The 2022/23 season in European football has ended and it’s time to take stock. Let’s single out the most prominent football players from Asia in European clubs.
Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton)
Brighton has become one of the biggest discoveries of the season in the English Premier League, with Japanese midfielder Kaoru Mitoma being the highlight of the season. Brighton acquired the Japanese back in 2021, but first sent him on a seasonal internship to the friendly Belgian Union, where Mitoma adapted to European football.
There were big doubts that the short and thin Japanese would be able to settle into athletic English football, but Mitoma as quickly as he adapted in Belgium became his own in the English Premier League. A technical, fast and out-of-the-ordinary player who first impressed as a substitute, then began to get more and more playing time and eventually turned into one of Brighton’s key players.
The team of Roberto De Zerbi made it to the European Cup at the end of the season – for the first time in the history of the club, and Mitoma became mega popular among football fans in Asia. His T-shirts in the club store “Seagulls” are displayed on a special stand, where most often there is nothing left after Brighton matches.
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Kyogo Furuhashi (Celtic)
Kyogo Furuhashi spent his second season at Celtic, a club that has become a base for talented Japanese footballers. In the first season, the striker performed well, but when Celtic was led by the former manager of the Australian national team and Yokohama Mariners Ange Postekoglu, who is well acquainted with Asian and Japanese football and Furuhashi’s capabilities, the Japanese became simply unstoppable.
34 goals in all competitions of the season, which became the total dominance of the “Celts” in the championship of Scotland (won both the championship and the Scottish Cup and the League Cup) is an outstanding result for Furuhashi. Under Postecoglu, he has grown as a player and turned into a full-fledged star, which is about time to move to a stronger championship. It is possible that we will see Furuhashi’s reunion at Postecoglu in Tottenham very soon.
Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
The 2022/23 season has been far from the best for Asia’s top soccer star, Song Heung-min, but he hasn’t fallen below the high bar he set earlier. Statistically, this was indeed not the best season for Son, but he has previously had average seasons before new ups in his career and there is no doubt that this will happen again.
It is possible that Son will lose his longtime Tottenham partner Harry Kane this summer, and in such a situation he will have to take on the role of leader. In the new season, the Spurs are waiting for the Brazilian Richarlison to improve, but Son also needs to return to his usual performance indicators in order to return the team to the Champions League.
Kim Min Ja (Napoli)
Powerful Korean defender Kim Min-ja very successfully entered Napoli, becoming one of the main discoveries of the season not only in Serie A, but in all European football. Acquired in Fenerbahce for 18 million euros, the Korean giant immediately became a stronghold of the defense of the Neapolitans, replacing the long-term team leader Kalidou Koulibaly.
At least in the autumn, Napoli were perhaps the most attractive playing team in Europe, and Kim strengthened his reputation so much that he ended up in a number of national teams with the best players in Europe at the end of the season. Manchester United and Bayern fought for him and defeated the club from Munich, where Kim will continue his career.
Mehdi Taremi (Porto)
Mehdi Taremi is far from being a young player, but his season in Porto has demonstrated the Iranian striker’s ability to consistently score 20 or more goals in one of the leading European Championships. Taremi in Porto went only to improve performance – 23 goals in the 2020/21 season, 26 in the 2021/22 season, and 31 in 2022/23.
Taremi scored in every league he played, but his appearance in the Portuguese league with Rio Ave took the Iranian striker to a new level. Taremi has always been a key player in the Iranian national team, but since 2019 his performance has increased here too, and his goal against Portugal at the 2018 World Cup and a double against England at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar proved that Taremi is the main star of modern Iranian national team.
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