33·Legends

Cha Bum-kun vs Kim Min-jae

South Korea against South Korea. The almanac states its case, the crowd votes, you decide.

CB

Cha Bum-kun

South Korea · 1980–88 · RM

Almanac rating
89
Rank in South Korea
#2 of 33
Caps
129 · 56 goals
Clubs
SV Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Honours
Hall of Fame 2019

Bayer Leverkusen trailed Espanyol 3-0 from the first leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final when he scored the goal that made it 3-3 on aggregate and forced the shootout they went on to win. That was his second UEFA Cup after Eintracht Frankfurt's in 1980, making him the first to win the trophy with two German clubs, and he scored 98 goals in 308 Bundesliga games before the IFFHS named him Asia's player of the century. Career record: 129 caps and 56 goals for South Korea; club career at SV Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer 04 Leverkusen; honours include Hall of Fame 2019.

vs
KM

Kim Min-jae

South Korea · 2018–22 · CB

Almanac rating
87
Rank in South Korea
#5 of 33

Naples called him il Mostro in his first season there, 2022/23, when he replaced Kalidou Koulibaly and played 35 of 38 league games for a side that had not won Italy since Maradona. That Scudetto came with Serie A's best defender award, the first for an Asian player, and he has since won consecutive Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich, plus two K League crowns at Jeonbuk and Asian Games gold in 2018.

The verdict

The almanac puts Cha Bum-kun ahead by 2 rating points, 89 against 87.

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