Minjae's fall and Munich's consideration is disappointing Hong Myung-bo's remarks, why on earth?
Mar 17, 2025
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Coach Hong met with reporters ahead of his first convocation training session at the auxiliary stadium of Goyang Stadium on the 17th. At this meeting, Hong said "As you know, Kim Min-jae is a very important player for our team. However, a little disappointing is that Munich should have prevented it to protect players. There have been signals about the risk of injury since before. The national team was fully aware of the risk of injury."
Kim Min-jae was included in the national team's call-up list against Oman and Jordan in the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup. However, on the 17th, it was decided that treatment and recovery were needed during the A-match due to left Achilles tendinitis, so the call was lifted. Instead, Hong replaced FC Seoul defender Kim Joo-sung.
Concerns have been steadily raised about Kim Min-jae's risk of injury. With Munich playing both the German Bundesliga and the European Champions League, Kim Min-jae has consistently played as the main defender. Accumulated fatigue has been observed to lead to poor condition and increased risk of injury. Eventually, concerns became a reality due to the national team's fall. It is a major negative factor for Hong Myung-bo, who wanted to confirm his trip to the North Korea-China World Cup finals through two consecutive home games.
Coach Hong expressed regret again, saying, `We are going to play without an important player in an important game,' but added, `We wanted to give him a bold break because it is not right to play with that player (Kim Min-jae) now in order to protect the player.'
The following is a Q&A session with Hong.
-It's my first call-up this year.
▶It has been three to four months since November last year. As I mentioned at the press conference, players in Europe have their own difficulties, and the K-League has its own difficulties not long after it opened. This is a more important time than ever. I hope our players will prepare more comfortably while recognizing the important time and game. When the players gather today and tomorrow, they will have to check the whole thing. I think it is very important to check which players are in good condition and performance.
-Kim Min-jae was injured and Kim Joo-sung was selected as a substitute. There must be a lot of concerns about the composition of the defense.
▶ As you know, Kim Min-jae is a very important player for our team. However, a little disappointing is that Munich should have prevented it to protect players. There have been signals about the risk of injury since before. The national team was fully aware of the risk of injury. He will play without an important player in an important match. I wanted to give him a break boldly because it is not right to play with that player (Kim Min-jae) now in order to protect the player.
Kim Joo-sung once joined the national team last year. The organizational aspect of defense is very important. Compared to other candidate players, Kim Joo-sung came into the national team once, and I thought he had a little more experience than other players in the game model we wanted to do. I selected him because I thought he showed his good defense in the last K-League game.
-A player (Jens Kastrov) who considered calling up has been called up to the German Under-21 national team.
It is a different matter because he was selected for the under-21 national team, not the ▶ national team. I think I told you at the last press conference. There are too many complications (including the call-up of the national team). But now we (national team) have to train a day or two and go out to the World Cup qualifying round. I don't think it's right for the player or team to go in a different direction as a whole. At some point, we can judge and do that, but now we have to train for two days and go to important games. It's too complicated to think about in the present situation. I thought it should be postponed to later.
-Hwang In-beom participated last weekend and how he saw it. The utilization plan is.
▶If I join tomorrow (18th), I think I'll have to check it out. Because I was replaced after the first half, and I heard there was a bruise on the top of my foot. It didn't look like a 100% performance because it's been a long time since I played. Still, since he is a player who plays a very important role in our team, I think the utilization plan should be decided through meetings.
-A day before the match against Oman, all overseas players will gather.
▶It's something that's been going on until now. It is a difficult situation for the national team. But it's a well-known problem. Therefore, that is why it is difficult when there are many changes in players in terms of management. The main players are out and new players are here, and as it is the first call-up today to prepare for the match against Oman and Jordan, I think we need to carefully review and prepare (in the future). It is a little difficult to predict that any player can play perfectly.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
