They play in Spain and Germany. They are disciplined and bring sponsors: the Italians looking for reinforcements from South Korea and Japan
We don’t know if Napoli will leave Kim, but the club is ready to double by looking to the East. In the sense that the departure of the strong South Korean defender will not be a choice by Aurelio De Laurentiis but will derive from a clause that the Azzurri are forced to submit today.
But just this year of Kim Min-jae in blue has convinced the film producer to always look with greater interest to the football market of the East. And the reason is twofold, and it doesn’t escape a careful businessman like the president of Napoli. On the one hand, footballers have a work culture and a very high sense of discipline which facilitates their professional integration; on the other hand, those who arrive from there bring an induced sponsorship that makes business even more attractive and it is no coincidence that at the beginning of June Napoli will go on a short tour to South Korea at the invitation of Dunamu Inc., a fintech company partner of the club.
NEW WORLD
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Always looking for new resources, to try to withstand the impact of the club-states and other big Europeans, De Laurentiis counts on the purchase of some prospectus that comes from Korea or Japan itself precisely to attract commercially. Do you remember Kazuyoshi Miura? In 1994 he was the first Japanese to play in Italy, supported by sponsors from his country, it was a deal for Genoa. Since then there is a difference: Japanese football has progressed and therefore there are many competitive players.
THE ANALYSIS
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Eugenio Albarella, athletic trainer, formerly at Juventus, worked on Alberto Zaccheroni’s staff when the Romagnolo was coach of Japan from 2010 to 2014: “In that very modern country they are very tied to tradition and have a strong sense of duty and perfectionism . Just think of the precision of the samurai in their preparation. And since they want to do well, they have included football in schools and today a technically well-trained generation of players has grown up who, going to play between Germany, England and Belgium, have improved their experiences and knowledge which they then bring to the national team. It is no coincidence that Japan won two golds in football at the Universiade. In addition, in those parts we reason with the ‘we’ and to play team sports it becomes fundamental. A cultural and behavioral aspect also comparable to Korea, not China, where there is a greater sense of ego. This is why taking players from those parts can become a bargain. Even more if you think that behind the Japanese team in the national team there are companies with big interests in the West as well and therefore for a European club it could become an even more interesting operation”.
FROM SPAIN WITH FURY
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Therefore, among the profiles most followed by scouting for Napoli there are also two offensive wingers who play in La Liga. We are talking about the Korean Kang in Lee, born in 2001, who grew up in Valencia and today in Mallorca. He has already played with Kim in the Qatari World Cup and is growing rapidly, demonstrating good technique and speed. Same age and similar role for the Japanese Takefusa Kubo, a predestined one given that at the age of 10 Barcelona took him to Japan. Then while still a minor he moved to Real Madrid, but only now at Real Sociedad is he finding continuity of performance and is capable of playing either right or left. Even in the national team he has been around for years. At an even greater level of experience is Daichi Kamada, born in 1996, who Napoli got to know well by facing him with Eintraacht in the Champions League. The Japanese player’s contract is about to expire and there has already been an approach with agents Tukada and Kroth, but the player has already refused a gross six million salary offered by Borussia Dortmund. He seems oriented to go to La Liga – Barcelona or Atletico Madrid – Napoli is there waiting anyway. As well as for Kim’s eventual replacement, there are a couple of interesting solutions. First of all that of Hiroki Ito of Stuttgart, without forgetting the more experienced Ko Itakura of Borussia M’Gladbach. But be careful because the prices of the Austrian giant of Lens, Kevin Danso, born in ’98, of Ghanaian origins, are on the rise. Yesterday there was a more concrete contact-survey from Napoli. We will see.
11 maggio – 09:00
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