Asian players in Germany

Although the most prevalent of these players was the pragmatic and enormously successful Kagawa, many more have followed suit since. It seems that the Bundesliga has discovered that there are certain qualities that players from these nations possess that are useful in the modern game. This includes their discipline, technical abilities and composure. As a result, the majority of these players are used in midfield. Starting with the most famous example from the past, we will then look into the players that are currently in the Bundesliga – some of which who are playing key roles for their teams.

Shinji Kagawa – Borussia Dortmund (CAM, 2010-2012, 2014-2019)

Kagawa was arguably the most successful East Asian player to ever grace the Bundesliga. Especially in his first two season under Jürgen Klopp, he played a pivotal role in securing back to back Bundesliga titles and a DFB Pokal. After this he spent 3 seasons at Manchester United before returning again for 5 more years. The first 4 of which he remained an important player, again winning the cup in the 2016-17 season. Kagawa played as an attacking midfielder known for his proficient passing, positioning and also his off-the-ball effort. Of course, he also scored a number of important goals. Most notably against Bayern Munich in the cup final. He ended his career in Germany with 148 Bundesliga appearances, 41 goals and 37 assists as well as 24 appearances, 8 goals and 10 assists in the cup.

 

Ritsu Doan – Arminia Bielefeld (AM, RM)

Doan played every game of Bielefeld’s campaign despite being on loan from PSV Eindhoven. A very competent left-footed dribbler he helped his team remain in the first division after being newly promoted. With a respectable 5 goals and 2 assists he has been successful in the league this season –  especially considering Arminia only managed to score 26 goals in total. At only 22, Doan has potential to be one of Japan’s top players.

 

 

 

Daichi Kamada – Eintracht Frankfurt (CM, AM)

Kamada joined Frankfurt in 2017 and has since last season been able to establish himself as one of their more important and creative offensive midfielders. He has a similar profile to Kagawa in that he is known for his passing and positioning. This season he helped Frankfurt secure a 5th place finish making 32 appearances with 5 goals and 12 assists in the league – 3rd most in the league only behind Thomas Müller and fellow Entracht player Kostic. At 24, his future is very promising.

 

 

Makoto Hasebe – Eintracht Frankfurt (CB, CDM)

Hasebe has been at Frankfurt since 2014 transferring from Nürnberg after a successful career at Wolfsburg where he won the Bundesliga in 2009. He moved to Frankfurt in 2014 where he has established himself as one of the leaders. At 37, he was the oldest player in the Bundesliga season until Hunterlaar’s transfer to Schalke and holds the record for most appearances in the league for an Asian player. With 29 appearances he still played a vital role in securing the side’s 5th place finish. For the last few seasons he has been getting more appearances as a centre back but played a holding midfield role earlier in his career renowned for his passing and defensive work.

 

 

Jeong Woo-Yeong – SC Freiburg (RM, AM)

Jeong played 26 times for Freiburg this season and although many of his appearances came off the bench, he managed to score 4 goals. The 21 year old midfielder was on loan at Bayern Munich the season before playing for their 2nd team in the 3rd division. He will be hoping for more chances to play full matches and is an exciting young talent for the future.

 

 

 

Yuya Osako – Werder Bremen (FW)

Osako is a forward who has been in the Bundesliga since 2014. Before moving to Cologne, he played one season at 1860 Munich and is currently at Werder Bremen. His side had a disappointing season in which they were relegated to the 2nd division, and unfortunately an unproductive season for him too with 0 goals and 1 assist. Although he made 24 appearances, they were often off the bench. He is still contracted to Bremen for one season and hopes to shoot them back into the first division.

 

 

Wataru Endo – VfB Stuttgart (CM)

Endo has had an incredible breakthrough season at Stuttgart in his first Bundesliga campaign. Making the joint most appearances for his club (in fact he was only subbed off twice, once in the 90th minute) he was one of the crucial players in helping his side remain in the Bundesliga. This came after last season’s promotion from the 2nd division. With 3 goals and 3 assists, he has a respectable tally for a defensive midfielder and has all the qualities to further his success next season.

 

 

Hee-chan Hwang – RB Leipzig (ST, CF)

Another player on this list that got his European start at RB Salzburg moving to the German equivalent RB Leipzig in 2020. Hwang played 18 games in the league however most were as a substitute but was able to provide one assist. In the cup, he managed 3 goals in 5 games. The 25 year old arguably has the greatest competition in our list as his club finished 2nd in the league. As a winner of the Austrian Bundesliga he would be hoping to replicate the feat in Germany.

 

 

Keita Endo – Union Berlin (LM, RM)

Yet another loanie this time from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan, Endo appeared 16 times in the Berlin side’s most successful season and managed to score once. He is expected to make the move permanent starting next season. With his side’s 7th placed finish the 23 year old may be one of the first players to feature in the European Conference League.

 

 

 

Masaya Okugawa – Arminia Bielefeld (LM, AM)

Another loanee at Bielefeld Okugawa is contracted to RB Salzburg in Austria. Although only arriving in the January transfer window, he managed to achieve 13 appearances, score 1 goal against Leverkusen and 2 assists versus Freiburg and Stuttgart respectively. Having spent time at Holstein Kiel before, the 25 year old still has a lot to look forward to.

 

 

 

Kwon Chang-Hoon – SC Freiburg (LM/RM, AM)

Kwon has been at Freiburg for the past couple of seasons and has been somewhat successful achieving 23 appearances last season but only 12 this season. However, he was injured for a long portion of the Bundesliga campaign due to a knee injury. This meant only one of his appearances came as a starter. At 26, he still has potential with his skilful left foot to make a mark in the league.

 

 

There are actually many more players playing professionally in Germany. For example, Cheon Seong-Hoon who features for Augsburg’s 2nd team in the Regionalliga as well as of course the various players in the 2nd division. Here is a list of some others to look for who contended in the 2nd Bundesliga this season:

Lee Jae Sung – Holstein Kiel – Midfielder – 33/34 games, 5 goals, 4 assists

Genki Haraguchi – Hannover 96 – Midfielder – 34/34 games, 9 goals, 5 assists -> transferred to Union Berlin for next season
Sei Muroya – Hannover 96 – Defender – 32/34 games, 2 assists

Kyoung Rok Choi – Karlsruhe SC – Midfielder – 24/34 games, 5 goals, 1 assists

Dong Won Ji – Eintracht Braunschweig (On loan from Mainz) – Attacker – 12/34 games, 1 goal, 1 assist

Ryo Miyaichi – FC St. Pauli – Midfielder – 1/34 games