Bayern Munich fans reacted angrily to coach Hong Myung-bo's comments.
The national soccer team, led by Hong Myung-bo, will face Oman on the 20th at Goyang Stadium in the '2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia Third Qualifier Round 7'. Then, South Korea will have its 8th match against Jordan on the 25th at Suwon World Cup Stadium.
South Korea, which belongs to Group B, is currently at the top of the group with 4 wins, 2 draws, and 14 points. Iraq is in second place with 11 points, and Jordan is in third with 9 points. If South Korea secures two wins in this doubleheader, it will confirm its advance to the World Cup finals in North and Central America early.
The biggest issue is Kim Min-jae's injury. Coach Hong Myung-bo announced the roster of 28 players on the 10th. Key defender Kim Min-jae was included. Kim Min-jae played the full game against Bayer Leverkusen on the 12th, and his injury worsened. He missed the match against VfL Bochum on the 8th due to injury but returned for one game only to re-injure himself.
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany officially confirmed in a press conference on the 14th, "Kim Min-jae is injured. I hope it won't take long for him to recover, but he will not be able to play for at least a few weeks going forward."
Ultimately, the Korea Football Association excluded Kim Min-jae and selected Kim Ju-seong as a replacement. In an interview during training on the 17th, Coach Hong Myung-bo pointed out that Munich neglected to manage Kim Min-jae's injury.
Coach Hong noted, "Kim Min-jae is an important player not only for the national team but also for Munich. Despite continuous signals indicating injury risk, he did not receive adequate protection. Considering this, we decided to give him a break on the national team."
German media and Munich fans reacted angrily to Coach Hong Myung-bo's comments. His remarks were translated into German and conveyed to German fans, who strongly opposed. Munich fans expressed, "Kim Min-jae's salary is paid by Bayern," "The club comes before the national team," "Was South Korea planning to have Kim Min-jae play full time while only facing Oman?" and "Calling Kim Min-jae, who is far away, to the national team is a bigger problem."
The German perspective is that Kim Min-jae is an employed player of Bayern Munich. The employer who pays his salary has absolute authority over his player usage compared to the national team. It was pointed out that it is inappropriate for Coach Hong Myung-bo to shift the responsibility to Kompany for managing Kim Min-jae.
German media reported that Coach Hong Myung-bo attacked Bayern Munich over the issue of player protection for Kim Min-jae. 'Bild' reported, "Coach Hong Myung-bo criticized Bayern Munich harshly. He claimed that player protection was not properly implemented. He pointed out that Bayern and Coach Vincent Kompany did not adequately consider Kim Min-jae's health."
As a result, Kim Min-jae could not participate in the A match call-up. The national team will face Oman and Jordan consecutively without key defender Kim Min-jae. I hope Kim Min-jae can focus on a quick recovery in Germany.
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