You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For South Korean defender Minjae Kim, that may as well be a personal motto. Since joining Napoli from Fenerbahçe in the summer, the towering centre-back has scored and helped earn a clean sheet in his first Serie A game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He has neutralised Mohamed Salah & Co on his Champions League debut as Napoli clinched an eye-catching 4-1 win against Liverpool. But even those feats were nothing compared to his Gangnam Style rendition just a few hours after his first training session at Castel Volturno.
“We usually ask the new players to sing but we were not expecting a performance like that,” says Napoli winger Matteo Politano, adding that Kim brought the house down with his initiation song for the Partenopei. “We were all shocked because it was really good. He immediately showed his great personality, even if it wasn’t easy for him. We’re really happy with him.”
Kim had to read the words off his phone when he first launched into the famous PSY hit, but when the moment for the famous dance routine arrived, everyone in the room knew his performance would go viral. In fact, the 25-year-old’s enthusiastic display proved such an instant crowd pleaser that Napoli’s social media accounts posted the video to their fans with a sarcastic tagline: “Kim is struggling to settle in.”
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For South Korean defender Minjae Kim, that may as well be a personal motto. Since joining Napoli from Fenerbahçe in the summer, the towering centre-back has scored and helped earn a clean sheet in his first Serie A game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He has neutralised Mohamed Salah & Co on his Champions League debut as Napoli clinched an eye-catching 4-1 win against Liverpool. But even those feats were nothing compared to his Gangnam Style rendition just a few hours after his first training session at Castel Volturno.
“We usually ask the new players to sing but we were not expecting a performance like that,” says Napoli winger Matteo Politano, adding that Kim brought the house down with his initiation song for the Partenopei. “We were all shocked because it was really good. He immediately showed his great personality, even if it wasn’t easy for him. We’re really happy with him.”
Kim had to read the words off his phone when he first launched into the famous PSY hit, but when the moment for the famous dance routine arrived, everyone in the room knew his performance would go viral. In fact, the 25-year-old’s enthusiastic display proved such an instant crowd pleaser that Napoli’s social media accounts posted the video to their fans with a sarcastic tagline: “Kim is struggling to settle in.”
Just a few hours before, the defender had admitted to feeling a massive weight of expectation ahead of his new adventure. “The pressure is great since Kalidou Koulibaly has left and I have joined to be his replacement,” he told the press during his unveiling. “I’ll be playing for the first time in a great league and the Champions League – and, yes, there is pressure.” Perhaps, but the South Korean international seemed pretty relaxed on the impromptu dancefloor shortly after. So much so that he was asked for an encore at Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s birthday party a few days later. Another triumph.
“To be honest, it was really nice,” says Napoli forward Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano, whose version of Despacito for his own Napoli initiation ceremony proved far less memorable. “It surprised us because at the table we started saying to him, ‘Do you want to sing that song?’ And we couldn’t tell if he was up for it. But in the end, he did it. He sang it all, with the dance and everything. It was incredible!” When asked who has belted out the best song during his time at Napoli, the Mexican has no doubts. “Him. Him. Kim. I think he was the best because that’s the best I’ve seen in my whole career.”
So far, so good. Start as you mean to go on. Or, in the words of a popular Korean proverb, “If you don’t walk today, you will have to run tomorrow.” He may be a long way from home, but Minjae Kim has started running – and dancing – since his very first day at Napoli.
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For South Korean defender Minjae Kim, that may as well be a personal motto. Since joining Napoli from Fenerbahçe in the summer, the towering centre-back has scored and helped earn a clean sheet in his first Serie A game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He has neutralised Mohamed Salah & Co on his Champions League debut as Napoli clinched an eye-catching 4-1 win against Liverpool. But even those feats were nothing compared to his Gangnam Style rendition just a few hours after his first training session at Castel Volturno.
“We usually ask the new players to sing but we were not expecting a performance like that,” says Napoli winger Matteo Politano, adding that Kim brought the house down with his initiation song for the Partenopei. “We were all shocked because it was really good. He immediately showed his great personality, even if it wasn’t easy for him. We’re really happy with him.”
Kim had to read the words off his phone when he first launched into the famous PSY hit, but when the moment for the famous dance routine arrived, everyone in the room knew his performance would go viral. In fact, the 25-year-old’s enthusiastic display proved such an instant crowd pleaser that Napoli’s social media accounts posted the video to their fans with a sarcastic tagline: “Kim is struggling to settle in.”
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For South Korean defender Minjae Kim, that may as well be a personal motto. Since joining Napoli from Fenerbahçe in the summer, the towering centre-back has scored and helped earn a clean sheet in his first Serie A game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He has neutralised Mohamed Salah & Co on his Champions League debut as Napoli clinched an eye-catching 4-1 win against Liverpool. But even those feats were nothing compared to his Gangnam Style rendition just a few hours after his first training session at Castel Volturno.
“We usually ask the new players to sing but we were not expecting a performance like that,” says Napoli winger Matteo Politano, adding that Kim brought the house down with his initiation song for the Partenopei. “We were all shocked because it was really good. He immediately showed his great personality, even if it wasn’t easy for him. We’re really happy with him.”
Kim had to read the words off his phone when he first launched into the famous PSY hit, but when the moment for the famous dance routine arrived, everyone in the room knew his performance would go viral. In fact, the 25-year-old’s enthusiastic display proved such an instant crowd pleaser that Napoli’s social media accounts posted the video to their fans with a sarcastic tagline: “Kim is struggling to settle in.”
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For South Korean defender Minjae Kim, that may as well be a personal motto. Since joining Napoli from Fenerbahçe in the summer, the towering centre-back has scored and helped earn a clean sheet in his first Serie A game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He has neutralised Mohamed Salah & Co on his Champions League debut as Napoli clinched an eye-catching 4-1 win against Liverpool. But even those feats were nothing compared to his Gangnam Style rendition just a few hours after his first training session at Castel Volturno.
“We usually ask the new players to sing but we were not expecting a performance like that,” says Napoli winger Matteo Politano, adding that Kim brought the house down with his initiation song for the Partenopei. “We were all shocked because it was really good. He immediately showed his great personality, even if it wasn’t easy for him. We’re really happy with him.”
Kim had to read the words off his phone when he first launched into the famous PSY hit, but when the moment for the famous dance routine arrived, everyone in the room knew his performance would go viral. In fact, the 25-year-old’s enthusiastic display proved such an instant crowd pleaser that Napoli’s social media accounts posted the video to their fans with a sarcastic tagline: “Kim is struggling to settle in.”
Just a few hours before, the defender had admitted to feeling a massive weight of expectation ahead of his new adventure. “The pressure is great since Kalidou Koulibaly has left and I have joined to be his replacement,” he told the press during his unveiling. “I’ll be playing for the first time in a great league and the Champions League – and, yes, there is pressure.” Perhaps, but the South Korean international seemed pretty relaxed on the impromptu dancefloor shortly after. So much so that he was asked for an encore at Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s birthday party a few days later. Another triumph.
“To be honest, it was really nice,” says Napoli forward Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano, whose version of Despacito for his own Napoli initiation ceremony proved far less memorable. “It surprised us because at the table we started saying to him, ‘Do you want to sing that song?’ And we couldn’t tell if he was up for it. But in the end, he did it. He sang it all, with the dance and everything. It was incredible!” When asked who has belted out the best song during his time at Napoli, the Mexican has no doubts. “Him. Him. Kim. I think he was the best because that’s the best I’ve seen in my whole career.”
So far, so good. Start as you mean to go on. Or, in the words of a popular Korean proverb, “If you don’t walk today, you will have to run tomorrow.” He may be a long way from home, but Minjae Kim has started running – and dancing – since his very first day at Napoli.
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression. For South Korean defender Minjae Kim, that may as well be a personal motto. Since joining Napoli from Fenerbahçe in the summer, the towering centre-back has scored and helped earn a clean sheet in his first Serie A game at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. He has neutralised Mohamed Salah & Co on his Champions League debut as Napoli clinched an eye-catching 4-1 win against Liverpool. But even those feats were nothing compared to his Gangnam Style rendition just a few hours after his first training session at Castel Volturno.
“We usually ask the new players to sing but we were not expecting a performance like that,” says Napoli winger Matteo Politano, adding that Kim brought the house down with his initiation song for the Partenopei. “We were all shocked because it was really good. He immediately showed his great personality, even if it wasn’t easy for him. We’re really happy with him.”
Kim had to read the words off his phone when he first launched into the famous PSY hit, but when the moment for the famous dance routine arrived, everyone in the room knew his performance would go viral. In fact, the 25-year-old’s enthusiastic display proved such an instant crowd pleaser that Napoli’s social media accounts posted the video to their fans with a sarcastic tagline: “Kim is struggling to settle in.”
