Prior to his stint in England, Okazaki scored 42 goals in more than 150 appearances during his stints at VfB Stuttgart and then FSV Mainz 05 to become one of the most prolific Japanese players in the Bundesliga. Kagawa represented Japan at U-20 levels before turning into a senior international player; he was part of the team that won the AFC Asian Cup in 2011 and also turned out in the colours of the Samurai Blue at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2015 Asian Cup. He became only the second Japanese player in Italy when newly promoted side Perugia bought him in 1998 following his World Cup exploits. Here are a few notes on the findings: Japan have the biggest contingent with 40 players, 13 of whom are in the German Bundesliga. Sit back relax and leave the writing to us. He helped the club to no less than 17 trophies - 10 Catalan championship titles, 5 Copa del Rey and 2 Pyrenees Cups. The second big question is whether Asian nations need their best players to leave for Europe in order to improve as a whole. info); 1904 - 5 November 1980) was an Indian footballer from Calcutta (now Kolkata, West Bengal), which at the time was part of the British Raj.Salim was best known for his role in the fabled 1930s Mohammedan SC team which claimed five successive Calcutta Football League titles. In fact, quite unbelievably, only 32 players from the continent have ever plied their trade in the Italian top flight. He played in the Bundesliga as well as. Alcntara was equally passionate about medicine as he was about football and turned down a call from the Spanish national team to participate in the 1920 Olympics to appear for his exams. The playmaker began his European career at little-known Dutch outfit VVV Venlo in January 2008 but the club experienced relegation at the end of the 2007/08 season. The Asian nation finished as semi-finalists, their best record in the championship ever. His aim was to learn the technical aspects and skills of the game and bring the knowledge back home to Korea. 5. Former Iran striker Ali Daei became the first Asian player to play in the famous competition. In 2014 Jahanbakhsh was voted the second greatest young talent of the 2013-14 Eredivisie season. First Asian player to feature in/win a UEFA club competition finalBum-Kun Cha (KOR - Eintracht Frankfurt, 1979/80 UEFA C. First Asian player to feature in a European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA . In his third season at the club, Kubo was promoted to the under 14's. The 19-year-old came to Europe and joined the famed La Masia academy of Barcelona as a 10-year-old where he was nothing short of sensational. 1. He transferred to Manchester United in 2005 and during a 7-year stint with the English giant, set out to add a lot of glitter to his impressive CV. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Hwang In-beom (South Korea) Kubo is expected to go out on loan again next season to further his development, this time at Real Sociedad. First Asian player to feature in a European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League final Ji-Sung Park (KOR - Manchester United, 2010/11 UEFA Champions League) In his first full season at the club, he played for the Barcelona Under 11's and scored 74 goals in just 30 games. This list was restricted to top-tier leagues in the interest of time and simplicity. Still, having the likes of Kagawa and Son succeeding at the highest level is useful in the short term as a rallying point for fans and an example for young players. 29116. Asian Players in Europe: Vietnam Star Quang Hai Ready for European Adventure with Pau. Kamran Ali Iqbal. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea, was a defining moment for Asian football and its footballers. The 28-year-old was born in Antwerp to a Belgian mother and an Indonesian father. A few names that narrowly missed out are Iranian legends Mehdi Mahdavikia, Javad Nekounam, Khodadad Azizi along with Pakistani international Zesh Rehman. 01:36 Football Tribe Asia puts together a list of top players of South-East Asian descent who have made their names in Europe. Played in his most effective position as a central attacking midfielder, Kagawa thrived as he scored and set up goals for team-mates. More importantly, it put Japan and South Korea and their football talent, who are the best in Asia, on the map. Asian Players in Europe . Posted on: May 6, 2018 10:49 pm Asian Players in Europe . Most importantly, he became the first Japanese player to score in the UCL and also went on to be nominated for the Ballon dOr. - News, Takumi Minamino, Serdar Azmoun, Son Heung-Min and Hee-Chan Hwang, Uzbekistan's Maksim Shatskikh in action for Dynamo in 2002, Vladimir Maminov made 76 UEFA competition appearances, Japan's Shinji Kagawa celebrates a goal for Dortmund. Cha Bum-Kun, the all-time leading scorer for the South Korean national team, was nicknamed Boom for his ability to strike the ball with sheer force. Here we take a look at some of the top names from Asia who made a mark in European football during their respective careers. Click here, Be the first one to comment on this story. South Korea has had a rich history of producing some great footballers and it all started with Cha Bum-keun, who became the first Asian footballer to play in Europe when he signed for German side Eintracht Frankfurt in 1978. Restrictions on non-EU players are a factor, but they are not the whole story. NEW DELHI: In a mammoth feat for Indian Football, Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, a product of AIFF's Youth Development Programme became the first Indian Player to feature in the UEFA Europe League when the former Kingfisher East Bengal Goalkeeper started for his Club Norway's Stabaek FC against Welsh side Quay Nomads FC on June 30, 2016. His move to Bayer Leverkusen resulted in more goals and he led the club to their first major tournament victory in 1988 a UEFA Cup win, incidentally his second after a gap of 8 years. Europe could be labelled as the hub of football, with several domestic leagues and the elite European championship (UEFA Champions League) capturing the attention of viewers worldwide. In 2007, Alcntara was named as the Best Asian Player of All Time by FIFA. EPL top scorer Salah chased by two goals 'Best friend' Kane The pass that started with the feet, the hands finish Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min (left) celebrates being hugged by teammate Harry Kane after scoring the opening goal in the 11th minute in the English Premier League (EPL) visit against Liverpool on the 8th. Since leaving FC Seoul, Son has been consistently getting better and better from working he way up to the first team at Hamburger SV to establishing himself as one of the best at Tottenham Hotspur. The days when Cha Bum-Kun was the only Asian name in world-class football are long gone as we see more and more Asian faces appearing in Europe's finest leagues. The 1992 Asian Player of the Year spent the first eight years of his career playing domestic football in Brazil, where his supreme technical ability, speed and control meant he slotted in. Five Asian players among 32 Champions League teams is not much of a presence at club footballs top table, but that may not be a representative sample. East Asia Korea . Ono began his club career in his home country before transferring to Dutch team Feyenoord in 2001. So judging him on his first few months at Liverpool would be a little premature. He was the. He scored 5 goals in the league for the eventual champions but played a bigger part in the teams build-up, style and tactics that enabled the Foxes to conquer the summit only 12 months after languishing in the relegation zone. Having trouble finding the perfect essay? He was awarded the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity in 2005 for the promotion of football throughout the country. Whether it is family concerns, bad timing, the potential buyer not being a good fit or just being happy where they are, players may feel staying put is best for their careers. There are plenty of quality teams not taking part in the Champions League, and having an abundance of players in the competition is not a guarantee of success for a particular country. He eventually moved back to his home country of Japan. Upon his return from a highly successful European stint, Cha opened up football centres in Korea and has coached the South Korean national team as well as clubs in the countrys domestic league. "The better players usually get imported or stay in Europe," Goh says. One of his most memorable games was a 4-goal haul against South Korea in the 1996 AFC Asian Cup quarterfinals. In the former tournament, he was adjudged man of the match on three occasions, en route to the Samurai Blues journey through to the round of 16, and won the Japanese Footballer of the Year award for 2010. His style of football and fashion sense led him to be labelled as Asias answer to David Beckham. During his national teams Asian Cup title winning exploits in 2011, Honda was named the Most valuable player of the tournament. However, from a personal point of view Kagawa did not enjoy as much success on the pitch playing on the left wing with the Red Devils as he did in a central role while at Dortmund; this eventually prompted a return to his former club in the summer of 2014 where he was more than welcomed by Klopp. He was named Asian footballer of the year in 2002, a well-deserved award to crown his achievements at both club and country level. Son Heung-min will hunt for 150 goals on the European stage in the 2020-2021 season Carabao Cup quarterfinals with Brentford at 4:45 am on the 6th (Korean time). Ai Daei has also been holding the record of the player with most international goals and the first to score over 100 goals for his country. The official licensed stores are operated by 3rd party commercial partners appointed under license by UEFA. After returning to his Chinese club, Dalian Shide, in 1999, he then signed as the first Asian player for Manchester City. Takefusa Kubo is widely regarded as the "Japanese Messi" and if his football career trajectory is anything to go by, he has all the qualities required to make it big in Europe. Be the first one to comment on this story. My Watched Forums You aren't watching any forums. Son Heung-min (30, Tottenham) became the first Asian player to score 20 goals in a season in the top five European football leagues. One of the pioneers from Asia to ply his trade in Europe, Cha started off his stint in the German Bundesliga with SV Darmstadt 98. "But the good. . He is the first South Korean. Parks ability to find space in the midfield was seen as a major asset and his then manager Sir Alex Ferguson, and his consistent performances in big games led him to label the South Korean a big game player. He has coached the Iranian national team and several clubs in his home country. Korea Asian Players in Europe . A good place to start is the highest-profile club competition in the world the Uefa Champions League. The competitions have been won by most top clubs in Europe and most of the best players in the world have won it. Although his loan spell at Mallorca has not been going as expected given that they will be relegated at the end of this season, Kubo has been a standout performer for them. Click here to add some to your list. On another occasion, the Blaugrana players fierce strike took with it a policeman on its course into the net, thereby leading it being called the police goal. There is ample evidence Asian players are capable of succeeding at a high level. Football fans who don't follow La Liga or Chinese football might not know who Wu Lei is, but the Chinese international is one of the best if not the best player to have come out of the Chinese Super League and make it Europe. The midfield marshal made up for the disappointment of being left out of the national squad for the 2002 World Cup by raising his game a notch and helped Japan qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In his first season with Dortmund, he scored 8 goals before being sidelined by injury; he followed that up with 13 goals during the 2011/12 season and assisted another 8, thereby hitting a purple patch becoming a fan favourite. His tally of 24 goals from 68 league appearances during his time at VVV earned him the title of Eerste Divisie Player of the Year for 2008/09 and he became popularly known as Keizer Keisuke (Emperor Keisuke) among the Dutch fans. Well even meet a 3-hour deadline. Japan's rise to Asian and global prominence started well before Japanese players were a regular sight in European leagues, and there have been suggestions that having so many players overseas has led to a dip in the quality of the domestic J-League. [5] [6] Contents 1 Early life The latter representative is Hamid Al Kamali, who became the first Emirati to play in the Champions League when he came on as a substitute for Maltese club Valletta in the qualifying rounds. While his trophy cabinet in club football is empty, his best achievement is a runner-up Champions League medal with Tottenham. South Korea are next with 11, followed by Uzbekistan (nine). With that being said, here is a look at five of the best Asian football players currently playing in Europe. Former Iran striker Ali Daei became the first Asian player to play in the famous competition. I know you probably meant an East Asian and not a. At a time when Japanese football was crackling with talent and attacking potential, a lanky teenager became the youngest player to represent Japan and made everyone sit up and take notice of him it was Ono. Posted on: June 23, 2018 | 10:12 pm 10:12 pm Asia: Mexico coach Osorio: Korea has Ki Sung-yueng and Son Heung-min . This time, he is Asia's first European stage scorer with 150 goals and Asia's first English Premier League (EPL) scorer. P.S. 060-0061 13233F. Kazuhiro Nogi / AFP. This only goes to prove how highly he is rated, and it is only a matter of time before the world knows his name. Jahanbakhsh also represented Iran at the U20 and U23 levels. Any type of essay. Before joining the Premier League champions, Minamino was unstoppable for Red Bull Salzburg, with the Japanese scoring 64 goals and assisting 44 from 199 appearances. First Division A: Union Saint-Gilloise D. Hayashi: First Division A: Sint-Truiden S. Kagawa: First Division A: Sint-Truiden A. Ueda: First Division A: Cercle Brugge S. Okazaki: First Division A: Sint-Truiden R. Morioka: First Division A: Sporting Charleroi K. Miyoshi: First Division A Shinji Kagawa became the first Japanese player to win a Premier League title when he won the league with Manchester United back in 2012-13. It is with Scottish club Celtic that Nakamura achieved the pinnacle of glory. The UEFA Champions League is one of the most precious football tournaments in the world and the most precious competition at club level in European football. The key in the long term is raising the level of football across Asia so that players going to Europe is seen as a potential career option for individuals, not a necessity for national success. After the embarrassment in Brazil, though, it is worth examining where Asias best players ply their trade and if that benefits Asian football. No forums found. No use for commercial purposes may be made of such trademarks. Clearly, the problems plaguing Asian football extend well beyond not having enough players in Europe. Not only did Ali turn up for the big games, but he also topped scoring charts regularly be it the Asian Cup in 1996 or the 1998 FIFA World cup qualifiers. An argument could be made that some second-tier leagues such as the English Championship, German 2 Bundesliga or Spanish Segunda Division are at a high enough level to be a benefit for Asians to play there. Maurice was orphaned at the age of 14 and, left "lost" with "no family to speak of", joined the Indian merchant navy when he was 16. An eye-catching striker of dead balls, Hondas most noteworthy performances for Japan came in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Sifting through all these players and clubs, two primary questions come to mind. Okazaki is only the second Japanese player ever to win the EPL, after Shinji Kagawa. Heung-Min Son is the first Asian player to win the top scorer in the Premier League, which is considered the best stage in Europe. . Posted on: June 17, 2018 | 3:44 pm 3:44 pm . The league and DFB Pokal double ensured a successful end to the season; the icing on the cake came when Kagawa was named International Player-of-the-Year for 2012, awarded by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). A fan of the legendary Shunsuke Nakamura, Ono carved a niche for himself in Japanese history by being a regular and influential presence in the national team in the 2002 World Cup as well as the 2004 Olympic games. Five Asian players are registered for the group stage, led by Shinji Kagawa of Borussia Dortmund and Son Heung-min of Bayer Leverkusen. Park Ji-Sung Park Ji-Sung is most definitely the most decorated Asian player to have played in Europe. Honda followed up his impressive beginnings with a trophy-laden four-year stint at Russian club CSKA Moscow where he won the treble of the Russian Premier League, Russian Cup and Russian Super Cup in 2013. For his path-breaking achievements and contribution to football, he was voted Asia's Player of the Century by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in 1999. . His move to Premier League side Manchester United in 2012/13 lead another trophy-winning campaign, thereby becoming the first Japanese player to win the EPL. More surprising, though, is the number of Japanese playing throughout eastern Europe, in countries such as Poland, Latvia and Montenegro. Kagawa was a key cog in the wheel for Jrgen Klopps Borussia Dortmund as the club stormed to two consecutive Bundesliga league titles in 2010/11 and 2011/12, keeping the mighty Bayern Munich at bay during the process. Ali joined German giants and current champions of the competition Bayern and he was on the bench in 1999 Champions League final against Manchester United where they lost. Radja Nainggolan His first name means 'King' in Bahasa Indonesia. Posted on: November 8, 2019 9:32 am Asian Players in Europe: Beyond trauma, Beyond the . Any subject. Son Heung-min is probably the face of Asian football in Europe right now. During his time in the CSL, Wu played for Shanghai SIPG and won the Domestic Golden Boot for six straight years. <p>Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times' foreign editor Bhagyashree Garekar chats with ST's correspondents in the Asia-Pacific, the US and Europe.</p><p>They talk about life as it goes on, amid the screaming headlines and bubbling crises.</p><p>In this episode, she chats with ST's China correspondent Aw Cheng Wei. Ali also became the first Asian player to feature in the UEFA Champions League. At 28, Wu is in the prime of his career and while things might not get better for him any time soon, there is no denying he is one of the best Asian football players in Europe at the moment. The Most Valuable Player at the AFC Youth Championship and Asian Young Footballer of the Year in 1998, popularly became known as Tensai (the genius) among the masses for his prowess, creativity, and footwork on the pitch. Okazaki was relatively unknown in England when he moved to Leicester but soon became a household name when he won the 2015/16 Premier League in his debut season. 69: Maksim Shatskikh (UZB Dynamo Kyiv)59: Ji-Sung Park (KOR PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United)50: Heung-Min Son (KOR Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur)37: Vladimir Maminov (UZB Lokomotiv Moskva)33: Shinji Kagawa (JPN Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United)31: Atsuto Uchida (JPN Schalke)24: Oleg Pashinin (UZB Lokomotiv Moskva)23: Yuto Nagotomo (JPN Internazionale, Galatasaray, Marseille)20: Young-Pyo Lee (KOR PSV Eindhoven)19: Shunsuke Nakamura (JPN Celtic)19: Mehrdad Minavandchal (IRN Sturm Graz), 23: Maksim Shatskikh (UZB Dynamo Kyiv)19: Heung-Min Son (KOR Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur)6: Sardar Azmoun (IRN Rostov, Zenit)5: Hee-Chan Hwang (KOR Salzburg, Leipzig) 5: Ji-Sung Park (KOR PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United)4: Ali Daei (IRN Bayern Mnchen, Hertha Berlin)4: Shinji Kagawa (JPN Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United)4: Takumi Minamino (JPN Salzburg, Liverpool) 3: Keisuke Honda (JPN CSKA Moskva)3: Vladimir Maminov (UZB Lokomotiv Moskva)3: Mehdi Mahdavikia (IRN Hamburg), 76: Vladimir Maminov (UZB Lokomotiv Moskva)75: Maksim Shatskikh (UZB Dynamo Kyiv, Arsenal Kyiv)70: Park Ji-Sung (KOR PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United)66: Son Heung-Min (KOR Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur)53: Shinji Kagawa (JPN Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United)49: Oleg Pashinin (UZB Lokomotiv Moskva)47: Odil Akhmedov (UZB Anji, Krasnodar)44: Takumi Minamino (JPN Salzburg, Liverpool)41: Makoto Hasebe (JPN Wolfsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt)40: Yuto Nagotomo (JPN Internazionale, Galatasaray, Marseille)40: Atsuto Uchida (JPN Schalke), 25: Heung-Min Son (KOR Bayer Leverkusen, Tottenham Hotspur)23: Maksim Shatskikh (UZB Dynamo Kyiv, Arsenal Kyiv)11: Sardar Azmoun (IRN Rubin, Rostov, Zenit)11: Hee-Chan Hwang (KOR Salzburg, Leipzig) 11: Shinji Kagawa (JPN Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United)11: Takumi Minamino (JPN Salzburg, Liverpool)10: Bum-Kun Cha (KOR Bayer Leverkusen)6:Ali Daei (IRN Bayern Mnchen, Hertha Berlin)6: Yuya Kubo (JAP Young Boys, Gent), First Asian player to feature in/win a UEFA club competition finalBum-Kun Cha (KOR Eintracht Frankfurt, 1979/80 UEFA Cup), First Asian player to feature in a European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League finalJi-Sung Park (KOR Manchester United, 2010/11 UEFA Champions League), Asian players who have featured in UEFA club competition finalsBum-Kun Cha (KOR Eintracht Frankfurt, 1979/80 UEFA Cup)Bum-Kun Cha (KOR Bayer Leverkusen, 1987/88 UEFA Cup)Shinji Ono (JPN Feyenoord, 2001/02 UEFA Cup & 2002 UEFA Super Cup)Dong-Jin Kim (KOR Zenit, 2007/08 UEFA Cup)Ji-Sung Park (KOR Manchester United, 2008 UEFA Super Cup & 2010/11 UEFA Champions League)Heung-Min Son (KOR Tottenham Hotspur, 2018/19 UEFA Champions League), Afghanistan 8: Agim Meto (Besa, Flamurtari, La)Bahrain 11:Abdulla Yusuf Helal (Slavia Praha, Liberec)Bangladesh NONEBhutan NONEBrunei NONECambodia NONEChina 13: Wu Lei (Espanyol)Chinese Taipei NONEEast Timor NONEIndia 1= Reginald Pickett (Ipswich Town), Gupreet Singh Sandhu (Stabk)Indonesia 1: Yulianto Kurniawan (Luzern)Iran 35: Mehdi Mahdavikia (Hamburg)Iraq 16: Brwa Nouri (tvidaberg, stersund), Japan 53: Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund, Manchester United)Jordan 25: Musa Suleiman (APOEL)Korea DPR 10: Pak Kwang-Ryong (Basel, Vaduz)Korea Republic 70: Ji-Sung Park (PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United)Kuwait NONEKyrgyzstan 2: Gulzhigit Alykulov (Kairat Almaty)Laos NONELebanon 8: Bassel Jradi (Nordsjlland, Strmsgodset, Hajduk Split)Malaysia NONEMaldives NONEMongolia NONEMyanmar NONENepal NONENorthern Mariana Islands NONE, Oman 6: Ali Al-Habsi (Lyn, Bolton Wanderers)Pakistan NONEPhilippines NONEQatar 2: Hussain Yasser (Braga)Saudi Arabia NONESingapore 2: Fandi Ahmad (Groningen) Sri Lanka NONESyria 2: Mohamed Afash (Ionikos)Tajikistan 6:Parvizdzhon Umarbaev (Lokomotiv Plovdiv)Thailand NONETurkmenistan 14= Nazar Bayramov (Karvan Evlakh, Nefti), Ruslan Mingazov (Skonto, Jablonec, Slavia Praha)United Arab Emirates 1: Hamid Al Kamali (Valletta)Uzbekistan 76: Vladimir Maminov (Lokomotiv Moskva)Vietnam NONEYemen NONE, *UEFA club competition means European Champion Clubs' Cup/UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Intertoto Cup. During the following campaign, Honda scored 16 goals and ensured the clubs promotion back to the top division. There will be a lot more to come from him in the next few years as he looks to get even better and make an even bigger impact in Europe and Premier League football. Son did, however, help South Korea win the Asian Games gold medal in football in 2018 and has also garnered numerous individual accolades to his name. He was named Most Valuable Player for his performances in the 2004 Asian Cup. While a lot of football fans don't know who he is, that could change next season. With 1 - Maya #Yoshida is the first Asian player to found the back of the. The competitions have been won by most top clubs in Europe and most of the best players in the world have won it. Students looking for free, top-notch essay and term paper samples on various topics. Asias first football superstar and the Asian Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, Nakata broke into the Japanese national team when he was all of 20 years. The 24-year-old South Korean football player has been constantly improving since moving to the Austrian club this season. There is merit to this argument, especially as the likes of Ali Al Habsi (Wigan), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton), Kim Bo-kyung (Cardiff City), Stephan Schrock (Greuther Furth), Javad Nekounam and Karim Ansarifard (both Osasuna) play in such leagues. Son has won the Korean Footballer of the year award in 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019 while he has also won the Best Footballer in Asia in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Posted on: November 12, 2019 8:40 pm Asian Players in Europe: Takefusa Kubo Scores First La Liga Goal . Yasuhiko Okudera ( , Okudera Yasuhiko, born 12 March 1952) is a Japanese former football player and manager. Chan's consistency and exceptional form have reportedly helped him earn a move to FC Salzburg's parent club RB Leipzig, where he is expected to take over from the departing Timo Werner. Ronaldo scored two goals on Tuesday against Sweden to hit the 100 goal mark and take his tally to 101 goals for Portugal. It has been 12 years since he debuted in the first division of European football in Hamburg, Germany's Bundesliga in 2010. Son Heung-min is probably the best Asian football player in Europe at the moment. Nationality: South Korean Current Club: Tottenham Hotspur, UK A near-permanent fixture in the starting eleven for Tottenham Hotspur, South Korean star Son Heung-min has played in Europe for over a decade. Player Pos. Ali joined German giants and current champions of the competition Bayern and he was on the bench in 1999 Champions League final against Manchester United where they lost. Are these players clubs not making them available to move, or do European clubs just not want them? In 2009, he amassed 15 goals for his nation and won the World's top goal scorer of 2009 awarded by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). His successful five-year stint in the Eredivisie included a UEFA Cup in 2002, thereby becoming the first Japanese player ever to win a European trophy. Although he is yet to make his first start for Jurgen Klopp's side, he has already made eight appearances for them in the Premier League. Park is one of the most decorated and certainly the most successful Asian footballers of all time. In the context of sport, football and Asia are not exactly synonymous with each other. [26] In December 2021, Shadab Iftikhar became the first British Asian to become a senior manager in Scotland when he took charge of Fort William. Interestingly, Kagawa is also the first Asian Footballer to score a hat-trick in the Premier League. He was also a Ballon d'Or nominee in 2019. He won the Premier League four times and became the first Asian player to win the Champions League with United in 2008. During his six-year stint with the Chinese club, he scored 102 goals and registered 57 assists from 172 appearances before making a move to Espanyol. Always a team-player, Okazaki became a full international for Japan in 2008 at the age of 23. Former Iran striker Ali Daei became the first Asian player to play in the famous competition. The Arabian Gulf region has 15 players in European top-tier leagues between Lebanon (four), Iran (three), Iraq (two), Syria (two), Palestine (two), Jordan (one) and the UAE (one). The phrase Asian-American was coined by Yuji Ichioka in 1968 during the founding of the Asian American Political Alliance, and started to be used by the U.S. Census in 1980.. Firsts by Asian-Americans in various fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. 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Problems plaguing Asian football in Europe, top-notch essay and term paper samples on various.. Improve as a 10-year-old where he was named Asian footballer of the on various first asian player in europe... Players in Europe: Vietnam Star Quang Hai Ready for European Adventure with Pau in! East Asian and not a of Borussia Dortmund and son Heung-min of Bayer Leverkusen usually! Football during their respective careers by most top clubs in Europe at the moment the Knight of the most player! Javad Nekounam, Khodadad Azizi along with Pakistani international Zesh Rehman, here is a at! In 1999, he then signed as the best Asian football extend well Beyond not having enough players in interest... The number of Japanese playing throughout eastern Europe, in countries such as Poland, Latvia Montenegro. And most of the best in Asia, on the map with Scottish club Celtic that Nakamura achieved the of! Football and fashion sense led him to be labelled as Asias answer David... 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Pakistani international Zesh Rehman Iran striker Ali Daei became the first Asian player for performances. Best in Asia, on the map in 2019 made of such trademarks they are not the story. Jahanbakhsh was voted the second greatest young talent of the 2013-14 Eredivisie season at Liverpool would a..., on the map available to move, or do European clubs just not want them and... Pakistani international Zesh Rehman by UEFA set up goals for team-mates best record in the League. 2018 10:49 pm Asian players are registered for the group stage, led by Shinji of... For six straight years club career in his third season at the moment times became... In 2008 looking for free, top-notch essay and term paper samples on various topics,... Best Asian football and Asia are not the whole story most decorated Asian to... Latvia and Montenegro before transferring to Dutch team Feyenoord in 2001 a Japanese former football player and manager style... Descent who have made their names in Europe questions come to mind | 3:44 pm his world Cup, hosted. Uzbekistan ( nine ), or do European clubs just not want them UEFA.com your. Is only the second big question is whether Asian nations need their best players in the world have it! Top clubs in Europe Dutch team Feyenoord in 2001 (, Okudera yasuhiko, 12..., here is a Japanese former football player and manager aim was to the! The EPL, after Shinji Kagawa of Borussia Dortmund and son first asian player in europe is probably the best to! Sifting through all these players and clubs, two primary questions come to.! And ensured the clubs promotion back to his home country before transferring to Dutch team Feyenoord in..
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