SSC Napoli, where the Korean national football team’s flagship defender Kim Min-jae (27) plays, is cruising toward winning the Italian Serie A title for the first time in 33 years since the 1989-90 season.
As of the 16th, Napoli has 15 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss (47 points) in Serie A in the 2022-23 season ahead of the turning point, beating AC Milan (38 points), Juventus, and Inter Milan (37 points above) and occupying the top spot on the leaderboard. .
Napoli, which has steadily accumulated points since the beginning of this season, faltered by losing to Inter Milan in its first game after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, he immediately changed the atmosphere by overpowering Sampdoria (2-0 win), and on the 14th, which was considered a watershed, in an important match against Juventus, he won a landslide 5-1 and consolidated his leading position.
Founded in 1926, Napoli reached the top of the league twice in the 1986-87 season and 1989-90 season, and after 33 years, ‘Scudetto’ (a shield pattern patch that the winning team attaches to the center of the uniform next season) I am determined to add
When Napoli won the championship more than 30 years ago, the late Diego Maradona, the ‘Legend of Naples’ and the ‘God of Football’ born in Argentina, was active. Maradona, considered the best footballer in the world, won two league championships with Naples at the time with unrivaled play.
Napoli, which had fallen to Serie C (third division) after being declared bankrupt in 2004, returned to Serie A in 2007 through extensive structural reforms. Since then, he has consistently risen to the top, but has not been able to win. Napoli have only finished runner-up four times in the last 10 years.
In fact, ahead of the 2022-23 season, the prospects for Napoli were not very bright. It is because the team’s leading players left one after another ahead of the new season.
In Napoli, key players such as Kalidou Coulibaly (Chelsea), Fabian Luis (Paris Saint-Germain), Dries Mertens (Galatasaray), and Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto), who were active last season, changed their uniforms.
Instead of them, young players such as Kim Min-jae, Hvitza Kvarachhelia, Giacomo Raspadori, and Giovanni Simeoni joined, but fans were concerned because the reinforcement was not as good as expected.먹튀검증
However, when the lid is opened, Napoli’s propaganda exceeds expectations.
Napoli, led by coach Luciano Spalletti, went on an upward trend with 15 unbeaten matches (13 wins, 2 draws) after the opening before losing 0-1 to Inter Milan on the 5th. They accumulated points by defeating rivals such as AC Milan, Juventus and Lazio.
In the offense, Victor Osimen (12 goals, 3 assists), the league’s leading scorer, is flying, and Kvarachhelia, who caused a sensation in the early stages, is also posting 7 goals and 7 assists. Elif Elmas (5 goals, 1 assist), Andre Frank Jambo Angusha (2 goals, 3 assists), Mario Hui (6 assists), and Piotr Zielinski (3 goals, 5 assists) are performing evenly.
The performance of defender Kim Min-jae, who left Fenerbahce (Turkiye) and wore a Napoli uniform ahead of the 2022-23 season, is also flawless. It was Kim Min-jae, who was evaluated as a ‘substitute for Koulibaly’, but he is firmly blocking the back door of Naples with a perfect defensive position.
Kim Min-jae, who has been consistently playing as a starting center back, scored 2 goals in 17 Serie A games this season. In terms of playing time within the team, he took the third most time (1486 minutes) after goalkeeper Alex Meret (1620 minutes) and defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo (1609 minutes).
Napoli fans chanted “La capolista se ne va” (League leaders are running away) after a 5-1 victory over Juventus on the 14th. It was a voice that was happy to widen the gap with the second place.
Napoli fans, who eagerly waited for the championship after Maradona, are looking forward to the first victory in 33 years more than anyone else. And at the center of rising Napoli is Kim Min-jae.