The Champions League
Kim Min-jae (26, Bayern Munich) needs a break. The Champions League is a dream stage for soccer players, but, ironically, this is the only chance to rest. However, manager Thomas Tuchel declined to give a definite answer to the rotation.
Bayern Munich will play its fifth Group A match against Copenhagen at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, at 5 a.m. on the 30th.
It is a Champions League schedule, but there is no big burden on Bayern Munich. Regardless of the remaining two games of the group stage, they will advance to the knockout stage (tournament) of the round of 16. Like a German Bundesliga giant and a team seeking to win the European championship, it won all four rounds of the group stage to confirm the top spot in Group A.
Locally, the focus was on the possibility of rotation. Bayern Munich completed a solid core line this summer by recruiting Kim Min-jae, the first winner of Napoli in 33 years, and Harry Kane, a top-class Premier League striker.
However, if you look at the squad, the depth is thin on the defense side. In particular, Kim Min-jae, Dayo Upamecano and Mathias the Licht are the only central defense. During the summer transfer window, the depth of the central defensive squad became thinner as Benjaming Pavard and Josip Stanisic were sent to full transfer and loan transfer.
Entering the 2023-24 season, Kim Min-jae was overloaded as Upamecano and The Licht were injured alternately. Kim Min-jae played full-time (15 games) in all official matches except for replacements in Leipzig and the DFB Super Cup. So far, he has played 1544 minutes. If the Korean national team schedule is added to this, the playing time will be longer. A total of 25 consecutive full-time games are close to overworking.
In Germany, he announced the possibility of rotation against Copenhagen, which can be afforded. Germany's "Spoex" said on the 29th, "Coach Tuchel is preparing for the match against Copenhagen. He is contemplating the composition of the defense. Kim Min-jae did not participate in training twice on the 27th and 28th. He has played in many games recently and has even played A matches. He looked quite tired on the Cologne road just before. "I don't think I'll be able to participate."
The same goes for other media. Germany's leading newspaper "Bild" also reported the news, excluding Kim Min-jae from the expected list of the match against Copenhagen. "Barbarian Football" also announced, "Coach Tuchel is expected to rotate some rotation in the Champions League home game."
Media are insisting on rotation, but all decisions are made by Tuchel. In a press conference ahead of the match against Copenhagen, Tuchel said, "We have already decided to advance to the knockout stage of the round of 16, but I want to say that we don't take that fact seriously. I don't want to give that impression. If we make any changes, it is a choice to raise the level of competition. We have not yet decided how much change we will bring," he said, cautioning against premature judgment.
"Lotation is possible, but this is the Champions League." I don't want to force a change in our flow. The whole team is in good shape. Managing team fatigue is not difficult. I was off from Friday to Wednesday," he said.
There is a possibility that the rotation will not be decided, overturning all expectations. Tuchel never changed his starting best on the away road in Cologne on the 25th.
Before the match, "Kim Min-jae and Alfonso Davis are now back from their national team schedule. Kim Min-jae doesn't seem to know where he's getting up now. It's a physically difficult time. We have an away game on Friday, not even on the weekend. Kim Min-jae, Alfonso Davis's physical strength may have already reached or exceeded the limit. Of course, such a schedule may be due to broadcasting rights. It can't be an excuse, but it's a very unfortunate schedule. In contrast, he said, "I chose a short trip on Friday morning so that the players could rest at home."
Football statistics company "Opta" was also surprised. "It is the first time since December 2010 that Bayern Munich has not taken out a replacement card," they said. "Those who met with Sao Pauli when they were coach Louis van Gaal did not replace them and won 3-0 with 11 starters."
Tuchel also said it was not common, and he felt sorry for the players who started. After the match against Cologne, "This doesn't usually happen in football. "I apologized to the players," he said. "It wasn't that I didn't trust the bench players. We were well in control of the game. Harry Kane and Choupo-Moting continued their excellent performances up front. Players who played on the ground did their best for three points until the end. Thomas Muller, Mattis Tell, and Rafael Guerreiro were thought to be put in, but the situation was tight. I didn't want to disturb the rhythm," he bowed his head.
Kane didn't care too much. After giving his team three points with the winning goal, he said in an interview, "The match against Cologne was a very important game. You might think the performance wasn't good, but we did very well. I made scenes where I could score three goals in the first half. It brought three very important points. We dominated the battle against Cologne. It created more scoring opportunities, and did not allow the opponent an easy chance. I could have scored many points, but I don't care that it wasn't. "It's important to win the first game since the A-match break," he said, adding that he was satisfied with the team's victory rather than an unusual record in 13 years.
Kim Min-jae did his part again on this day. It wasn't an overwhelming rating because he looked somewhat tired of the defender, but according to soccer statistics media "Footmob," Kim Min-jae's rating was 7.5 points. Kim Min-jae's central defensive partner Upamecano had an eight-point rating. Coman, who actively led Bayern Munich's attack from the front, scored 8.3, Kane scored 8.0, and Goretzka scored 7.9.
Kim Min-jae's rating on "Huscoord Dotcom" was 7.3. Kane had 7.5 points, while Upamecano and Sané had 7.7. Coman had the highest rating of 7.9. None of the players who played that day exceeded eight points. Bayern Munich won the away road in Cologne, but it seems that it did not show an overwhelming performance.
The individual stat against Cologne was also impressive. Kim Min-jae, a central defender, recorded the most passes in Bayern Munich with 123 passes. He played more passes than any other midfielder, showing a performance like a 'Bayern Munich Kaiser'.
Most of the 123 passes were successful, recording a 95.1% pass success rate. He recorded four successful dribbles, three final third-area passes, three long-pass successes (100%), one clearing, one intercept, four recoveries, and nine ground competitions. In addition, he proved that he is the highest-level central defense in Europe by recording four long-pass successes, one blocking, two clearing, three interceptions, five recoveries, and two aerial competitions.
However, UEFA, which predicted Kim Min-jae to start, made a slight change to the expected list against Copenhagen. Kim Min-jae pointed out that he would pair up with Upamecano to start, but later included Kim Min-jae on the list of uncertain players.
Whether they rotate the rotation or not, the Bayern Munich squad is determined to continue their winning streak in the Champions League. Midfielder Konrad Reimer said: "This is the Champions League. When you enter the ground wearing a Bayern Munich uniform, just listening to the Champions League theme song makes you want to win. Copenhagen is a team with a strong counterattack. They must not be underestimated. I prepared well for this game. We have to produce the best results," he said.
Meanwhile, Kim Min-jae also did not care much about the controversy over "harsh death." If I give him a chance, he will do his best to run. In an interview after the second qualifying match against Singapore in the Asian region of the FIFA North Korea-China-U.S. World Cup on the 16th, "I told you last time, but I think it's better to play than not to play." It's a difficult situation, but you have to run while managing how you can maintain your concentration in it," he said.
At a press conference ahead of the match against China, he said, "Talking about it being hard is a sound of fullness. I want to thank you for running. You have to be thankful that you are playing without getting hurt. "Now we have to take good care of ourselves so that we don't get hurt," he replied.
In the match against Cologne, Kim Min-jae was quite tired because he flew for a long time after the World Cup qualifying round. It was the fastest matchup of the weekend's games, so I didn't have enough time to recover. However, he was in charge of the rear of Bayern Munich and worked diligently to prevent the attack on Cologne.
There was a big clash with Lynton in the 14th minute. The opponent's foul landed on the ground. Lying down for a while, he complained of pain. He played full-time for Bayern Munich for 14 consecutive games until just before, which could lead to a major injury. Soon he shook off his seat and got up and returned to his position.
He has shown a gritty play in Bayern Munich every time, but he needs a Champions League break for the whole team. Bayern Munich must enter a tight league schedule after the Champions League. Currently, he is in second place in the Bundesliga with a two-point gap with Bayer Leverkusen, so if he is caught at least once, the winning race will be lit up in red.
This is why we need to relax in the match against Copenhagen, which has confirmed its advance to the round of 16 in the Champions League. This is also why Germany asked Tuchel first about the possibility of rotation against Copenhagen. Coach Tuchel avoided a definite answer with the nuance of "I don't want to be relieved that I've reached the round of 16 in the Champions League," but if you look at the situation in which he used key players without a replacement in the previous match against Germany's leading field, there is a possibility of rotation in the Champions League except for the goaltender. 스포츠토토사이트
In fact, "Bild" also announced that Mattis Tell, Goretzka and Reimer will participate in the Champions League's expected lineup. Reimer's full-back appearance has been predicted, which is likely as he attended a press conference before the Champions League match.