Jurgen Klinsmann, coach of the national football team, is going on a European tour. The purpose is ‘European Care’.
Director Klinsman, who is currently staying in the United States, will board a plane to Europe on the 14th. Coach Klinsmann plans to visit England, Scotland, Italy and Germany sequentially to watch European players play.
He first checks the condition of captain Son Heung-min by watching the English Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth in London on the 15th. Tottenham is a team coach Klinsman played for, so the meeting with Son Heung-min is expected to attract more attention.
On the 16th, he will see Celtic Hyungyu Oh in Glasgow,안전놀이터 and on the 18th, he will go to Naples to watch the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal first leg, played by Minjae Kim. It is a big match between Napoli and AC Milan.
Lastly, in my home country Germany, I will watch Mainz and Bayern Munich on the 22nd and Freiburg and Schalke 04 on the 23rd. It is a schedule to check Lee Jae-seong and little Jung Woo-young on the spot.
The goal is to check the players’ skills and condition, but rather than that, the most important schedule seems to be a meeting with Kim Min-jae, who complained of mental fatigue after the A match in March.
After finishing the game against Uruguay on the 28th of last month, Kim Min-jae said, “It is difficult. He is mentally very broken. For the time being… I plan to focus only on my team, not for the time being. It’s not because of transfer rumors, it’s just football-wise. He cares more about his team than the national team. It has not yet been coordinated (with the Korea Football Association),” he said, making remarks that could be misunderstood as his retirement declaration. After that, he explained it through his SNS, but it was an incident that caused a big wave.
That wasn’t all. Afterwards, he ‘unfollowed’ Son Heung-min’s SNS account, and it was confirmed that he followed him again, causing controversy once again. Kim Min-jae said, “Heung-min always posts such a post after the national team call is over, but because of my interview the day before, he misunderstood and acted out of common sense.” He contacted Heung-min separately and apologized. He apologized, saying, “I’m sorry again,” and the case was closed.
First of all, the controversy has evolved, but Kim Min-jae definitely needs ‘mental care’. In the midst of a strong march in Naples this season, Kim Min-jae digested the Qatar World Cup with an injury. Even after the World Cup, he is having a killer schedule, playing both Serie A and Champions League without a break. He must be exhausted physically and mentally.
Kim Min-jae is as important a player as Son Heung-min in the national team. Kim Min-jae has grown into a world-class center back after advancing to Italy’s Serie A. He is the centerpiece of Napoli’s leading run and has been garnering attention from all over Europe. Local media predict that a transfer fee of at least 50 million euros (about 72.4 billion won) will be incurred in order to recruit Kim Min-jae.
One of Klinsman’s challenges is to maximize Kim Min-jae’s ability. We need to build a stronger defense around him so that we can expect good results in the next Asian Cup. It is absolutely necessary to manage Kim Min-jae, who has overcome physical and mental difficulties. Manager Klinsmann needs to help him find some peace of mind and play a vital role in his national team again.
The communication between Kim Min-jae and coach Klinsman has no choice but to have a big impact on the national team. Coach Klinsman cited ‘communication’ as his greatest strength after taking office. As he is from a star player and can understand Kim Min-jae’s position well, he is facing the most important point to show his ability.