The 'Iron Wall' Kim Min-jae (29, Bayern Munich) received a shocking diagnosis that he falls below the average level of the Bundesliga.
The German football magazine Kicker published a ranking of Bundesliga center-backs in December last year. At that time, Kim Min-jae was ranked 6th in the Bundesliga, receiving the evaluation of being 'international class,' not 'world class.' This indicates a level that could be effective even outside Germany. No center-back has been classified as world class in the Bundesliga.
Currently, Jonathan Tah, who transferred to Bayern Munich, has taken 1st place at Bayer Leverkusen. 2nd place also goes to his Leverkusen teammate Piero Hincapie. Kim Min-jae's center-back partner Dayot Upamecano ranked 3rd.
As the season progressed, the rankings were revised. Kicker will announce the rankings again at the end of the 2024-25 season. Kim Min-jae, who was ranked 6th, has completely fallen out of the rankings. He also dropped out of the 'national class' rankings, which assessed up to 21st place. This is a critical judgment indicating that Kim Min-jae is not a competitive center-back in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck surged from 7th to 1st place, becoming the best. Kim Min-jae's rival Jonathan Tah, who transferred to Bayern Munich, secured 2nd place. Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), and Piero Hincapie (Leverkusen) made it into the top 5.
What caused Kim Min-jae's ranking to plummet? Although Kim Min-jae was not the best defender in the Bundesliga last season, he performed adequately as a starter at the big club Bayern Munich. However, his five critical mistakes occurred at decisive moments, which worked against him.
The football statistics site Footmob assigned Kim Min-jae a season rating of 7.37. Kim Min-jae recorded a passing success rate of 92.6%, created 6 chances, had a dribble success rate of 60%, a tackle success rate of 57.1%, won 59.3% of duels, achieved a success rate of 64.6% in aerial duels, had 37 interceptions, made 153 recoveries, and scored 2 goals.
Kim Min-jae contributed to Bayern Munich's Bundesliga championship last season. He started in 27 league matches, logging 2,289 minutes of playing time, the most of any defender on the team.
However, Kim Min-jae is now classified as someone to be transferred. Max Eberl, the Director General of Bayern Munich, publicly stated, "After the Club World Cup, we will seek to transfer Kim Min-jae." Big clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool are interested in Kim Min-jae.
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