Japanese Players In Europe

Takashi Inui celebrates with Sebastian Rode after scoring against Nurnberg.

This past week was another great one for Japanese footballers in Europe.

Takashi Inui got things started on Friday, when he scored in Eintracht’s 2-1 win away at Nurnberg. His goal in the 60^th minute, cutting in from the left and lashing a low shot past Raphael Schafer, was the eventual match winner. Then in the midweek match at home to Borussia Dortmund, he starred as Frankfurt continued their great start and got a 0-0 to the two-time defending champions. Eintracht entered the half trailing 2-0 but Inui helped start the comeback, assisting Stefan Aigner’s goal in the 49^th minute. He then scored the equalizer in the 51^st with a header. It was his third goal in as many Bundesliga matches. Dortmund retook the lead through Mario Gotze in the 54^th minute, but Anderson Bamba equalized in 73^rd to earn a point for Eintracht.

Frankfurt’s great start and Inui’s performances have been getting a lot of attention recently. Before drawing with Dortmund, Frankfurt’s four consecutive league wins were a record for a newly-promoted team. As for Inui, in his recent column for The Guardian Rafa Honigstein gave him the tongue-in-cheek nickname “the new, new Kagawa.”He’s certainly been great to watch and his own and Frankfurt’s success have been an exciting story so far in the Bundesliga.

In that 2-1 loss to Frankfurt, Hiroshi Kiyotake put in another excellent performance for Nurnberg. He collected yet another set-piece assist, this time for Sebastian Polter, and it was his third straight match in which he had assisted or scored (he assisted in all of them). In the midweek game, Nurnberg lost 4-1 away to Hannover. Kiyotake maintained his first team place.

Takashi Usami retained his starting spot as Hoffenheim beat Hannover 3-1 over the weekend, their first points of the season. Then in the midweek, Hoffenheim continued their fine play and beat Stuttgart 3-0 away. Usami opened the scoring in the 5^th minute with an excellent dribble to get away from a defender before applying a composed finish when one-on-one with the keeper.

Stuttgart came back from 2-0 down to draw with Werder Bremen 2-2 away. Both Shinji Okazaki and Gotoku Sakaistarted. However, in the midweek against Hoffenheim they were unable to pick up where they left off and were humbled by Usami and co. Okazaki and Sakai both started that match as well.

Hiroki Sakai came on in the 74^th minute for Manuel Schmiedebach in Hannover’s 3-1 loss to Hoffenheim over the weekend. He did not feature in their 4-1 mauling of Nurnberg.

Hajime Hosogai played the entire match at rightback in last week’s 0-0 home draw to Metalist Kharkiv in the Europa League. He did not feature in the weekend league match against Borussia Monchengladbach, a 1-1 draw at home. In the midweek 3-1 away win at his old club Augsburg, he came on in the 38^th minute for Stefan Reinartz who was forced off with an injury.

Shinji Kagawa returned to the starting lineup for Manchester United in an emotionally charged match away to Liverpool. While United did win 2-1, they were vastly outplayed by Liverpool, even when the hosts were reduced to 10 men before halftime. Kagawa and the United midfield were reduced to spectators as Joe Allen, Steven Gerrard, and Jonjo Shelvey passed around them with ease. Kagawa did record an assist, as his chested pass to Rafael was followed by an exquisite curled shot that went in off the post. But it was another difficult game for himself as he comes to grips with the muscular side of life in the Premier League. He was substituted for Chicharito in the 81^st minute.

Ryo Miyaichi came on as a substitute for Gary Caldwell in 77^th minute as Wigan sought to get back in the game against Fulham this past weekend. They did manage to pull one back in stoppage time, but still fell 2-1 at home. During the week Miyaichi played the entire match as Wigan beat West Ham 4-1 away to advance in the “Capital One” cup.

Maya Yoshida was in the starting lineup as Southampton earned their first points of the season, a 4-1 win at home to Aston Villa. After going behind 1-0, Southampton came roaring back to score four times in the second half. During the week, they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at home. Yoshida played the entire game.

Over the weekend, CSKA Moscow beat Volga 3-2 away. Keisuke Honda set up the Ahmed Musa’s winner in the 87^th minute. It was a case of returning the favor, as Musa had set up both of Honda’s goals the week before against Alaniya. He was then substituted off two minutes later.

Last week, Yuto Nagatomo scored in the second minute of stoppage time to earn Inter a 2-2 home draw with Rubin Kazan in the Champions League. It was fine strike from Nagatomo as he saved Inter from a terrible result to start their European campaign. He played at leftback in the game. During the weekend, the San Siro curse struck again as Inter lost 2-0 at home to Siena. Nagatomo played the entire match at rightback. Inter have lost or drawn every match at home so far this season. During the week, they beat Chievo 2-0 away and Nagatomo played in right midfield. His deflected shot was put in by Alvaro Pereira for Inter’s first.

Mike Havenaar came on for the second half this past weekend in Vitesse’s 1-1 home draw to Heracles. He andMichihiro Yasuda played the entire 90 minutes of Vitesse’s 3-0 cup win away at Gemert during the week.

Hiroshi Ibusuki scored in a second consecutive game for AS Eupen. They lost 2-1 to Brussels. I did not watch this game.

Japanese Players In Europe

Hiroshi Kiyotake celebrates scoring the winner against Borussia Monchengladbach

Japanese players had a great weekend in Europe, especially in Germany where three players scored their first Bundesliga goals.

FC Nurnberg’s 3-2 away win at Borussia Monchengladbach might end up being remembered by viewers as the game in which Hiroshi Kiyotake showed Germany exactly how good he is. Kiyotake put in a masterful performance against last year’s fourth place team, setting up two and scoring the winner (his first Bundesliga goal). In the 17^thminute, he delivered an excellent freekick from the left that was headed in by Timm Klose. Then in the 25^th minute, it was a corner kick that was headed in by Timmy Simons for a 2-0 lead. Monchengladbach fought back to equalize, led on by the impressive Patrick Herrmann. But Kiyotake ensured that Nurnberg got all three points and continued their excellent start to the season, scoring the winner in the 55^th after a determined run and an outstanding right-foot finish from outside the box. The goal came just two minutes after Granit Xhaka had equalized for Monchengladbach.

In addition to the assists and goal, Kiyotake was outstanding throughout, playing small passes and leading the counterattack as Monchengladbach controlled possession. He was constantly on the move, always providing an option for teammates to pass to. The Monchengladbach defenders found him hard to defend, as he kept the ball with his control and agility. Nurnberg fans are surely excited about their new number 13 and what the team can achieve this season. They are in 6^th place and undefeated through three rounds.

Eintracht Frankfurt are off to an even better start, perfect through their first three matches. They beat Hamburg 3-2 at home this weekend, and Takashi Inui opened the scoring in the 13^th minute with his first Bundesliga goal. After getting the ball from a defensive mix-up, Inui glided through two defenders with a quick feint and curled in past Rene Adler. The goal looked like one that Luka Modric would score, a player that Inui is similar in style to. Like Kiyotake, Inui played well throughout. He was substituted in the 79^th minute. Frankfurt are in second place on goal difference, behind Bayern. On the other hand, Hamburg look like they are in real trouble this season and could end up being relegated, something they narrowly avoided last season.

One place below Hamburg, in last on goal difference, is Hoffenheim. This weekend they lost 5-3 away at SC Freiburg in an entertaining match. Takashi Usami was given a starting place and scored a fantastic goal, his first in the Bundesliga. After taking the lead in the 2^nd minute, they were behind 2-1 by the 27^th. They equalized in the 57^thbut were pegged back again in the 68^th. Usami equalized in the 76^th minute with an unstoppable shot, but Freiburg scored twice in the final ten minutes to send Hoffenheim to their fourth straight loss in all competitions. Max Kruse was the standout player for Freiburg. In his first start of the season, Usami played well in addition to scoring his outstanding goal in what was a difficult match. It was an encouraging performance from Hoffenhim, though that won’t ease the pressure on manager Markus Babbel. They will try to get their first points at home against Hannover this weekend.

Keisuke Honda scored both goals in a 2-0 home win over FC Alaniya. For the first, he passed to Ahmed Musa who drew four defenders before passing back to Honda on the edge of the box. Wide open, Honda rifled into goal. For the second, Musa again found Honda, this time with a left side cross which Honda put in first time.

Mike Havenaar scored and set up another, leading Vitesse to a 3-0 win over Groningen. The goal was his first of the season. After struggling in the first half, Vitesse threw on Mike to energize the attack. The move paid huge dividends, with Mike opening the scoring in the 62^nd before setting up Tomas Kalas for the second. He headed in a Patrick van Aanholt cross for his goal and led a two on one break before passing to Kalas to set up the second. His presence gave the Vitesse forward line a focal point through which to attack. It was Vitesse’s fifth straight win in all competitions and they remain unbeaten in the Eredivisie. They are in second on 13^th points, behind Twente who remain perfect.

Stuttgart played out a goalless at home to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Shinji Okazaki came off the bench for Tamas Hajnal in the 86^th. Gotoku Sakai was not included in the squad.

Shinji Kagawa was an unused substitute in Manchester United’s 4-0 win over Wigan. He was rested as he recovered from an injury that kept him out of Japan’s 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Iraq last week. Ryo Miyaichi was also an unused substitute, for Wigan.

Maya Yoshida was given a rough introduction to the Premier League in Southampton’s 6-1 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates. Yoshida was not in the starting lineup but was brought on in the 28^th after Jos Hooiveld, who had already scored an own-goal, was forced off through injury. He couldn’t prevent the second, a curling freekick from Lukas Podolski, but he was taken to the cleaners by Gervinho for the third. Yoshida was completely fooled by Gervinho’s stop and start run, but wasn’t helped by Daniel Fox who didn’t seem to be at all interested in covering the space behind. Gervinho went through on goal and beat Kelvin Davis at this near post.

Yuto Nagatomo started and played the full 90 minutes of Inter’s 2-0 away win at Torino.

Hiroshi Ibusuki scored for AS Eupen in a 2-2 home draw with CS Vise, a Belgian 2^nd Division match that I did not watch.

In other news, Japan beat Iraq 1-0 in World Cup qualifying last week. Ryoichi Maeda scored the only goal in the 25^thminute after great work by Okazaki. Japan dominated the game but couldn’t increase their lead. However, Iraq hardly had the ball and were didn’t really threaten. It was a comfortable win for Japan that confirmed the team’s need for a few more finishers.

Japanese Players In Europe

Shinji Kagawa struggled against an excellent Southampton midfield.

Shinji Kagawa started in the No.10 position for Manchester United in their 3-2 win at Southampton. In the opening minutes, United kept possession and pinned Southampton inside their own box with quick passes. However, after weathering this initial storm, Southampton came into the game and outplayed United for the majority of the first half. Ricky Lambert headed them into the lead, rising easily over Rafael and leaving Anders Lindegaard with no chance. If not for an untimely slip from fullback Nathaniel Clyne, allowing Robin van Persie to equalize, Southampton could’ve gone into the break with the lead. Southampton continued to play well in the second half and looked to have collected all three points going into the last five minutes with a 2-1 lead. However, van Persie scored twice to snatch the win for United and steal a first league win for Southampton.

Kagawa struggled in this game and was substituted for Nani in the 61st minute. In the Fulham match, Kagawa was brushed aside and lost possession several times against the massive Moussa Dembele. The physical side of the Premier League is something that he will, like all newcomers, take time to adapt to. While it’s not every week that he will face a midfield power/dynamo combo like Dembele, every team throws around its weight in the middle of the park, as Southampton showed. Morgan Schneiderlin and young James Ward-Prowse were outstanding and powered through a relatively delicate United midfield. It is no wonder that all of United’s goals were set up on the wing. There will be games like this for Kagawa as he gets used to the burly side to Premier League football. Tadanari Lee was an unused substitute, while Maya Yoshida was unavailable.

Stuttgart is stuck on 0 points in the Bundesliga after they were obliterated 6-1 by Bayern, a match that both Shinji Okazaki and Gotoku Sakai started. Okazaki was caught in possession by Luis Gustavo Dias for Bayern’s second goal. Gustavo played the ball to Toni Kroos who lashed in an unstoppable shot past Sven Ulreich.

Sakai was also caught in possession, for Bayern’s fourth goal. To his credit, after he was dispossessed by Kroos, Sakai raced across the pitch to heroically block Thomas Muller’s shot. However, he could only watch in despair as the ball rolled to Mario Mandzukic who tapped in.

Okazaki was subbed off in the 69th while Sakai played the entire 90 minutes. Not a great day for either of them, but it was Bayern and it is still early in the season.

Hiroshi Kiyotake started and played the entire match as FC Nurnberg drew 1-1 at home to Dortmund. Kiyotake set up Tomas Peckhart for Nurnberg’s goal with a corner. Nurnberg weren’t without their chances and did not hesitate to attack against the reigning champions.

Schalke beat Augsburg 3-1 at home, and Atsuto Uchida started and played the entire match at rightback.

Eintracht Frankfurt dealt Hoffenheim a heavy 4-0 home defeat. Takashi Inui started for Eintracht and was credited an assist for the first goal. He set up Alex Meier and the shot found its way into net, though only after a massive deflection off of Marvin Compper. Takashi Usami came on to play the second half for Hoffenheim.

Vitesse beat Feyenoord 1-0 at home to continue their excellent start to the Eredivise season. Mike Havenaar came on in the 81st minute and set up Wilfried Bony’s stoppage time winner with a shot/cross that Bony elegantly flicked into goal. Vitesse are now in second place with 1o points going into the international break.

Wigan Athletic drew 2-2 at home to Stoke. Ryo Miyaichi came on for Franco Di Santo for the last 10 minutes.

Keisuke Honda played the entire match as CSKA beat Krasnodar 1-0 away.

Yuto Nagatomo started and played the entire match as Inter were overrun by the attacking waves of Zdenek Zeman’s Roma, 3-1 at home.

Yuki Otsu has joined VVV Venlo on-loan from Monchengladbach. He will link up with Robert Cullen who was an unused substitute in their 1-0 loss at Twente.

Japanese Players In Europe

Shinji Kagawa celebrates his first goal for Manchester United with his teammates.

As the European leagues got underway this weekend, more and more Japanese players took to pitches for teams across the continent. Several players made debuts for their new teams, and notably, we had the third Japanese player to score in the English Premier League.

A week after impressing on his competitive debut for Manchester United, Shinji Kagawa became the third Japanese player to score in the English Premier League. In the 35th minute, Kagawa gave United a 2-1 lead in an eventual 3-2 win over Fulham. Playing as the No 10 behind Robin van Persie, Kagawa was again electric, at the heart of a mesmerizing 20 minute display in the first half from United that had Fulham on the ropes. His short passes and quick movement inspired the rest of the United attacking six to play at a dazzling pace that Fulham could hardly defend. There was a Dortmund-esque verve to their play. After a poor showing against Everton, Wayne Rooney was dropped, allowing Kagawa to play in his favored central position. He came on for Kagawa in the 68th but then suffered a terrible thigh gash and had to be carried off. He will be out for at least a month, which means Kagawa will likely continue playing as the No 10.

The goal itself was a tap-in, and that it wasn’t called off for offsides surprised everyone, including Kagawa. He follows Junichi Inamoto and Hidetoshi Nakata as Japanese goalscorers in the Premier League. Hopefully several others will follow him this season.

Hiroshi Kiyotake made his debut for FC Nurnberg, playing the entire 90 minutes in a 1-0 win over Hamburg.

Takashi Inui also made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, starting in a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen. He was involved in Frankfurt’s equalizer, as his shot was only parried by Bernd Leno into the path of Stefan Aigner who finished well. Hajime Hosogai was an unused substitute for Leverkusen.

Takashi Usami came off the bench to make his debut for Hoffenheim in a 2-1 loss to Borussia Monchengladbach. He will look to break into the staring XI as the season progresses. Yuki Otsu was not included for Gladbach–more on a potential move away later.

Yuto Nagatomo played the entire 90 minutes as Inter beat newly-promoted Pescara 3-0. He also played the entire 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw with Romanian side FC Vaslui, which was enough for Inter to advance on. Similarly in Russia, Keisuke Honda played the entire 90 minutes in CSKA Moscow’s 3-0 win over Kryliya Sovetov. However, CSKA suffered major disappointment during the week, getting knocked out of the Europa League by Swedish side AIK.

In Holland, Maya Yoshida played the entire 90 minutes in a 4-2 loss to Ado Den Haag. More on him later. Robert Cullen came on in the 67th minute. For Vitesse, Michihiro Yasuda played the entire 90 minutes in a 2-0 win over Willem II. Mike Havenaar came on in the 54th minute.

In Europa League action, VFB Suttgart knocked out Dinamo Moscow 3-1 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw in Moscow. Gotoku Sakai and Shinji Okazaki both played the entire 90 minutes. Hannover 96 completed a 10-4 aggregate thumping of Slask Wroclaw with a 5-1 home win. Hiroki Sakai came on off the bench and set up the final goal with a delightful cross to Szabolcs Huszti.

Last but not least, English League Cup action. Tadanari Lee scored and played the entire 90 minutes in Southampton’s 4-1 win over Stevenage. It was a great way for him to mark his return from injury. Ryo Miyaichi came on for the last 10 minutes of Wigan’s 4-1 win over Nottingham Forest, which feature a couple great goals. Miyaichi got an assist for Wigan’s fourth, though Callum McManaman still had to beat a couple of players to score. An interesting stat from WhoScored.com: Miyaichi created a chance on average once every 32 minutes last season, 11th best in the Premier League.

Some transfer news: Maya Yoshida has completed a move to Southampton. He leaves one Japanese teammate (Robert Cullen) to join another (Tadanari Lee). The transfer fee was £2 million. Yoshida says that to play in the Premier League has been “one of my biggest dreams since I was a child.” Congrats to him on the move; that makes four Japanese players in the Premier League–let’s hope for more goals scored. Meanwhile, Yuki Otsu has been linked with a loan move to Celtic. It would be a good more for him; he’d play regularly and in the Champions League. Hiroshi Ibusuki has joined Belgian second division side KAS Eupen on loan from Sevilla.

Japan Plays Iceland

Apparently Japan has a friendly with Iceland this Friday. Since it’s not a FIFA international day, the team will be comprised entirely of domestic players who won’t miss any club matches or have to travel halfway across the world both ways. The Iceland team will also be made up of players from their domestic league (except for a couple in Norway and one in Greece). Unsurprisingly, the Icelandic league plays during the summer because of frigid arctic winters.

The Japan team…

Goalkeepers (rookies in bold): Takuto Hayashi, Kaito Yamamato, and Shusaku Nishikawa.

Defenders: Yuichi Komano, Daiki Iwamasa, Yasuyuki Konno, Yuzo Kurihara, Naoya Kondo, Masahiko Inoha, Ryota Moriwaki, and Tomoaki Makino.

Midfielders: Yasuhito Endo, Kengo Nakamura, Yuki Abe, Chikashi Masuda, Yosuke Kashiwagi, Ryota Isomura, and Gaku Shibasaki.

Forwards: Naohiro Ishikawa, Ryoichi Maeda, Yoshito Okubo, Jungo Fujimoto, Junya Tanaka, Hidetaka Kanazono(injured), and Yuya Kubo.

In all, nine debutants, including three who are 20 or younger. In particular, I’m looking forward to seeing Junya Tanaka (the Japan Footblog J. League Player of the Year!). He had a great Club World Cup, and hopefully he can play well and solidify his place in the national team. After leading Kashiwa to promotion and then the championship, Tanaka finally gets his chance with the national team. There is no place for Marcus Tulio Tanaka, who can’t seem to get a game under Zaccheroni.

Zaccheroni will probably be experimental in this game, so it’s difficult to predict who will be in the starting xi. I would say Tanaka, Fujimoto, Maeda, Nakamura, and Endo are all pretty certain starters among the front six. In back, Komano and Konno are locks. I don’t have a clue who will start in goal.

The experts (message boards) seem to think that youngsters like Shibasaki and Kubo are being brought along just to experience the senior team and are unlikely to play. That’s kind of disappointing, but I’m sure they’ll get their chance in the future.

Overall, experimental or not, I don’t think Japan will have too much trouble in this friendly. After this, World Cup qualifiers start up again.

Other news: Keisuke Honda played for CSKA in the Champions League against Real Madrid. Honda came on as a sub in the 68th minute and played well. The match ended 1-1, a good result for a team in the middle of its winter break, against an opponent that has been redefining ‘steamrolling’ in its domestic league.

Nominees for Player of the Year Awards

Here are the nominees for the inaugural end-of-year Japan Footblog Player of the Year Awards. Please let me know if there are any glaring misses or players that are more deserving.

Japanese Player in Europe: This award is for the player who was the most important for his club team. Bonus points if they were really good for the national team.

• Shinji Kagawa: After a first half of the 2010-11 season in which he took the Bundesliga by storm, Kagawa broke his foot in the Asian Cup and didn’t play for Dortmund again until this fall. His second season hasn’t been as magical, marked by some poor performances early in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League. However he was picked it up and has displayed the skill that made him the subject of many transfer rumors over the summer. He has six goals overall this season. Also, he was incredible for the national team–the single-handed rescue against Qatar in the Asian Cup and the dismantling of South Korea in the 3-0 victory over the summer are two performances that quickly come to mind.
• Keisuke Honda: Like Kagawa, Honda has struggled with injuries this year. Nonetheless he still managed to score nine goals, leading CSKA Moscow to second place and a place in the RPL’s ridiculous ‘Championship Group’. He was also pretty good for the national team, winning (probably undeservedly) the MVP award for the Asian Cup.
• Yuto Nagatomo: Again, injured for a bit, but when he played he was excellent. Now one of the first names on the team sheet for Inter, Nagatomo has become one of the most exciting players in Serie A. He has scored three league goals and has shredded countless defenses. Recently, he has been vital to Inter’s resurgence as they have managed to overcome a terrible start. Finally, he was at the center of two of the iconic moments in Japanese football in 2o11: the cross that set up Tadanari Lee’s Asian Cup winning goal, and waving a Japanese flag after Inter beat Bayern in the Champions League in support of the earthquake and tsunami victims in March.
• Shinji Okazaki: He had a good season for Stuttgart last season, and has been decent this season so far as has his team. Didn’t stand out on the club level like the other three, but he was incredible for the national team. He scored three times in the Asian Cup and has scored five goals in World Cup qualifying so far.

Japanese Player in J. League: This blog has focused on players in Europe but I promise that next season the J. League will be covered. The primary purpose of this award is to identify some of the players that could potentially make the jump to Europe, and to show some love to the J. League greats.

• Mike Havenaar: In his first season with Kofu, Havenaar led the club to promotion with 2o goals. In his second season, Havenaar took no time to acclimatize to J. League 1, scoring 17 goals (40 percent of Kofu’s total). He was unable to prevent Kofu from being relegated but his performances were so outstanding that he was called up by Zaccheroni to the national team. Naturally, he scored twice in three matches. Starting in the new year, Havenaar will be playing along Michihiro Yasuda at Vitesse.
• Junya Tanaka: Kashiwa Reysol had an incredible season. After winning promotion, they wasted no time and promptly won the J. League title in their first attempt. A lot of the plaudits were deservedly given to J. League player of the year Leandro, but equally as important to the team’s amazing success was Tanaka, who scored 13 times for the champions. He was also called up for the national team for the first time.
• Marcus Tulio Tanaka: The best defender in the J. League. He was the anchor for Nagoya as they posted the league’s second-best defensive record. He also chipped in with six goals and wasn’t booked a single time. Yes, not a single yellow card all season. Wow.
• Yasuhito Endo: Maybe the best J. League player of all time, and he was at it again this season. He was the heartbeat of a free-scoring Gamba side that found the net eleven more times than any other team in the league.

Young Player of the Year: We should get used to hearing these names, both on the club and national team level.

• Ryo Miyaichi: He lit up the Eredivisie with Feyenoord in the first half of the year, then shined for Arsenal in Carling Cup and reserve matches. Recently he’s been hurt, but everyone is eager for Ryo to return in 2012.
• Takashi Usami: On loan at Bayern Munich from Gamba, Usami has looked ridiculously out of place with the reserves, and will likely feature more prominently in the first team in 2012. So far, he has scored six times in 14 reserve appearances and has even scored for the senior team in a cup win.
• Hiroshi Ibusuki: Now playing for Sevilla, Ibusuki has scored eleven goals in 18 matches for the reserves and has recently been on the bench for some Liga matches. Don’t be surprised to see him in some cup matches in the new year.
• Hiroshi Kiyotake: Osaka’s ‘second team’ had a disappointing 2011, however Kiyotake continued to impress. He scored seven league goals from the midfield, adding four more in the Champions League. He also made his debut for the national team, playing in three matches.

Japanese Players in Europe

Shinji Kagawa played most of Dortmund’s 1-0 win at Bayern. The win brought Borussia to within two points of Bayern, who have been in first place for most of the season. In Europe, Dortmund lost away 2-1 to Arsenal. Kagawa scored his first Champions League goal in stoppage time, but that will be scant consolation as Dortmund's hopes of progression are now hanging by a thread. They will have to beat Marseille by a big score and hope that Arsenal don’t ease up against Olympiakos in the other match despite already securing top spot in the group. Highlights here.

Keisuke Honda returned for CSKA after a three-month injury layoff in their 2-1 home loss to Rubin Kazan. Honda will be happy to have returned from a lengthy injury, but the loss undoubtedly dampened the occasion. He did not play in the midweek Champions League match, as CSKA completed a poor week with a 2-0 home loss to Lille. He woke up with pain in his just-healed knee, however the team doctors assured him that it was not an aggravation of his previous injury and that he would be back soon.

Hajime Hosogai played all 90 minutes of FC Augsburg’s 2-1 loss at Vfb Stuttgart. Shinji Okazaki started on the bench for Stuttgart but came on for Ibrahima Traore in the 74th minute.

Maya Yoshida and Robert Cullen both started Venlo’s 2-1 loss at FC Groningen, but Cullen had to come off in the 38th minute with an injury. The loss puts Venlo deeper into the relegation battle.

Finally, a bit of bad news to wrap up an underwhelming week for Japanese players in Europe. Ryo Miyaichi will be out until 2012, as his ankle injury will keep him out for 4-6 weeks.

I know this is a week late and a lot of this weekend’s matches have already been played. This update is for last week. I’m sorry for any confusion my tardiness may have caused. This week’s update will come in the next few days. Thanks.

Japanese Players in Europe

Keisuke Honda started CSKA Moscow’s 2-2 draw with city rivals Spartak Moscow on Sunday but was forced off at halftime due to a knee injury. He was replaced by Pavel Mamaev. Despite Zenit St. Petersburg’s 5-0 win over Kuban Krasnodar which put the two sides level on points and Zenit with the superior goal difference, CSKA remain top of the Russian table due to a better head-to-head record.

UPDATE: Honda will miss two-three months due to this knee injury.

Atsuto Uchida played the entire 90 minutes of Schalke’s 1-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday. The victory put Schalke joint top of the Bundesliga with rivals Bayern Munich.

Shinji Kagawa played 81 minutes of Dortmund’s 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. He was replaced by Jakub Blaszczykowski. The result leaves the reigning Bundesliga champions in sixth place with seven points. Kagawa expressed his disappointment after the match, saying “I missed a good chance to score, it is really regrettable.”

Makoto Hasebe played 50 minutes of Wolfsburg’s 3-0 loss at SC Freiburg on Saturday. Shinji Okazaki played the entire 90 minutes of Vfb Stuttgart’s 1-0 loss at Hertha Berlin.

Yoshiaki Takagi was left on the bench for FC Utrecht’s 3-1 win over Roda JC. The match featured the Eredivise debut of Rodney Sneijder on loan from Ajax. He scored, while brother Wesley cheered from the stands.

Ryo Miyaichi picked up a minor injury during the week and was unavailable for Arsenal’s 8-2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United. The match was utterly cartoonish, with both teams spurning chances upon chances. 10-5 would have better reflected the quality of defending on display. It’s a shame Ryo wasn’t fit, because he would likely have gotten time, and maybe even a goal. On the other hand, he didn’t have to suffer what was undoubtedly a traumatic experience for Arsenal players.

Overall, it was an underwhelming weekend for Japanese players in Europe. Hopefully, they will feature more prominently after the international break.