Son Heung-min (32, Tottenham), who represents Korean soccer spears and shields, and Kim Min-jae (28, Bayern Munich) had a historic showdown in Seoul.
Tottenham and Bayern Munich played two games of the “Coupang Play Series” at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8 p.m. on the 3rd.
The two teams showed their true colors of European soccer in front of 63,496 spectators who visited the stadium despite the heat wave exceeding 30 degrees Celsius.
In particular, Bayern Munich, a prestigious German Bundesliga club that visited Korea for the first time since its foundation in 1900, showed off offensive soccer and won 2-1 against Gabriel Vidovic in the fourth minute of the first half and Leon Solidzka in the eighth minute of the second half.
As much as the two teams faced off, the clash between “Chang” Son Heung-min and “shield” Kim Min-jae, who started, was also interesting.
Son penetrated into the center from the side in the seventh minute of the first half and hit a sharp shot. The ball slightly crossed the crossbar for 74 minutes until replacement in the 30th minute of the second half.
Kim Min-jae also proudly took charge of the center axis of the defensive line and clashed with Tottenham striker Dejan Kulusevski several times to defend himself perfectly.
Kim Min-jae was replaced in the 10th minute of the second half and left the ground.
“I am confident that Kim Min-jae will become one of the best players in the world,” Son said after the match at the mixed zone. “I have never doubted his capabilities. I am so proud of him as a Korean teammate.”
Kim Min-jae also expressed his respect for Son Heung-min at a press conference the previous day (2nd), saying, “I don’t think I want to meet (Son) Heung-min as much as possible.”
Nevertheless, the two players also caused a “real brother chemistry” by arguing with each other.
A video of the two players meeting after the match was posted on Tottenham’s official social media. According to the video, Son Heung-min was waiting for Kim Min-jae with his uniform.
When Kim found Son holding the uniform, he suddenly disappeared with the words, “I’ll get it quickly. It’s in there.”
In response, Son Heung-min was waiting for Kim Min-jae to come without saying, “Hey! This isn’t mine.” 안전놀이터
It appears that the two players had promised to do a small event in advance of exchanging uniforms.
When Kim Min-jae appeared a long time later with his uniform, Son Heung-min said cutely, “Come quickly.” After taking a commemorative photo, Kim Min-jae showed off his friendship by having a short conversation with Son Heung-min.
Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae, who had a short meeting in Seoul, will prepare for the 2024-2025 season in earnest.
The English Premier League (EPL) will open on the 16th and the German Bundesliga will start on the 23rd.