Minjae Kim’s thoughts on his first goal “I wanted to score it earlier happy"

Scored debut with a header against Stuttgart on the 18th

Kim Min-jae, the starting defender of the Korean men's national soccer team, shared his thoughts on scoring his first goal for Bayern Munich of the German professional soccer Bundesliga.

As of the 24th (Korean time), Munich is ranked 2nd in the '2023-2024 Bundesliga'.

With 12 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss (38 points), they are closely following Leverkusen (42 points), the sole leader.

As the league is currently on a winter break, they plan to take the lead again starting with the game against Hoffenheim on January 13th next year.

Minjae Kim contributed greatly to the team's upward trend by playing in all 15 games Munich played this season.

In particular, in the match against Stuttgart (3-0 win) on the 18th, he scored a goal in the 18th minute of the second half when the team was ahead 2-0.

It was a spectacular goal scored after leaving Naples, an Italian professional soccer team in Serie A, through the transfer market last summer and wearing the Munich uniform. He shared his joy with his teammates after finishing Aleksandar Pavlovich's corner kick with a header.

In an interview with Julian Bühl of Germany's 'T-Online' on the 20th, Kim Min-jae said, “I have been waiting for a long time to score his first goal in Munich. That's my job as a defender, too. “If the defenders (as well as the attackers) score goals, it becomes much easier for the entire team,” he said.

He continued, “Actually, I wanted to put it in a little earlier. “I’m happy to finally score,” he said of his first goal.

On this day, Kim Min-jae could have scored his debut goal in the 25th minute of the first half, but the goal was not recognized due to his teammate's offside.

“I was happy (after scoring his first goal in the second half), but I was also worried at that moment. “I was a little concerned that it would be recorded as an own goal (because he hit the opposing defender),” he recalled at the time.

Contrary to Kim Min-jae's brief concerns, the goal was recognized as a goal, and Munich was able to secure a complete victory at home.

Meanwhile, Kim Min-jae is expected to leave the team for a while, separate from the break.

It is very likely that they will participate in the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup, which will be held in Qatar in January next year. As he has grown into a world-class defender beyond Korea and Asia, he is scheduled to head to Qatar upon being called by national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, barring variables such as injuries.

The Klinsmann will play the final evaluation match against Iraq in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the training ground, on January 6, and then head to Qatar, the site of the decisive battle, on the 10th.

Korea, belonging to Group E, will play its first match of the tournament against Bahrain on the 15th. Kim Min-jae is expected to start in this game.


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