From "Sulbaudu" Seol Ki-hyun to "Genius Midfielder" Lee Kang-in, a total of 18 Korean players have participated in the "Stars Stage" European Champions League UCL, considered the best soccer tournament on the planet, but it is extremely rare to go beyond the quarterfinals. This is because in order to reach the quarterfinals, not only do you have to play in the best team where the so-called "Walkle" World Class gathers, but you also have to follow the luck of the match to some extent. Kim Min-jae Bayern Munich, a "Monster," and "Football Genius" Lee Kang-in Paris Saint-Germain, who "step up" side by side last summer, joined such a qualified big club, and made a big impact on Korean soccer with the "expected achievement" of advancing to the quarterfinals with UCL.

In the second round of the UCL round of 16 against Lazio Italy at Allianz Arena in Munich on the 6th Korea time, Munich won 3-0 with Harry Kane's multi-goal and Thomas Muller's additional goal. Munich, which lost 0-1 in the first round of away matches, advanced to the quarterfinals in the second round with a cool reversal 3-1 combined. Kim Min-jae was on the bench for the entire 90 minutes, being pushed by the combination of Eric Dier and Matthijs de Licht.

Lee Kang-in replaced Real Sociedad at the start of the second half in an away game at the San Sebastian Realle Arena in Spain, and received the ball from the point below the half-line in the 11th minute to help "Ace" Kylian Mbappe score with a sharp left-footed volley pass aimed at the back of the opponent's defense. Paris Saint-Germain, which led by Mbappe's first goal in the first half, ran away with a joint goal between Lee Kang-in and Mbappe. He gave a goal to Mikel Merino at the end of the second half, but it did not affect the trend. Paris Saint-Germain, who won 2-0 at home in the first leg, won 4-1 on aggregate and boarded the train to the quarterfinals for the first time in three years.

Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in, who competed side by side in the Qatar Asian Cup, made history for the first time for a Korean duo to reach the UCL quarterfinals on two different teams in the same season. Nineteen years ago, Lee Young-pyo and Park Ji-sung duo made it to the semifinals in the 2004-2005 season, but the two were on the same team.

Kim Min-jae advanced to the quarterfinals or higher for two consecutive seasons after his UCL debut in Naples in the 2022-2023 season. It is the first time that he advanced to the quarterfinals or higher for two consecutive seasons since Park Ji-sung, the "Havage" who advanced to the quarterfinals or higher for five consecutive seasons in the UCL from the 2006-2007 season to the 2010-2011 season. This achievement was not achieved even by Son Heung-min Tottenham. In the 2018-2019 season, Son ranked second after advancing to the quarterfinals only once.

Lee Kang-in, who participated in the UCL finals as the youngest Korean to participate in the 2019-2020 season, moved to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of last year and made it to the quarterfinals in his first season. He is the fifth Korean to do so after Lee Young-pyo, Park Ji-sung, Son Heung-min and Kim Min-jae. The assist was the first in his career "Champs" and the first point of attack he recorded in a UCL tournament. The total number of offensive points this season is six three goals, three assists, 20 games. Kim Min-jae and Lee Kang-in will continue their hunt for the "Big Year" UCL Trophy for the second time in 16 years since Park Ji-sung in 2008. The opponents in the quarterfinals will be decided through a draw on the 15th.

Each has a task to solve ahead of the quarterfinals in April. Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae have narrowed their positions side by side since the Asian Cup. Lee Kang-in played 61 minutes as a starter against Nantes on February 17, 45 minutes as a starter against Stade Reims on February 25, and about 4 minutes as a substitute against AS Monaco on the 1st. The average playing time per last 4 games is about 38.7 minutes. It is worth seeing how the performance will affect his position. Kim Min-jae was absent without injury for the first time since joining Munich. Munich coach Thomas Tuchel has been setting up a defense around Eric Dier, who was recruited from Tottenham in January while Kim Min-jae has been at the Asian Cup. In all five games Kim Min-jae has played since the Asian Cup, the team has lost two runs average. In the four games he started, he failed to win even one game with one draw and three losses. Given that Munich lost no points in eight games on the day, there is a possibility that the Dier-De Licht combination will be in operation for the time being. 토토사이트