South Korean soccer’s “iron pillar,” Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), who is known for his world-class defense, has become mentally stronger and more mature.
“It’s a tough situation for all players, but I’m just grateful that I’m playing without getting sick,” Kim said of the “abuse controversy” surrounding him at the press conference for the second Asian qualifier for the 2026 North American World Cup at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Center in Guangdong, China, on Tuesday. This is the first time since the launch of the Clean Sweep that Kim has held an official A-match press conference since late March against Uruguay.
Since joining Munich from the German Bundesliga in the 2023-24 season, Kim has played full-time in 17 of Munich’s 18 official matches, including four A-Match matches in September and October. He also played full-time against Singapore on Sept. 16.
On that day, Kim Min-jae said, “I think my body is tired from playing so many matches. When asked by the press how he is overcoming it, he said, “Of course it’s hard. But I wouldn’t say it’s hard because all players are hard,” he replied.
Kim Min-jae also said, “We’re playing a lot of games,” and added, “It’s different for those who are playing and those who aren’t, but it’s the same for everyone. It’s not fair to say, ‘It’s hard, I’m going to die,’” he said. “I’m just grateful to be playing without getting injured. I think it means I’m still in good shape,” he said, adding, “I’ll take care of myself so I don’t get injured.”
Eight months ago, Kim Min-jae was caught up in the ‘national team retirement controversy’ for talking about his difficulties. When asked if he was “tired,” Kim said, “I’m mentally broken right now,” adding, “I’m tired in terms of soccer, I’m tired in terms of my body, and that’s why I only want to focus on my club team now, not the national team.” At the time, Kim was still playing for Napoli in the Italian Serie A, where he was going strong in the regular season, Champions League, cup competitions, and A matches. The day before the game, he had appeared at a press conference with Klinsmann to prepare for the game. There were many articles that interpreted his comments as a hint that he was retiring from the national team 아톰카지노.
However, Kim posted a lengthy post on social media on the 29th, apologizing for the misunderstanding, saying, “The meaning of hard work was conveyed incorrectly. I was feeling a lot of pressure in a situation where I was becoming more and more important in the national team, which was just fun, and the story of my mental collapse was the pressure on the field, the responsibility to always do well, the disappointment of conceding a goal as a defender, and these things were hard.” “There was never a time in my national team career when I didn’t give my best, or when I was on the roster, when I started a national team game, I never took it for granted, and there was never a game where I didn’t work hard because I had a nagging injury, because I had a long flight, because I had a lot of games, because my body was tired. I gave it everything and played like hell,” he emphasized.
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