Lee Jae-sung relishes chance to face Kim Min-jae in Bundesliga

Mainz midfielder Lee Jae-sung is looking forward to facing Taeguk Warriors teammate Kim Min-jae in the Bundesliga.

Lee Jae-sung speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

Mainz midfielder Lee Jae-sung is looking forward to facing Taeguk Warriors teammate Kim Min-jae in the Bundesliga.

After spending a summer vacation in Korea, Lee jetted off to Germany on Wednesday to rejoin Mainz ahead of the 2023-24 Bundesliga season. The new campaign will be the veteran midfielder’s sixth in Germany and third with Mainz.

“I will do my best in the given circumstances as I always have worked diligently,” Lee said at Incheon International Airport in Incheon on Wednesday.

He will now get the chance to play against newly-minted Bayern Munich defender Kim in the Bundesliga.

Kim Min-jae poses in a Bayern Munich shirt in a photo released by the club on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

“I am happy that I can meet him in the Bundesliga,” Lee said. “I’ve always been on the same team with him but now I will be facing him as an opponent.”

The two have both been regular picks for the Korean national team for years and used to be teammates at K League team Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors from 2017 through 2018.

Lee is confident that Kim will succeed in Germany, as he did in Italy last season, when he led his former team Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years.

“The Bundesliga is a leading league in the world in terms of tactics,” Lee said. “Players’ personal skills are outstanding, but working as a team is the top priority, and I think Min-jae has to prepare well.

“Since he is a world-class player, I’m sure he will do well.”

With Kim joining the Bundesliga champions, there are now three Korean players in the Bundesliga: Kim, Lee and Jeong Woo-yeong of VfB Stuttgart.

Jeong recently transferred to Stuttgart from his former team SC Freiburg — another Bundesliga side.

The three Korean players will continue to face each other in Germany at least through 2026, as Lee signed a contract extension with Mainz until then.

The contract extension last month came after Lee spent a successful season with his team, picking up seven goals and four assists in 34 league matches during the 2022-23 season — the most goal contributions during his Bundesliga career.

“I value the fact that I played all [league] games last season,” Lee said. “My personal objective is to play all games again this season without getting sick.”

The 2023-24 Bundesliga starts on Aug. 18, with Mainz's first league game against FC Union Berlin on Aug. 20.

The Korean derby between Lee and Kim will kick off on Oct. 21 with Mainz taking on Bayern at Mewa Arena in Mainz.

BY PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]