What is the possibility that “Korean Monster” Kim Min-jae (27, Naples) will write a new history?
The Italian Serie A Secretariat스포츠토토 announced the candidates for the March Player of the Month on the 23rd (Korean time). Kim Min-jae was named among the five candidates along with Hvica Kvarachhelia, Armand Loriente (Sassuolo), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), and Destiny Udozi (Udinese).
The Player of the Month is determined by fan voting. Players belonging to a team with a large fandom have an advantage. In addition, there is a high possibility of winning the award for players with outstanding stats and good team performance.
Kim Min-jae is the only central defender among the candidates. You can appreciate his true value only by looking at his defense-related stats and overall performance, rather than attack points such as goals and assists. In fan voting, there is a disadvantage in competing against strikers whose stats are clearly revealed.
However, recently coach Luciano Spalletti, enemy generals, colleagues, and many Italian media outlets are highlighting Kim Min-jae’s performance every day. There is no way that the fans participating in the vote do not know Kim Min-jae’s skills.
He doesn’t have bad grades, which can sway the vote. Napoli has 2 wins and 1 loss in the 3 matches they played in March. They lost 0-1 to Lazio, but then beat Atalanta and Torino. It is highly likely that Kim Min-jae will benefit from a scoreless victory in the two games he won.
However, the stumbling block is that the stats of competitors are remarkably good. Teammates Kvarachhelia and Rabiot scored 2 goals and 1 assist in 3 games. Wingback Woo Do-ji recorded one assist. Loriente, who scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 3 games, is the most likely player of the month. Sassuolo also won three games in a row during this period.
Also, the fact that two Napoli players are nominated could work against Kim Min-jae. This is because the votes of Napoli fans can be dispersed.
Kim Min-jae, who already won the Player of the Month award in September of last year, is challenging his second award. At that time, Kim Min-jae wrote a new history as the first Asian player to win the Player of the Month award. If he receives it this time, he will become the first defender to win the award twice in a single season. Kvarachhelia is the only player to have won the Player of the Month award twice in one season, in August of last year and in February of this year.