WhoScored.com, which was the highest among his team’s defensive players.

“Kim Min-jae is truly The Monster,” and “He is the best defensive player. His confidence is up,” fans tweeted to Fenerbahçe’s Twitter account, praising the South Korean footballer. Kim has secured a position as a key defensive player of the team after consecutively playing three league games and a UEL match as a starter.


Jae-Yeong Yoo elegant@donga.com