A bumper year for Asian players in Europe

Son Heung Min won his first title in his career, with the Europa League championship - Photo: REUTERS

The 2024-2025 season will see many changes in the title races between teams. This will also bring interesting surprises, when the number of Asian players winning titles will explode.

Lots of titles

The most recent and notable is Korean player Son Heung Min. On the morning of May 22, he and Tottenham defeated Man United to win the Europa League.

At the age of 33, this is the first official title of Son Heung Min's career. In 10 years at Tottenham, he became an icon with 454 appearances and 173 goals. Therefore, although he has not contributed much this season, he still deserves the Europa League title.

Tottenham are not the only English team to have an Asian player win a title. At Liverpool, midfielder Wataru Endo has won the Premier League.

Daichi Kamada and Crystal Palace surprisingly won the FA Cup - Photo: REUTERS

And in a surprising turn of events, Daichi Kamada and Crystal Palace won the FA Cup, the first title in the club's 119-year history. Both players from Japan made certain contributions to the team's journey to the throne.

In Germany, two central defenders, Kim Min Jae (South Korea) and Hiroki Ito (Japan), are Bundesliga champions with Bayern Munich, despite an erratic season.

Sharing the joy is Korean player Lee Kang In. Although he has not made significant contributions, he has won two titles, Ligue 1 and the French Cup with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).

In Portugal, Sporting Lisbon won the national championship with the addition of Japanese midfielder Hidemasa Morita, while in Scotland, Celtic also won the title with players including Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate (Japan) and Yang Huyn Jun (South Korea). Celtic is a club famous for its tradition of favouring Asian players.

If we include the lower leagues, there is the case of Ao Tanaka when he won the English Championship with Leeds United. Below that, there is Tomoki Iwata when he won the English EFL League One with Birmingham.

Who still has a chance?

Lee Kang In still has a chance to win the Champions League and own the third title this season - Photo: REUTERS

The list is likely to be extended, with more tournaments yet to be completed. Most notably, the upcoming Champions League final, when both teams will feature Asian players.

The case of PSG as mentioned is Lee Kang In. Although he has not played a single match since the knockout round, he has also played in the group stage and is eligible for a medal if PSG wins the title.

On the Inter Milan side, there is Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi. He has made 12 appearances in the Champions League this season, contributing 1 goal and 4 assists. Taremi is considered a strategic reserve card in the hands of coach Inzaghi. In addition to the European championship, the Iranian player can also hope to win the Serie A title, when Inter Milan is still competing fiercely with Napoli until the last round.

In Germany, Japanese-American centre-back Anrie Chase is on course to win the German Cup (DFB-Pokal), as his team Stuttgart play in the final this weekend.

Their opponents are Arminia, a team that is only playing in the German 2nd Division. Therefore, the chances for Anrie Chase and Stuttgart to win are very high.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, the little-known Union Saint-Gilloise are leading the National Championship table. Despite facing stiff competition from the traditional Club Brugge, the Brussels club still has the right to dream. It is worth noting that if Union Saint-Gilloise win the championship, there will be another Asian player with a title this season, that is center back Koki Machida.

Back to topic

DUC KHUE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nam-boi-thu-danh-hieu-cua-cau-thu-chau-a-tai-chau-au-20250522111247386.htm