Asian players flourishing in Europe

This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of World Gaming magazine.

Asian players are becoming a force to be reckoned with in European football. 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.

Football fanatics are now thrilled and amazed by the performances of Asia’s finest. It is a common sight to see players such as FC Schalke defender Atsuto Uchida in the Bundesliga, and Manchester United’s creative midfielder Shinji Kagawa, who was named the inaugural Asian Football Confederation (AFC) International Player of the Year last November. Another Premier League club, Wigan Athletic, is blessed with goal-line security from Omani goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi. The pool of Asian talent has prompted the European clubs to cast their recruiting nets across the continent to their east. The secret is well and truly out!

Born in 1953, South Korean striker Cha Bum-Kun was the first Asian player to establish himself in European football. His golden years were spent in the German Bundesliga, where he earned his reputation at Eintracht Frankfurt before moving to Bayer Leverkusen. He helped guide both these clubs to UEFA Cup glory, and his 10-plus years in the Bundesliga gave him 309 appearances and 98 goals, none of which were penalties. In 1999 the International Federation of Football History and Statistics immortalized his contribution to the game by naming him “Asia’s Player of the Century”.

Cha Bum-Kun’s period during the 1980s as Asia’s premier football idol paved the way for Asian footballers in Europe. In the 1990s it was Ali Daei who took over as the Asian idol. The Iranian striker followed in Cha Bum-Kun’s footsteps, joining the Bundesliga where his career flourished at both Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin. He never quite reached the same heights as Cha Bum-Kun, but Ali Daei will always be remembered for both his goal-scoring ability and his trademark moustache!

The apparent rule of one super-idol every decade continued into the new millennium. In the 1998 World Cup in France, a Japanese player named Hidetoshi Nakata hit the scene. The young 21-year old possessed fantastic game-savvy, dazzling free-kick skills and an outstanding passing range. Nakata played in three World Cups and had seven successful seasons in Italy’s Serie-A. He won the Scudetto (the Serie-A championship) with AS Roma in 2001 after a US$29 million move from Perugia the previous year.

Loved by the public, Nakata was not just a football player. Where Cha Bum-Kun and Ali Daei’s influence was limited to their work on the pitch, Nakata’s handsome looks and charisma meant he was just as notable for his off-pitch charm as he was for his footballing talent. His commercial value was similar to today’s pin-up players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, and he has been referred to as the “Asian David Beckham”. Nakata showed great interest in fashion, attending runway shows, wearing designer clothing and sporting colorful haircuts. A GQ magazine photographer in Italy went as far as to describe him as “… perfect … like a model. And he’s totally obsessed with fashion.”

South Korea’s Park Ji-Sung made the move to the EPL when Manchester United signed him in 2005. Despite playing for the football club generally acknowledged as the most famous in the world, he was never in the same league as Nakata in terms of commercial value, partly because he emulated his South Korean countryman Cha Bum-Kun: diligent and hard working, but lacking Nakata’s beauty and charisma.

The emergence of Nakata and Park was revolutionary. In the first decade of the new century, European clubs gradually came to understand how important the Far East market is. Aiming to create their own Nakata, big clubs are now snapping up Asian football talent at younger ages, in order to nurture them in their own academies.

In the post-Nakata age, Asian faces in European football have become commonplace. The western perception of Asian players has changed, and the eastern players stand to reap huge financial rewards for making the move to Europe.

Beyond any shadow of a doubt, Japanese player Shinji Kagawa is the best of the current crop of Asian players in Europe. The lynchpin of Manchester United’s current line-up, he has a Nakata-like look, and his football talent is even greater than his countryman predecessor. Japanese players of this vintage continue to pop-up throughout Europe. The 24 year-old Moya Yoshida has become a regular Premier League name. This central defender is now indispensable to his EPL club Southampton. Yuto Nagatomo is the Inter Milan full-back, while Atsuto Uchida plays right back for German club Schalke 04.

South Korean players are quickly catching their Japanese counterparts. Ki Sung-Yueng, branded the “Korean Gerrard” is now learning his trade at Swansea City, while Lee Chung-Yong is doing his best to help Bolton Wanderers fight their way back into the Premier League.

Although some Chinese players have played well in England, such as Sun Jihai (Manchester City), Fan Zhiyi (Crystal Palace) and Zheng Zhi (Charlton Athletic and Scottish Premier League club Celtic), China has yet to truly make her mark in Europe in the same way as her neighbors to the east.

Looking to the future of Asian stars in Europe, we can’t go past 20 year-old Ryo Miyaichi, the Japanese wonder-kid who is tipped as a star of the future by Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger. The young Gunner, who is currently on loan to Wigan Athletic to gain more match experience, is one to watch. But today’s shining star is definitely Shinji Kagawa whose sensational introduction into the Premier League this season places him as the most eye-catching Asian talent right now, and the best candidate to take on the mantle of “the new Nakata”.