Kim Kyung-min (32, Gwangju FC) is back after a five-year absence and has established himself as the number one defender in the Korean Professional Soccer League. He’s also the top performer across all positions.
The 2023 K League 1 will be without a game from June 12-23 due to the national team’s A-match schedule. American data firm Asian Football Analytics Zone analyzed the Korean top flight this season before the break based on Wisconsin’s data.
Kim Kyung-min has an 86.8 rating, the highest of any goalkeeper in the K League 1 who has played more than 40 percent of the available minutes. That’s 16.8 points more than the second-place finisher, showing a dominance not seen in any other position.
WeScout, a soccer talent search company founded in Italy by the American company Agile Sports Technology, sends more than 80 people around the world to evaluate players and games. It has excellent video analysis and digital database capabilities.
Kim Kyung-min was recognized as the best captain in the second division by winning the 2022 K League 2 Best 11 award. With his promotion to the first division, he continued his momentum by being named the February-March 2023 Save of the Month by the Korea Professional Football Association.
His 86.8 rating is unrivaled by any other field player in the K League 1 this season. The fact that Kim Jong-woo (30-Pohang Steelers), a defensive midfielder with 86.1 points, has missed 10 consecutive games since the ninth round due to injury makes Kim even more impressive.
Kim’s health will be a factor for the rest of the season. He hasn’t played since being substituted during the 2023 K League 1 Round 15 away match against Suwon FC after feeling discomfort in his Achilles tendon.
This season, Gwangju FC has seven wins, four draws, seven losses, 24 goals scored, 22 goals conceded, and 25 points, good for eighth place in the K League 1. In 14 appearances, Kim has conceded 15 goals, including six clean sheets. 메이저사이트
Without him, Gwangju FC’s goal-against average increased by 1.63 times, and the “Kim Kyung-min effect” is a 38.8% reduction in goals allowed. After the 1-1 away draw with Daejeon Hana Citizens in the 18th round, Lee hopes to have his first-choice goalkeeper in the next match.
At international level, Lee was in goal for the 2010-2013 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Under-19 Championship qualifiers. It will be interesting to see if his top-flight performances will earn him a call-up to the A-League.