Midfielder Kim Min-su debuts for Girona in 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad

Korean midfielder Kim Min-su made his debut for Girona during their 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Girona midfielder Kim Min-su, right, vies for the ball during a La Liga match against Real Sociedad at Estadi Montilivi in Spain on Saturday. [EPA/YONHAP]

Korean midfielder Kim Min-su made his debut for Girona during their 1-0 loss to Real Sociedad on Saturday.

In the La Liga match at Estadi Montilivi in Spain, Kim was substituted onto the pitch during the 72nd minute, with Girona chasing the game after conceding a goal in the 44th minute from Mikel Oyarzabal.

Kim’s La Liga debut comes after he started his football career at fellow Spanish team CE Mercantile in 2020. He then moved to different Spanish team, CF Damm, in the same year, before joining Girona’s B team in 2022.

His debut makes him the only Korean player in La Liga and the eighth Korean to have played in the top tier of Spanish football.

Lee Kang-in was the last Korean to play in La Liga, having played for Mallorca until last season and leaving to play for Paris Saint-Germain.

Kim, 18, can play as a forward, winger or attacking midfielder, giving Girona manager Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muño multiple options for the 2024-25 season.

Kim’s debut comes in the middle of a busy 2024-25 season for Girona, which have Champions League matches to play in addition to its La Liga schedule.

Girona, sitting in 13th place on the 20-team table, saw a success last season when they finished the league in third place to book a Champions League ticket.

Girona have seen an unimpressive start to the Champions League, where they have suffered two straight losses.

Kim’s debut for Girona, however, does not set the stage for a Korean matchup between him and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lee in the revamped league phase of the Champions League, as the two sides already played a head-to-head match last month that ended with a 1-0 win for the Ligue 1 side.

In the revamped Champions League, each team play eight games — four home and four away — against eight different teams, only facilitating one head-to-head clash between two teams in the league phase.

Girona play their next Champions League match against SK Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.

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