“Are you from Kim’s country?”
I heard a lot about the popularity of Korean defender Kim Min-jae (27, Naples) in Naples, a port city in southern Italy, but when I actually visited him, it exceeded my expectations.
By the way, it’s the same in other Europe, but in Italy, everywhere you go, you’re asked if you’re Chinese or Japanese. Very few people ask if he is Korean.
If you answer that you are Korean, the next question asks if you are from North Korea or South Korea. It was Naples that broke this unchanging repertoire.
On the 5th (local time), one day after the Italian professional soccer Serie A Napoli league championship was confirmed, I visited Napoli, the hometown of the club.
When I got off at Naples Central Station and entered a nearby cafe, the staff immediately asked, “Are you from Kim’s country?”
When he said yes, the employee shouted “Kim! Kim! Kim!” and gave his thumbs up with a big smile. Hospitality towards Koreans was the same everywhere.
Knowing that the people I met at Plebiscito Square, the center of Naples, were Koreans, almost without exception, they welcomed me by shouting “Kim! Kim! Kim!”
Even the teenagers shouting “Kim!
After winning the league for the first time in 33 years, the entire city turned into a gigantic festival ground, and it was easy to see photos and uniforms of Kim Min-jae, the protagonist of the championship, all over the city of Naples.
A Kim Min-jae figure and a refrigerator magnet with a uniform number were also found on the shelves of street vendors in the alley connecting Piazza Plebiscito and Piazza Jesu Nuovo.
Napoli is famous in Europe for its love of football.
Although it is a poor city and has many problems including unemployment and organized crime, Naples citizens forget their worries and find happiness through football.
The players who brought the greatest happiness of winning to the citizens of Naples are treated as heroes. The reason why Koreans are so warmly welcomed is because Kim Min-jae is so grateful and precious to the citizens of Naples.
In Naples, Kim Min-jae is no different from a ‘rolling fortune’.
Kim Min-jae, who joined Napoli in place of Kalidou Koulibaly, who left for Chelsea in the English Premier League (EPL), took the starting position in just one season and performed his best.
Kim Min-jae started 32 out of 33 league games, and Napoli ranked first in the league for the least goals.
“Football Italia,” a local sports media outlet, called Kim Min-jae “one of the best players this season,” and “he replaced the club legend, Koulibaly. I didn’t expect it to be,” he praised.
Kim Min-jae captivated the Neapolitans even outside of football. Kim Min-jae has a large tattoo of Jesus holding a cross on his back.
Naples fans, most of whom are Catholics, said they began to recognize Kim Min-jae’s tattoo as ‘our player’. Kim Min-jae also met the team well.
Giuseppe Ravano (47), whom we met in Naples, said, “I saw Kim Min-jae dancing ‘Gangnam Style’ in front of his teammates in the early days of joining, and I fell in love with him from then on.” said.스포츠토토
Andrea Cacache (40) said, “It is difficult to say that he is the best defender in the world because he has only seen one season, but it is certain that he is the best defender in Serie A.” “Kim Min-jae is fast, aggressive and focused. “, he evaluated.
Kim Min-jae, who became the ‘King of Defense’ in Italy, the home of ‘Bracket Defense’, is already embroiled in transfer rumors. Big clubs such as Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool are paying attention.
When Vincenzo (45) said, ‘There are many rumors that Kim Min-jae will transfer after this season,’ he said, “Let’s not talk about that on a happy day like today.”