‘We expect a lot from him’: Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer on facing Son Heung-min, 'good guy' Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae having ‘everything’

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‘We expect a lot from him’: Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer on facing Son Heung-min, 'good guy' Hwang Hee-chan and Kim Min-jae having ‘everything’

Published: 02 Aug. 2024, 18:10

TREVOR TREHARNE
trevor.treharne@joongang.co.kr

Konrad Laimer celebrates after scoring Bayern Munich's second goal against Preussen Muenster in Muenster, Germany on Sept. 26, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

“I want to try the food,” Bayern Munich midfielder Konrad Laimer tells the Korea JoongAng Daily in his Seoul hotel on Thursday evening.

Quite how much food he’ll get to try on his first trip to Korea remains to be seen. He landed Thursday, is training Friday, playing Saturday and jetting out Sunday as the European super club preseason tour de finance whistle-stops its way through another affluent Asian outpost.

“I have seen nothing,” the Austrian international says of Seoul as he glares out of the window at the city skyline as if Covid lockdowns were back. “We arrived, had lunch, then maybe one hour in the room and then we go directly to train.”

Last season, Bundesliga side Bayern Munich spent the preseason in Japan and then Singapore. It was the United States the year before.

Despite the jet leg-inducing nature of this trip, Bayern can at least expect a tougher test in Seoul than its annual friendly against German side FC Rottach-Egern, an amateur outfit boasting a 2,500-capacity stadium chiefly staffed with volunteers. Bayern cantered out as 14-1 victors on July 25. A marked tightening on last year’s 23-0 scoreline.

Laimer and Bayern are now in Seoul to take on Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as part of the Coupang Play Series at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in western Seoul.

Tottenham Hotspur — or as the “Son 7” shirt-strewn streets of Seoul would suggest: Son Heung-min’s Tottenham Hotspur — have already beaten Team K League 4-3 in front of over 63,000 at the World Cup Stadium on Wednesday.

From left: Bayern Munich's Konrad Laimer, Thomas Muller and Kim Min-jae pose during an Audi promotional event in Yeouido, central Seoul on Friday. [NEWS1]

Facing Son. Twice.

“These are friendly games and we don't have the full squad yet,” says Laimer. With UEFA Euro 2024 concluding on July 14, several of Bayern’s stars, such as England captain Harry Kane and German rising star and breakout of the Euros tournament Jamal Musiala, remain absent.

“However, it is always good to test yourself against a strong side. In the preseason, you can see your level, both conditionally as an individual and as an overall team,” he says.

Bayern and Tottenham have locked themselves into the curious situation of playing each other twice in the space of a week, in Seoul on Saturday and then again 8,900 kilometers (5,530 miles) away on Aug. 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

“We are looking forward to those two games against Tottenham and we hope we can do our stuff,” says Laimer, who points to Bayern’s new head coach — Vincent Kompany, who has arrived from Premier League side Burnley — in terms of establishing how the team wants to play as a group under fresh leadership.

From left: Bayern Munich's Tomas Muller, Konrad Laimer, Eric Dier and Kim Min-jae during training in Munich on April 29. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Laimer, who has perhaps never answered a question about Korean captain Son Heung-min in his life, now finds himself in a hotel meeting room with a procession of Korean journalists mainly asking him about Son. Eric Dier had been tipped for the press circuit, but was subbed out at the last minute for Laimer who, to be fair, seems willing to give it a good go.

“He [Son] is a really good player who performed really, really well last year. We expect a lot from him,” he says. “But, you know, we have good defenders and a good team ourselves. We know we can defend against him. This might be a friendly, but it is going to be a tough game.

“The entire Tottenham group is full of good players. We are expecting a good test. Friendly game or not, you want to win these games, so we'll see on Saturday.”

‘Good guy… always smiling’

“I’ve had two Korean teammates in the past, they’re very nice people,” says Laimer. He’s referring to two spells with midfielder Hwang Hee-chan, now at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, and last season at Bayern with defender Kim Min-jae.

“I’ve played with Hee-chan twice, first at FC Liefering [during the 2015-16 season], then RB Leipzig [from 2020 for two years],” says Laimer. “A really good guy and a really good player, you could see that from when he was really young. You could see his qualities already. He’s fast, very fast.”

Laimer repeats the nice guy appraisal of Hwang once again. “Always smiling,” he adds. “It’s so nice to see him doing well in the Premier League. I really wish him all the best.”

As for Kim Min-jae, the pair found themselves simultaneously thrown into the Bayern blender, both signed in the summer of 2023 and presented to fans together on July 23 last year. The duo were even snapped sharing a smile at the presentation event. Since then, a newbies bond has formed between the pair.

Bayern Munich's Kim Min-jae, left, and Konrad Laimer warm up prior to a Bundesliga match against VfB Stuttgart in Munich on Dec. 17, 2023. [AFP/YONHAP]

“A really good player, he has everything. Again, a really nice guy. As we arrived at the same time, it’s normal to stick together as the new guys,” says Laimer. “We talked a lot. We shared that first year together. We’ve both looked to improve from day to day, week to week.”

Bayern paid Italy’s Napoli a 43-million pound ($55 million) transfer fee to add the Serie A’s then best defender to their back line in Kim last year. Despite such billing, Kim experienced a seesaw first season in the Bundesliga, especially after the Asian Cup at the start of the year.

“As a whole group, we support each other,” says Laimer of Kim’s first season in Germany. “Everyone has up and down seasons, but it is about improving as a group. We are motivated going into the new season and will use this preseason to start strong.”

Well-versed enough in Korean teammates, has Laimer noticed any Korean traits that define their playing output?

“Every type of player is a little bit different. Much like every person is different. Both of my Korean teammates were really, really nice guys. Both of them always put in the work. They're always full gas in every situation, but like every human, they are individuals.”

Bayern Munich's Konrad Laimer, Kim Min-jae and Thomas Mueller stand during a match against Saarbruecken in Saarbruecken, Germany on Nov. 1, 2023. [AP/YONHAP]

Laimer and his Bayern Munich teammates will take to the pitch on Saturday with plane-jaded legs and leave while the World Cup Stadium is still being cleared of its post-match trash. Whether he gets that bowl of kimchi jjigae, or a similarly suitable taste of Korea before Tottenham beckons back in London, remains to be seen.

BY TREVOR TREHARNE [trevor.treharne@joongang.co.kr]