There are many Asian football players in Europe, but only a few grow to the top clubs. One of them is Kagawa Shinji. A footballer moved to Dortmund Borussia at an early age - the club was not yet strong in the European arena, and this is a unique case when a player grew up with the team (you can still recall another Japanese football player named Shinji - Okazaki and his club Leicester) )
This interesting footballer is worth a little more.
Personal data and career start
Kagawa Shinji was born on March 17, 1989 in Kobe, Japan. His height is 172 centimeters, weight - 65 kilograms. On the field, he prefers to take the position of an attacking midfielder. His favorite role is a playmaker, but no less successfully, Kagawa can play as a winger on both attack flanks.
Kagawa started playing football at the age of five. He played in several schools in his native city, and in 2006, at the age of 17, he became the first Japanese footballer to sign a professional contract: he took the Sereso Osaka club under his wing.
The club played at that time in the second J-League, and in 2009, thanks to the efforts of Kagawa, who became the league's top scorer of the season, Sereso Osaka returned to the top division. In 2010, Kagawa made his debut in the J-League, but managed to play in it only 11 matches (7 goals scored). The scouts of the Dortmund Borussia have long followed the footballer, and such a bright start to the season finally convinced the German club to sign the player.
As part of Sereso Osaka, Kagawa took part in 125 matches and scored 55 goals.
"Borussia Dortmund)
On July 12, 2010, Kagawa Shinji moved to the Dortmund Borussia camp. The deal amounted to 300 thousand euros.
Borussia was only emerging from the crisis that hit it in the middle of the 2000s. The last trophy was won only in 2002, after which, until joining the club of Jürgen Klopp, who headed the “black-and-yellow” in 2008, “Borussia” was the middle section of the Bundesliga. The revival began precisely in the 2010/11 season, when Dortmund again became the champion of Germany. Not the last role in that championship was played by Kagawa, even if he missed half the season due to injury.
Japanese midfielder began to score for the new club immediately. Of particular note was the performance of the football player in the match against Schalke 04 - sworn rivals of the Dortmund. Before the game, the usually modest Kagawa said he would hit the Schalke goal twice. And so it happened: Borussia won 3-1, and two goals in that game were on Kagawa’s account. In their first season in Germany, the attacking midfielder scored 8 goals in 18 games and entered the Bundesliga Team of the Year.
The 2011/12 season cost the attacking midfielder no serious injuries. As a result, Kagawa came out at the base almost regularly. In 2012, Borussia (Dortmund) won the Bundesliga again.
A cut to Manchester United and return to Germany
In the summer of 2012, Kagawa had the opportunity to move to Manchester United, and the Japanese football player decided not to miss the chance to work with Sir Alex Ferguson himself. On June 22, the attacking midfielder signed a four-year contract with the English club. Transfer amount - 17 million pounds.
In England, Kagawa began to score much less: in the first season for the “Red Devils” the Japanese scored just 6 goals in 20 championship matches, while in one of the meetings he made a hat-trick.
The 2012/13 season was a landmark for Manchester United. Firstly, the club won the championship of England for the twentieth time. Secondly, at the end of the season, Sir Alex Ferguson completed his coaching career. Ferguson’s departure is not the last reason Kagawa Shinji returned to Borussia in 2014. The Japanese scored the ball in their first match after returning.
Kagawa Shinji's personal life
Kagawa tries not to talk much about his personal life. The football's secrecy has led to numerous rumors about his relationship with the Japanese immoderate actress Amere Inchios. Information was distributed by British tabloids immediately after the transfer of Kagawa to Manchester United.
Journalists subsequently still got to the bottom of the truth. The real bride of Kagawa was the TV presenter from Japan Margaret Natsuki. Kagawa Shinji and his girlfriend even appeared in public together. Previously, a football player was published exclusively with his teammates.
Kagawa stats and achievements
Cereso Osaka (2006-2010): 125 matches, 55 goals.
Borussia (2010-2012): 49 matches, 21 goals.
Manchester United (2012-2014): 38 matches, 6 goals.
Borussia (2014-): 50 matches, 10 goals.
Japan (U19): 4 matches.
Japan (U20): 2 matches.
Japan (U23): 3 matches.
Japan: 73 matches, 23 goals.
Achievements:
- Two-time German champion: 2010/11, 2011/12.
- German Cup Winner: 2012.
- Champion of England: 2012/13.
- Super Bowl of England: 2013.
- Winner of the Asian Cup in the national team of Japan: 2011.