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| Kim Min-jae stretches out his feet to block the ball from Uruguay’s Olivera during the 2022 Qatar World Cup Group H first leg match between Korea and Uruguay held at Education City Stadium in Arrayyan, Qatar on the 24th. yunhap news |
伊 Press Complaint “Why are there so many defenders Mr. Kim?”
The media in Naples, Italy applauded Kim Min-jae (Napoli), who led the national team to scoreless despite concerns regarding injury.
Kim Min-jae started as a central defender in the first leg of the 2022 Qatar World Cup group stage held at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar on the 24th (local time) and contributed greatly to a scoreless draw.
But there were also some poignant scenes. Kim Min-jae injured his right calf in the second half as he slipped on the grass while chasing striker Darwin Núñez (Liverpool). After he received treatment he returned to play, but it was his heartbreaking moment.
Not only Korean fans, but also Napoli fans swept away the controversy. This is because he is active in Italian professional football Serie A and is a key player indispensable to the team. ‘Napoli Piu’ said following the game that day, “It was a really scary moment,” and “all the Napoli fans sitting in front of the TV watched the scene with concern.” ‘Napoli Piu’ praised, saying, “Korea’s central defender, Kim Min-jae, got up and walked slowly, touched his right calf, then returned and played until the end of the game” and “Napoli’s defender is a true warrior.”
After the game, Kim Min-jae said, “It’s the first time I’ve injured a muscle, but I don’t think it’s serious.”
Italy, which failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, instead shows special interest in Kim Min-jae, a key player in its league. Listening to the live broadcast of the World Cup on the Italian public broadcaster ‘Rai 1’, the tone of the voices of the casters and commentators rose sharply whenever Kim Min-jae caught the ball.
The Italian relay relayed the game and changed the title of Kim Min-jae. This is because Kim Jin-su, Kim Min-jae, Kim Young-kwon, Kim Moon-hwan, and goalkeeper Kim Seung-kyu in the four-back line are all Mr. Kim. When commentating on league matches in one’s own country, it was sufficient to call Min-jae Kim ‘Kim’, but now there are too many players with the same last name in the Korean national team. In the end, the relay team of Rye 1 gave up calling Min-jae Kim ‘Kim’ and started calling him ‘Min-jae’.
The Italian newspaper ‘La Repubblica’ pointed out, “Korea is not kidding”, saying, “Korea is not only the goalkeeper, but also the right, left and two central defenders are all Kim.” ‘La Repubblica’ said, “Among them, Min-jae Kim is the most well-known player not only in Italy but also around the world.” “In fact, the problem is serious. Commentators are also confused.”
Reporter Cho Seong-jin
