Yikes…
Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae is out for South Korea’s upcoming international matches and its coach sounds pretty positive on whose fault that would be — Bayern Munich.
South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo lobbed criticism toward the Bavarians and how they handled Min-jae’s lingering Achilles tendonitis.
“Unfortunately, Bayern Munich did not properly protect the player to prevent injury. So we’ve ended up in a situation where we have to play these important matches without a key player. Kim Min-jae is an extremely important player not only for his club Bayern Munich but also for our national team,” said Myung-bo (as captured by Yonhap News Agency via @iMiaSanMia). “Just because a match is important doesn’t mean it’s right to have Kim on the pitch. There have been warning signs since last year and we were fully aware of them. We couldn’t keep Kim Min-jae around for the next important games because it would run counter to our principles of protecting players. So we’ve made the decision to rest him.”
This seems to be a pointed critique of Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany’s handling of the situation — and it is valid. There have been ample opportunities to rest Min-jae, but Kompany has put a lot of wear-and-tear on both Min-jae and fellow center-back Dayot Upamecano this season.
On the flip side, Min-jae has also been rumored to be a player who is vocal about his desire to be in the lineup for every game and who has also shown a genuine willingness to play through this condition.
In the end, though, a more measured approach from both Kompany and Min-jae might have prevented things from reaching this point.
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