Central defender Kim Young-kwon (33-Ulsan Hyundai) is on pace to surpass his rookie season in South Korean professional soccer, when he was named to the First Division Team of the Year.
The 2023 K League 1 will be without a game from June 12-23 due to the national team’s A-match schedule. U.S. data firm Asian Football Analytics Zone analyzed this season’s Korean top flight before the break based on Wisconsin data.
With a rating of 85.4, Kim Young-kwon is the best of the powerhouse center backs in the K League 1 who have played more than 40 percent of their available minutes. Even when expanding the scope to include all center backs, he is the only one with a score above 80. There is a gap of 11.7 points between him and second place.
WeScout, a soccer talent search company founded in Italy by Agile Sports Technology, sends more than 80 people around the world to evaluate players and matches. They are highly skilled in video analysis and digital databases.
According to the Korea Football Association, Kim Young-kwon is the highest-rated domestic player in the 2023 K League 1 with more than 15 games played. Including foreigners, he is third behind FC Seoul’s Osmar Ibanez (35-Spain) and Ulsan teammate Bako (30-Georgia).
Kim made his domestic debut last year after a stellar career that included ▲2013-2016 Chinese Super League Best 11 ▲2015 East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) E-1 Championship Most Valuable Player ▲2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Dream Team ▲2020 Japan J1 League Fan Voted Team of the Year.
The Asian Football Analytics Zone shows that Ulsan’s return to the top of the K League 1 after a 17-year absence was no fluke with the arrival of Kim Young-kwon, and the player is proving it with his performances this season.
Kim has been instrumental in South Korea’s national team glory since the 2010s, including a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, a runner-up finish at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, and a 16th-place finish at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.바카라
A member of the Asian Champions League Dream Team in his mid-20s, he is now a veteran approaching his mid-30s. It will be interesting to see how long he can continue to be one of the best defenders in the K League with his strength and experience.