It is not a serious sign for Kim Min-jae, as it has been confirmed that Tuchel will leave the team after this season, but it seems uncertain to play in the remaining games of the season up to five times.
Kim Min-jae started the first round of the UEFA Champions League semifinals of the 2023-2024 season between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Allianz Arena in Munich on the 1st (Korea time) and played full time, but he spent a disappointing 90 minutes making two fatal mistakes. Bayern Munich drew 2-2 after a battle, which means that the victory turned into a draw due to Kim Min-jae's mistake.
Through a match against Real Madrid, Kim started the UEFA Champions League tournament for the first time since the first leg of the round of 16 match against Lazio in February. He was on the bench in both the second leg of the round of 16 match and the first and second legs of the quarterfinals against Arsenal.
Kim Min-jae was selected as an alternative due to the injury of the starting center back Matthijs D'Richt. However, it has become an indelible day for Kim Min-jae in his soccer career.
Munich gave up the first goal to Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior in the 24th minute of the first half, and Kim Min-jae's misjudgment contributed to the loss.
In the midfield, Real midfielder Tony Cross was looking for a pass. As Vinicius, who was seated in front of him, went down to receive the ball, Kim Min-jae followed along. At this time, Vinicius, who confirmed that Gam Min-jae came up, momentarily changed his direction and dug into the empty space of Kim Min-jae, and Cross's mid-range pass was accurately delivered under his feet.
Vinicius, who had a one-on-one opportunity with Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, lightly pushed it with his right foot and scored the first goal.
Munich seemed to win the game early in the second half with Leroy Zane's equalizer and Harry Kane's reversal penalty goal, but Kim Min-jae's mistake came out again and ended up with a draw.
In the 36th minute of the second half, Kim Min-jae used his hands to knock down Brazilian striker Hodrigo, who received a pass from Vinicius. The referee declared a penalty kick and took a yellow card out to Kim Min-jae. Vinicius made a clean success to make it 2-2 and the game ended with the score intact.
The two teams will move to the Santiago Bernabeu at 4 a.m. on the 9th to play the second game to determine the winner of the final.
After the game ended, Kim didn't avoid criticism. Various media outlets gave Kim the lowest score in his team. Leading German newspapers Bild and Kicker gave Kim the lowest score of six, meaning one player would come out in a single game. Bild called Kim a disaster.
Tuchel, who even had a video call last summer to bring in Kim, strongly criticized Kim by changing his stance. "Kim Min-jae was too greedy twice," he said. "He was caught in a cross pass because he was moving too fast against Vinicius in the first run. It was too predictable and aggressive."
"We made another mistake, unfortunately, even in the second loss situation. We had a numerical advantage, but we didn't have to defend aggressively against Hodri-gu," he said. "As soon as Diy tried to help, Kim Min-jae knocked over the Hodri-gu," pointing to his hasty defense.
Of course, Tuchel said, "Unfortunately, mistakes like this will be punished," adding, "But that's possible. We have to move forward."
However, in fact, he pointed out that both Munich's two runs were responsible for Kim Min-jae, raising question marks over whether Kim Min-jae will be able to start again under Tuchel.
Up until the first half of this season, Kim Min-jae and Tuchel had strong relationship. Munich recruited Kim Min-jae, who had been playing for Serie A club SSC Napoli, Italy, after paying 50 million euros in transfer fees during last summer.
After Kim's transfer to Munich was confirmed, Tuchel gave Kim a warm welcome. When Kim arrived at the training site, he opened his arms and hugged each other, saying, "Nice to meet you."
He not only hugged her, but he also patted her on the shoulder, touched her cheek, expressed his friendliness, and even kissed her on the cheek. Tuchel, who even expressed his strong affection, said, "You're going to be very good. You're going to like the process. I promise you."
Kim Min-jae also said he received love calls from many big clubs during the summer transfer market, but Tuchel's persuasion was behind his decision to move to Munich.
Kim Min-jae told Sport Bild at the time, "The phone call with Tuchel was very decisive and touching. He spoke very positively about me," adding, "He knew everything about me and my game and told me everything, and he has clear plans for me."
"It was very detailed. It gave me great feeling, confidence and stability," Tuchel said. "His thoughts on my game and my strengths exactly matched those of mine. I made the decision immediately after conversation with Tuchel," adding that Tuchel, who checked his strengths and performance, admitted that he was decisive in moving to Munich.
Tuchel immediately appointed Kim Min-jae, who has newly joined the team, as the starting pitcher. Starting from the opening game of the Bundesliga, Kim Min-jae played full-time in 15 consecutive games, raising concerns of overload.
However, Kim Min-jae's position in the second half of the year has significantly changed. When Dier and Diricht started as center backs, Tuchel decided on the two players as the starting center backs combination as the result was good. Kim Min-jae, who was a key defender in the first half, became a bench member.
BY: 스포츠토토
