Germany is the home for Asian talent in Europe, according to data recently released by professional association football league Bundesliga. This reinforced the country’s strong footballing connections to the continent.
Data collected by Opta Sports shows that the Bundesliga has welcomed 64 players who have played 3,926 matches and scored 427 goals from July 1998. It outperforms the English Premier League, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1 combined in terms of Asian appearances and goals.
Players representing the vast geographic regions of Asia have all made Germany their home since 1998. These include Cambodia and the Philippines in Southeast Asia, Tajikistan in Central Asia, Iran and Lebanon in Western Asia and China, Japan, North Korea and South Korea in East Asia.
Among the biggest Asian football stars are AFC Asian International Player of the Year 2018 and former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe, former Korea captain Ja-Cheol Koo and Chinese legend Shao Jiayi. Including Hasebe and Koo, four out of five Asian players of the players that made the most appearances in top European leagues in the last two decades made those in the Bundesliga.
The other two Asian players are Mehdi Mahdavikia and Vahid Hashemian, who are both from Iran. Hasebe, Koo, Mahdavikia and Hashemian made almost 1,000 appearances between them with Hasebe in Eintracht Frankfurt and Koo in FC Augsburg adding to this each week as they continue their careers in Germany.
“The Bundesliga has earned a reputation of being a truly global league,” Bundesliga International CEO Robert Klein said. “But we’re particularly proud of our strong Asian connections. We look forward to welcoming many more Asian stars over the coming years as we continue to build on our strong relationship with Asian football and its fans.”
“Many Asian players come to Germany attracted by the league’s pure, authentic football, football as it’s meant to be,” Klein continued. “They’ve played an important part in our league’s success, both on the field and by engaging with millions of fans across the continent.”
Meanwhile, here is a clip featuring Hasebe from the Bundesliga:
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CONAN Daily 