Serie A’s Player Of The Month for September Kim Min-jae is not hitting the headlines as his teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia but is achieving remarkable success in replacing Kalidou Koulibaly at Napoli, writes Stephen Kasiewicz.
The roar of exultation from the Korean monster as he celebrated a timely block like a winning goal has been widely shared in picture and video form.
As Milan technical director Paolo Maldini despaired from up high in a packed San Siro, Napoli central defender Kim Min-jae screamed in delight after an acrobatic clearance to deny Brahim Díaz.
It was a challenge worthy of all-time Milan and Italy great Maldini and led to an emotional embrace between Kim and goalkeeper Alex Meret just before the final whistle in the Partenopei’s dramatic 2-1 top-of-the-table victory at San Siro just before the break.
Also because of that, Kim has now been named Serie A’s Best Player for September.
It also vividly illustrated the passion and commitment of a defender tasked with replacing not only a Napoli legend but one of the best centre-backs in the world.
Kim had openly talked about the burden of being regarded as a like-for-like replacement for the great Kalidou Koulibaly before the campaign began.
Comparisons between the two may excite duelling keyboard warriors on social media but seem pointless considering their vastly different backgrounds and capabilities.
Nonetheless, Kim has already won over a sizeable portion of the sceptics in the opening seven rounds of the championship. Georgian wing magician Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has overshadowed all the club’s new signings with a series of sensational performances to propel Napoli to first place in the standings. Kim’s progress has not made the headlines in the same way but his impact should not be underestimated.
There have been tentative and nervous moments as the South Korean international adjusts to the unique demands of Italian football and it might take him the entire campaign to fully adapt.
Yet despite a few scares, notably in the first few games and in a breakneck opening onslaught at Rangers in the Champions League, Kim has stood firm alongside the equally impressive Amir Rrahmani at the heart of the Napoli defence.
Deceptively quick, solid in possession and dangerous from set-pieces Kim has already registered two-headed goals and relishes the physical demands of defending, earning him an uncompromising nickname early on in his career.
Unafraid to embrace new challenges, the 25-year-old centre-back is far from the untested prospect dismissed by uninformed observers when he arrived from Turkish giants Fenerbahçe.
Identified as one of the best youngsters in South Korea as a teenager, he progressed all the way from the nation’s under-16 squad to the national team and won two K-League titles with Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.
Baseball dominates the landscape in a country which deifies its sporting heroes. Yet nothing unites South Korea like the Taegeuk Warriors and millions gather across the Asian nation whenever the national football team is in action.
While the level of scrutiny is not as merciless and exacting as in Italy, Kim is part of a squad which is expected to win every game, regardless of the opposition. It’s no cakewalk either with Japan, Australia and Iran among others providing fierce competition, especially during rigorous World Cup qualification matches. Unfazed by the intense pressure he has won 42 international caps and embarked on an unconventional career path.
Kim could have won multiple titles at home but instead opted to spend just over two seasons in China at Beijing Guoan and thrived in the ferocious Istanbul goldfish bowl last term at Fenerbahçe.
Long admired by clubs in the English Premier League, the defender has resisted the urge to join the cash cavalcade despite consistent stories connecting him with a move to team up with compatriot Son Heung-min at Tottenham Hotspur.
Few transfer experts would have chosen Napoli as his preferred destination but Kim’s devotion to the Gli Azzurri cause is unquestionable, exemplified in the block which stunned San Siro.
The moment has already been immortalized as a rallying cry for a club that many predicted would fall out of the top four contentions when icons Lorenzo Insigne, Dries Mertens and Koulibaly left in the summer.
Kim has the character – as shown in some nifty dance moves to Psy’s Gangnam Style in his initiation song – and temperament to become a dependable mainstay at Napoli.
Koulibaly will never be forgotten, but the early signs suggest the best is yet to come from the Korean monster who is steadily building his own reputation at the Stadio Diego Maradona.
Such a dumb title. Koulibaly will never be a distant memory. He shut out the likes of mbappe and Salah, and carried the team many times. He’s a Napoli legend, and was nominated for the ballon d’or
FI is becoming a distant memory with awful takes like this
Let’s put it this way. A freshly-arrived Kim is doing a lot better than Kalidou during his first couple of seasons, where he really was that guy, with tremendous potential, getting carried away with attacking pushes and reckless challenges. All this hype around Kim, however, shouldn’t overshadow the fact that his partner, Amir Rrahmani, has truly turned into a hell of defender.
That title was such clickbait, they knew it would trigger Napoli fans to click on the article to see that blasphemy. I am very happy with Kim and think he has been great so far. However, I think he is being over hyped. Koulibaly was a different animal and Napoli hasn’t had many challenges this year so far that you can say he’s replaced K2 already. The player I have been the most surprised by and believe is the reason our defense looks so good is Meret. I’ll admit I did not expect much from him, but he has been outstanding this year. Milan broke down our defense multiple times and should have had at least 3-4 goals. Luckily Meret had a great game and Milan was a little unlucky on top of that. If he didn’t play well, I think it is a much different article being written.
Kim has been the best defensive signing of the summer in the whole Serie A this season. He’s nasty without going over the line, is almost never caught out of position, and plays hard giving his all every game.
What a player. Napoli has to do everything they can to keep him because it won’t be long before teams from other leagues come for him.