The mood at FC Bayern is currently very upbeat. Right at the start of the season, the team won its first two competitive matches and its first title; the contracts of Max Eberl and Jan-Christian Dreesen were extended; and talks with Harry Kane are going well.
In addition, decisions were made this summer that, in hindsight, can be said with a clear conscience were the right ones. Minjae Kim, for example, was initially considered a candidate for a trade, but in the end he stayed and was even designated by club officials as a key player in the rotation system.
Kim himself has no problem with not being the undisputed starter—especially since the team rotates players, and quite frequently at that. The player himself didn’t want to leave Bayern anyway. He already put in strong performances during preseason, which he was able to confirm in the first two competitive matches.
Eberl raves about Bayern’s central defense
The South Korean’s performances have now also impressed Max Eberl, Bayern’s sporting director. “It’s simply the lineup we have with Jona, Upa, and Min-Jae,” explained sporting director Max Eberl to *kicker* regarding the rotation in the defense . He continued: “Now we have three clear center backs, all three world-class—you just have to say that.”
In the first league game of the season, coach Vincent Kompany opted for the duo of Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim. Jonathan Tah sat on the bench but played alongside Kim in the Super Cup. Bayern will continue to rotate players in this position to ensure that all center-back pairings remain well-coordinated. That would be very important in the event of potential injuries.
The fact that Kim has moved significantly closer to the other two in the pecking order shows that he was one of the standout performers during preseason. If all the players stay healthy and fit, Bayern will have a very solid foundation in defense.