Kim Min-jae (Napoli) was named this year’s Italian professional soccer Serie A ‘Defensive Player of the Year’. He is the first Asian player to be honored.
According to the list of “Most Valuable Players (MVPs) in the U-23 Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, and Striker categories for the 2022-2023 season,” released by the Serie A secretariat on its website on Wednesday, Kim was named “Best Defender.
Kim was nominated alongside Napoli teammate Giovanni DiLorenzo and AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez.
This is the first time an Asian player has been named the best defender in the “MVP by Position” category since the 2018-2019 season.
Serie A announced the award on social media, writing, “An impressive debut for Kim Min-jae. Congratulations.”
After joining Napoli last summer, Kim made his Serie A debut in the 2022-2023 season and made a strong impact. In September, he became the first Asian player to be named Serie A Player of the Month, and in October, he was named the Italian Footballers’ Association Player of the Month.
Kim was also named to the Serie A Team of the Year for the 2022-2023 season. The Team of the Year was selected from 45 nominees based on a combination of 50 percent fan votes and 50 percent journalist votes.
As a result, Kim was named to the backline alongside Giovanni Di Orenzo, Gleison Bremer (Juventus), and Theo Hernandez. Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus) was selected in goal. Sandro Tonali (AC Milan), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), and Nicolo Varela (Inter Milan) were named to the midfield, while Hvitsa Kravatshelia (Napoli), Hafa Leroy (AC Milan), and Victor Osimhen (Napoli) were named to the Team of the Year.
Luciano Spalletti (Napoli) was named Best Coach, Nicolo Pazzoli (Juventus) was named Best U-23 Player, Ivan Provedel (Lazio) was named Best Goalkeeper, Nicolo Varela (Inter Milan) was named Best Midfielder, and Victor Osimhen (Napoli) was named Best Striker.스포츠토토
The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, which recognizes the brightest star of the 2022-2023 Serie A season, went to Kim’s teammate Hvitsa Kravatshelia.
Kim is scheduled to return to Korea on June 6 and then enter a training center on June 15 for basic military training.