"I want to play with Son Heung-min, but he's too fast to stop"
Italian soccer "legendary defenders" Fabio Cannavaro (50) and Marco Materazzi (50) praised "iron pillar" Kim Min-jae (27-Bayern Munich) for helping Napoli win the Serie A title last season.
Cannavaro and Materazzi spoke at a press conference at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, 사설토토 on Tuesday about their visit to South Korea.
Cannavaro and Materazzi, who arrived in Korea on the 9th, are scheduled to hold a youth soccer clinic and experience Korean culture until the 12th along with Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho, who arrived on the 8th.
The event is organized by Lasing City Group and travel agency Traveling. Founded in 2018, Lasing City Group operates soccer businesses in Europe, South America, and the Middle East, while Traveling specializes in domestic VIP tours and overseas theme tours.
They plan to return to South Korea in October to hold the Legends Match in Goyang.
"It's fun and good to play soccer anywhere in the world," Cannavaro said at the press conference, "so there was no reason to hesitate to come to Korea. There are a lot of Korean players playing in Europe, and it will be a great experience to come and play here."
"I'm getting older, but I still want to look strong," Materazzi said.
"I came to Korea 20 years ago, but it wasn't a pleasant memory," Materazzi laughed. Cannavaro then added, "Neither did I. But I'm happy to be here, and the Korean fans are really passionate."
The defenders Cannavaro and Materazzi combined to help Italy win the 2006 World Cup in Germany. However, they have painful memories of watching the round of 16 loss to South Korea from the bench at the previous tournament, the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
"If I had played at the Korea-Japan World Cup, the result would have been different," Cannavaro joked, "but thinking back to 2002, Korean football has improved a lot. "Thinking back to 2002, Korean soccer has come a long way, thanks to a good youth system and a passionate soccer culture," he said.
"A lot of players went to Europe, and it was the basis for Kim Min-jae's good performance at Napoli. When I was in China, I had to play against Korea, and it wasn't easy."
Cannavaro, who made his professional debut with Napoli during his playing days, praised Kim for leading the Chinjungs to the title in the 2022-2023 season.
"I had the chance to watch him when I was a coach in China, and he was a very good player then, but he made some mistakes. But he has grown tremendously in the last two years playing in Europe, and last season at Napoli he played really well with a lot of confidence, so I think he deserved to win the Serie A title."
He also joked that "Kim Min-jae asked me to give him a jersey, but I haven't gotten it yet."
Materazzi also praised Kim, saying, "He has a very high level," and that "even though he only played for one year at Napoli, what he showed was fantastic."
Cannavaro and Materazzi, both defenders of the past, 스포츠토토맨 also mentioned Son Heung-min, one of the best strikers in South Korean soccer and the first Asian player to become a top scorer in the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2022-2023 season.
"I know it's impossible, but I would love to see Son come and play in the Legends Match," Cannavaro said. It's hard because he's getting older, but I'd like to try and stop him."
Materazzi laughed, saying, "He's probably too fast to stop."
When asked who he thinks is the best Korean player of all time, Materazzi said, "Park Ji-Sung, who played for Manchester United (England)," while Cannavaro avoided answering, saying, "I'm not going to answer because I was on the bench during the Korea-Japan World Cup round of 16."
Materazzi, who once shared a meal with Steady in Perugia, Italy, said, "I remember Steady as a good player," but also said, "I don't have good memories of him because he eliminated Italy from the Korea-Japan World Cup." Lee scored the golden ball with a header in the round of 16 against Italy at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.
Cannavaro and Materazzi had signed autographs and posed for photos with dozens of fans at the arrival gate the day before.
"It's natural to serve the fans," Cannavaro said. We may not have time, but if we can, we should," he said. "I wanted to thank the fans for their long wait at the airport," 토토 Materazzi said.