South Korea national player
©IMAGO
The FIFPRO player union recently drew attention to the increasing burden for footballers. As one of many examples, the organization also cited Min-Jae Kim from FC Bayern during the week during the week, which has already played 48 games for club and national team this season and has traveled with a total of 74,000 kilometers. Kim is now far away from the top in an international comparison when it comes to operational time, at which Real Madrids Federico Valverde is.
For FC Bayern, Kim 42 completed a possible 46 games and was on the pitch for over 3,548 minutes – after Joshua Kimmich most of the Munich. By the end of the season, after leaving the Champions League against Inter Milan, five more missions in the Bundesliga and seven possible games can be added as part of the club World Cup. Kim, who, according to the FIFPRO, has been suffering from Achilles tendon problems for a long time, only missed the 1-1 at Union Berlin on the 26th matchday. In the other three games he was spared by Vincent Kompany.
The 69-time national player in South Koreas represented his country in six games this season-all over the full duration. In September, October and November, he started the trip to the capital, 8,378 kilometers away from Munich. Four of South Korea’s six caps in autumn 2024 were played away, all of them long trips to the Middle East such as Kuwait, Palestine (held in Jordan), Jordan and Oman. In particular, the travel traps with the national team of South Korea put Kim on the 74,000 kilometers called the FIFPRO. In March, the 28-year-old stayed at the Achilles tendon in Munich due to persistent problems. Against this background, his national coach accused the record champion.
Kim International in 63th place – Valverde can come to 76 games
It is no secret that the burden in professional football for players is increasing due to the increasing number of games in the course of expanding competitions. Last summer, two major continental tournaments were held with the European Championship and the Copa América. This was followed by a season with a European Cup reform, within the framework of which clubs such as FC Bayern had to play four additional games until the round of 16. With 4,088 minutes, Kim only ranks 63 over 48 missions compared to the European top 15 leagues.
Kimmich is the only Bundesliga professional that can be found in an international comparison in the TOP-25 minutes of deployment. The DFB captain completed 54 games for club and national team over 4,675 minutes, which means 14th place. At the top is Valverde, who was on the pitch 50 times for Real Madrid and eleven times for Uruguay and collected 5,118 minutes. With seven outstanding games in Laliga, the final of the Copa del Rey and seven possible games at the club World Cup, the Uruguayer can come to 76 games in the 2024/25 season.
The Bundesliga and Ligue 1 end their game on May 17, the Premier League, Series A and Laliga will follow up on May 25th. After the Champions League final on May 31, there is an international break, in which the Nations League finals will be held between June 4 and 8. In addition, the club World Cup in the USA will take place from June 14th to July 13th, take part in Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern. In addition, 16 U21 teams fight for the European Championship title from June 11th to 28th. If there is still time between all of these games, the professionals can recover, because the preparation for the Bundesliga season, which starts on August 22, calls.
