Kim Ji-soo: The Next Kim Min-jae Or The First Kim Ji-soo?

 

A couple of months ago, young Seongnam FC center-back KimJi-soo was linked with a move to Europe, Bayer München, Sporting CP, and some unnamed Austrian clubs were interested in acquiring his services. But the only team that showed concrete interest was the Premier League side Brentford, right before the U20 World Cup in Argentina. The Seongnam City Mayor and club owner has made it clear that Kim Ji-soo will be a Brentford player, the announcement was made after the World Cup, where the defensive displays by Ki Ji-soo helped the Korean National Team achieve 4th place.

The Rise To The Main Team

Kim Ji-soo was born on December 24 in 2004 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, and it was in Bucheon where he started his football career in 2014.

He played elementary-level football at Bucheon Donggok Elementary School from 2014 to 2016, and in 2017 he joined the Seongnam Youth System. At Seongnam, he played for the U15 when he was 13 years old until he reached the 15-year-old mark. After that, he played for the U18 before making his first appearance for Seongnam’s main team at 17 years of age.


Before reaching K League football, he did have some accolades to be proud about:

- 2021 Gyeonggi-do Dream Football Tournament Best Young Player Award

- 2021 29th Baekrokgi National High School Football Tournament Winner

At the National Team level, he was a part of the U15 and U16 South Korean National Teams where he played 12 international friendlies between both teams.

Arriving At K League In Great Fashion

Kim Ji-soo was the first Seongnam player to sign a Semi-Professional contract in the 2022 season, where he played 19 K League games, most of them in the starting eleven.

It´s important to give some context because said season was a bad one for the club with a lot of problems on and off the pitch.

[READ: A Tactical Look At Seongnam FC's 2022 Relegation Season]

The 2022 season was chaotic for Seongnam to say the least, Kim Nam-il kept his place as the manager after an underwhelming 2021 season. Seongnam 2022 season was marked by no tactics whatsoever, tactical anarchy, and the famous #KimNamilOUT movement that started the frustration among the supporters.

Off the pitch, the problems were bigger than the ones on the pitch. Kim Nam-il resigned but the board didn’t accept his request saying that there wasn’t a good replacement on the market. When the board decided that Kim Nam-il wasn’t capable of being the coach was a little too late to salvage the season.
Rumors started to circulate about a possible sale of the club due to issues with the last owner. The current owner confirmed that he was looking for a buyer, he also said that he didn’t want to support a team who is in last place. It´s difficult to believe that among chaos it would appear a possible generational talent like Kim Ji-soo, who earned his place in the starting eleven twelve games into the 2022 season. This is where Kim Ji-soo comes in.

Looking back to Seongnam's centre backs options at the time, Kim Ji-soo being able to get the starting spot was a big feat. He had to “fight” against players like Kwon Wan-kyu, Choi Ji-mook, Kim Min-hyeok and, later on, Yeon Je-woon, as well as Kang Eui-bin and Jo Seong-wook who are both playing regularly in K League 2 with Seongnam this season.

He was the youngest player in the 2022 K League 1 season and made the all-star Team K League side that played against Tottenham Hotspur.

In 2023 he made the U20 Korean National Team squad in two big tournaments, the U20 AFC Championship and the U20 World Cup, South Korea reached the Semi-final in both tournaments.

Kim Min-jae comparisons

It´s easy to compare both due to their similar height and physical attributes, Kim Ji-soo is 192 cm tall while Kim Min-jae is 190 cm tall, both fast and capable one-vs-one defenders.

Even though it´s an easy comparison I don’t think it´s a fair one, Kim Min-jae nickname is “The Monster” for a reason, his physical characteristics are unique, quick off the mark, strong in duels, especially in the air, and, very strong physically. Kim Ji-soo, while being comparable in height and quickness, does not have the same body type, he is skinnier and more slender, giving him a different skill set than Kim Min-jae and different ways to defend against attackers.

Kim Ji-soo is a two-footed defender that can be helpful in the build-up, whether that is through his passing ability or his willingness to carry the ball forward as he is very good at both. Good defensive awareness allied with the capability to reach a high speed is a recipe for greatness, he is a player with a high ceiling but in need of playing time to develop. With that high of a ceiling, he clearly is the first Kim Ji-soo rather than the next Kim Min-jae.

2022-2023 K League Stats

Appearances: 25

Interceptions: 99
Clearances: 60
Passing accuracy: 85.9%
Duels won: 58.9%
Aerial Duels won: 46.6%
Loose Ball Duels won: 59.9%
Defensive Duels won: 69%
Sliding Tackle success: 40%