Kim Min-jae, the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors’ ace center back, still remembers the pain of May. His injury was bad, and even those who bet on sports felt bad for the player.
Carried off the field, Kim Min-jae fell after attempting a block against Daegu FC on May 2. When he returned to the locker room, he realized the extent of his injury: a hairline fracture in his right shin. He couldn’t stop crying.
After receiving medical treatment for four weeks, Kim received the news he never wanted to hear. He failed to make the World Cup team. It was a particularly brutal sting for the center back. Especially someone who earned the nickname “The Monster”. It was for his performance in the national team’s Asian qualifiers for the World Cup last year.
Kim Min-Jae is back
Now, two and a half months since that fateful injury, Kim is eager to get back on the pitch. He will be the anchor of the Taeguk Warrior’s defense at the Asian Games in Indonesia next month.
When asked which teams he wanted to beat the most, the eager center back said Iran and Japan. He played for the national team in the World Cup qualifiers last August. Then, he made an appearance against Iran as well. Of course, he showed his competitive spirit once again. This was when an Iranian player stepped on his head after competing for a header.
“I want to beat Iran, which is strong defensively,” he said, “and it goes without saying that I really want to beat Japan.”
His ultimate goal, of course, is to help the team win a gold medal, but he also wants to do it without letting up a single goal. “I want to end with a clean sheet in all eight games,” he said. Of course, this includes four group-stage matches and four playoff matches.
