AFC “A giant at Napoli.
The only Asian player among the All-Ballon d’Or nominees”
South Korea national soccer team central defender Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich – pictured) has been named the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) International Player of the Year.
The AFC announced Kim as the winner of the International Player of the Year award at its annual ceremony in Doha, Qatar, today. The award is given to a player from an AFC member nation who has excelled in a league outside of their home country. Kim is the second South Korean player to win the award, joining Son Heung-min (Tottenham). Son won the award three times in 2015, 2017, and 2019.
AFC said: “Kim was a giant of a player last season as Napoli reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. He kept 16 clean sheets as Napoli won the league title for the first time in 33 years,” said AFC, explaining why he was selected for the award. After playing for Napoli in the Italian Serie A last season, Kim moved to Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga in July of this year. AFC also noted that Kim is the only Asian player among the 30 finalists for this year’s Ballon d’Or. At the Ballon d’Or ceremony on March 31, Kim finished 22nd, the highest ranking of any defender among the 30 finalists.
The AFC Male Player of the Year award went to Saudi Arabia’s Salem Aldausari (Al-Hilal) and the Female Player of the Year to Australia’s Sam Kerr (Chelsea). 19가이드03