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Shinji Kagawa aiming to win the Asian Cup
Mike Tuckerman
Shinji Kagawa is arguably the most in-form player in Europe, but his club side Borussia Dortmund are resigned to losing their Japanese midfielder for the upcoming Asian Cup in Qatar.
The 21-year-old playmaker has rattled home eight goals in just 16 starts for the Bundesliga front-runners, but Dortmund's sport director Michael Zorc knows the creative talent is firmly in the sights of Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni.
"Shinji has a central role in our team but Japan want to field their best players because of the importance of the Asian Cup," Zorc told reporters in Germany a week ago.
That means Kagawa will almost certainly miss at least one Bundesliga game - and upwards of three if the Samurai Blue make the final - should Zaccheroni name the former Cerezo Osaka youngster in his final 23-man squad.
Kagawa might be one of Borussia Dortmund's most dangerous attacking weapons, but the diminutive midfielder has international glory on his mind after missing out on former coach Takeshi Okada's final World Cup squad.
The youngster travelled to South Africa as an observer, but such is his progress in one of Europe's toughest leagues, he now looks set to become a key player for Japan as they aim to win a fourth Asian Cup crown.
"You have to be very cautious and never underestimate even one of your opponents. But we have a clearly defined target: we want to win the Asian Cup," Kagawa recently told FIFA.com.
"It's a huge honour to represent my country," said Kagawa. "I hope I can deliver the goods, and contribute to continuing progress and improvement in Japanese football."
While Kagawa is expected to play a starring role in Qatar, his European-based teammate Yuto Nagatomo is mulling over whether to play in the tournament or stay and help relegation-threatened Serie A club Cesena.
Nagatomo is a key man in both the Cesena defence and Japanese back four, but he could opt to skip the continental championship in favour of sticking by his struggling club.
Nagatomo's potential absence is a real concern for Zaccheroni, who already has 20 players named in his provisional 50-man squad still active in the Emperor's Cup, and with the final taking place on New Year's Day, the players involved will have little rest before the Asian Cup kicks off on January 7.
One piece of good news for Zaccheroni is the anticipated return of veteran Yuji Nakazawa in central defence, after the Yokohama F. Marinos star recovered more quickly than expected from a recent knee injury.
Nakazawa will miss his regular central defensive partner Marcus Tulio Tanaka, as the Sao Paulo-born defender has travelled to Brazil for treatment on a knee injury which forces him to miss his second consecutive Asian Cup.
But the star of the show in Qatar could be Kagawa, whom former Urawa Reds coach Guido Buchwald has already called "the Bundesliga transfer of the year."
That assessment is certainly more astute than former German international Mario Basler's, who wrote at the start of the season that Kagawa must learn that "pigeons in the Ruhrpott are not a delicacy."
A misguided remark indeed, but it now looks like it's Basler who's left eating his childish words.
Copyright: Mike Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com
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