Kim Min-jae wants to be next Beckenbauer at Bayern Munich

Newly-minted Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae is ready to lead his side to European champions glory in the upcoming 2023-24 season with his eyes set on an ambitious goal of becoming like his idol Franz Beckenbauer.

Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae applauds during the team presentation for the upcoming 2023-24 Bundesliga season at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany on July 23. [AP/YONHAP]

Newly-minted Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae is ready to lead his side to European champions glory in the upcoming 2023-24 season with his eyes set on an ambitious goal of becoming like his idol Franz Beckenbauer.

“Beckenbauer is someone I admire,” Kim said in an interview with German media Sport Bild on Aug. 9. “I picked him as my idol after watching his play in videos. He is a legend whom I want to be like.”

Beckenbauer, 78, is a former Bayern defender who led the club to huge success in the 1970s, winning the Bundesliga four times and the European Cup — now called the Champions League — three consecutive times.

The German legend also won the 1974 World Cup as a player before winning the tournament again in 1990 as a manager.

Then-West German captain Franz Beckenbauer holds the World Cup trophy after his country's victory over the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup final at Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany, on July 7, 1974. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kim, 26, has proved he has enough potential to be a defender like his idol. The Korean center-back joined Bayern last month after spending a successful 2022-23 season with Napoli, during which he won the Serie A side’s first league title in 33 years and multiple awards like the Serie A best defender for the season.

“I need to know my teammates better in order to play well,” Kim said. “The fact that people evaluate me high is a positive thing, but I personally reflect on myself a lot.”

The Bayern fans already saw what Kim will offer in the 2023-24 Bundesliga season during three preseason matches where Kim displayed his speedy movements, earning him the nickname “Monster.”

“It is because I inherited good genes from my parents, and I trained a lot from youth,” Kim said, “As a youth player, I did that training where I ran over a hill with a tire on my back, like in the movie ‘Rocky.’”

Kim’s foremost objective will be establishing himself as a regular pick to help Bayern win their historic 12th successive Bundesliga title. The Bundesliga champions are the winningest team in league history with 33 titles.

They have also been successful on the European stage, having won the Champions League six times, with the most recent victory in 2020.

Bayern have failed to reach the semifinals of the Champions League since their last title, but they may have a chance of reclaiming it in the upcoming season, with the team having boosted attack as well.

The reigning Bundesliga champions also recently signed striker Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur last week.

Harry Kane poses for a photo after a news conference at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, on Sunday. [AP/YONHAP]

Kane is England's all-time top scorer with 58 goals in 84 caps and Tottenham's record scorer with 280 goals in 435 matches.

Despite his remarkable records, he has never secured a single title since making his pro debut with Tottenham in 2009 due to the London club's trophy drought.

He may lift his first-ever trophy in his career alongside Kim this season.

"A Bayern player has a duty to aim for a Champions League victory," Kim said. "I will first work to get to the best fitness level to achieve the objective and win a competition to be a regular pick.

"I will work to get to the apogee as I win a game after a game."

Kim is also keen to make the Bundesliga more popular among Korean fans.

"There have been a lot of Korean players that played in the Bundesliga, like Cha Bum-kun, Son Heung-min and Hwang Hee-chan," Kim said. "Now there is Lee Jae-sung [of Mainz] and Jeong Woo-yeong [of VfB Stuttgart]. I will work to make the league more popular in Korea. My dream is to play a preseason match in Korea with Bayern teammates."

The 2023-24 Bundesliga season kicks off Friday with Bayern facing SV Werder Bremen at Weserstadion in Bremen.

BY PI JOO-YOUNG AND PAIK JI-HWAN [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]