Kim Kyung-min, who Lee Jung-hyo pushes as “National University,” said, “It’s too much. I have to improve my ability to do well first.”

Gwangju FC manager Lee Jung-hyo is busy showing off his students. One of Lee’s goals is to nurture his students well and send them to the national team, and his most recent favorite player is goalkeeper Kim Kyung-min.

Coach Lee Jung-hyo picked Kim Kyung-min as a player who can go to the national team among his team’s players in the YouTube channel Ahn Jung-hwan 19 shooting in March. Kim Kyung-min was included in the best 11 players selected under the assumption that he is the head coach of the national soccer team without hesitation.

“Kim Kyung-min is good at saving. He understands the build-up that I want. I think he has good foot skills,” coach Lee Jung-hyo said at a press conference before the match against HD in Ulsan (2-1 win).

Kim Kyung-min, who is receiving a lot of affection from Lee Jung-hyo, said in a recent issue, “I think (Lee’s pick) is too much for me. I don’t think so yet. (To join the national team), I need to grow and show better performance.”

Born in 1991, Kim was the goalkeeper who had been in the spotlight since childhood. He has played for both the under-20 and under-23 national soccer teams. However, he has never had any connection with senior national teams. He was not the main goalkeeper at Jeju United, where he made his professional debut, and only played a full season in the 2021 season when he joined K League 2 Seoul E-Land. Since joining Gwangju in 2022, he has continued to play as a starting member and has raised his stock price, so the national team’s mark deserves much desire.

However, Kim said, “(Joining the national team) is a matter of hindsight. As a result, goalkeepers must have good defense capabilities. Currently, the team is focusing on how to improve their defense capabilities. As a result, I am agonizing over how I can contribute more to the team as I continue to lose points. Rather than becoming a member of the national team, I want to (first of all) be of help to the team.”

He believes that if he sharpens his skills and practices in Gwangju, the honor of joining the national team will naturally follow. “The possibility (of selecting the national team) is always open. I don’t really care. After all, I am an athlete who has to show performance on the field. If I have good performance and luck on the field, I think I can go. Otherwise, I will always strive to show better performance on the ground and grow,” he said.

Kim Kyung-min, who is still making progress under Lee Jung-hyo, said, “The coach gives me a lot of advice. He encourages me a lot not to discourage the players,” and added, “I am learning a lot (under Lee) how to give my teammates a good choice.”

Kim Kyung-min, who joined the team in the 2022 season and led Gwangju to win the K-League 2 championship, also performed top-notch in the K-League 1 last year. After playing 25 games and recording 12 clean sheets, Kim ranked second in this category after goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo (13 times in 36 games). Thanks to his strong defense, Gwangju finished the 2023 season in third place and won the AFC Champions League Elite (ACL) ticket. 토토사이트

Things are not as good this season as they were last year. Kim Kyung-min, who played in 11 K-League 1 games, gave up 19 goals and is tying for second in most goals lost. The team has repeatedly won and lost games, ranking seventh among the 12 teams.

Kim Kyung-min said, “My goal is to raise our team as high as possible and personally reduce the loss rate to 0.7 to 0.8. When asked if reducing the loss rate could change Gwangju’s position, he said, “Of course.”