Shinji Kagawa: the Japanese hero of Borussia Dortmund
Shinji Kagawa: the Japanese hero of Borussia Dortmund
Few people, especially Kagawa, would know what to expect when the new killer midfielder arrived in Dortmund in the summer of 2010.
After 21 years was the fourth and last signing of the club of the season after the arrival of goalkeeper Mitchell Langerak, setback Lukasz Piszczek and another young striker who first Reed abroad - Robert Lewandowski of Lech Poznan.
Kagawa was very popular in his country because he helped Cerezo Osaka to return to the J League sacking 27 goals in 2009. He also graduated from the Japanese Olympic team to the first team and Dortmund again more in competition on the first Japanese flight.
At that time, the European champions were rebuilt in 1997 under Jürgen Klopp, fifth and sixth in the first two seasons of Germany. "The first training was very difficult," Kagawa said when the club made it known. "I can not say how long it will take until I get used to this sport here in Germany, but I think I will adapt very quickly and settle into the team."
The confidence of the new hiring in its capital was fully justified.
Kagawa scored his first goal in the Bundesliga of Dortmund during his third appearance, a 2-0 win at home to German champion Wolfsburg in 2009. The firm bargains was won by fans a week later after Bent in a derby in Schalke. After the winter break, he scored eight goals in 18 games.
The No23 helped Dortmund become the winter champion, but his progress was halted after breaking a bone in his foot in the Asian Cup in January.
The second year of Kagawa was even more successful. It finished once again as Die Schwarzgelben's second-best scorer, scoring 13 goals in this exciting title match with Bayern Munich proved rejuvenated.
Most of these goals came home, so their reputation was reinforced by fans. And his vision produced nine valuable assistants, while Klopp's side successfully defended his title. For a remarkable campaign, Kagawa also scored the first goal and made the decisive third place while Bayern beat 5-2 Dortmund in the final of the German Cup. It was the first time the club had completed the domestic double.
But Kagawa was the only major start to Dortmund in the summer of 2012 with a compensation of 22 million euros for Manchester United.
Although he found something more difficult in England, Kobe's man provided Sir Alex Ferguson's photos of the English Premier League title at Old Trafford. Kagawa scored six goals in 20 games in his first season at United but has found that his chances limited next year as soon as he resigned Ferguson.
The average mercury had ended in Dortmund in the future and in August 2014, the acquisition date, which was again welcomed with open arms. "I wanted to fulfill my dream of playing in the Premier League," Kagawa said. "Now I am happy to be back in Dortmund with this fantastic team and team and these unique fans.
Rely on the man for the great opportunity to score in his first game, a 3-1 in Freiburg, and this trend continued until 2015/16. Kagawa won a home win against Schalke and in April, who came off the bench to score his 100th Bundesliga with a similar goal in a 3-2 success against Werder Bremen.
A miraculous strike followed a week later in a tie at Schalke and Kagawa completed their second season with nine league goals and seven assistants. The Asian footballer of the year 2012 has not been so successful in 2016/17, thanks to his hammer support 8-4 League champions Legia Warsaw.
His fine form continued in 2017/18 with two goals in his first five Bundesliga matches of the campaign, including a rather special thought in Augsburg that earned him the Target Prize September. This spectacular effort was also a good way to take a new step: to become the best Japanese scorer in the history of the Bundesliga.
And since it's only 28, there's no reason why one of Dortmund's finest imports could help write the most memorable chapters in club history.
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