Highly admired for his creativity on the field of play, Shinji Kagawa is a Japanese professional footballer who is regarded as one of the greatest soccer stars from Japan. Having taken interest in football from when he was still a little child, Kagawa has risen to become one of the most respected men in the Japanese national team and is now widely regarded as national a hero by many Japanese people.
Kagawa has played for different clubs across different countries since his professional career began. In the process, he has won so many fans with his set of skills and has also held records. Apparently, his career is such an illustrious one. We have gathered some facts about this footballer for your reading pleasure.
Continue to see more below.
1. What we know about Shinji Kagawa’s background
Shinji Kagawa was born on the 17th day of March in the year 1989. The footballer was born in Kobe, the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture and the sixth-largest city in Japan. It was here that he also grew up with his family.
Not much is known about who the family members of Kagawa are as the footballer has not hinted much about their identities. Also, it is not certain if he has any siblings or not.
2. He started playing football very young
Shinji Kagawa has always aspired to be a footballer even from when he was still a very young child. As a matter of fact, he began playing for Marino Football Club in 1994 when he was just five years old. He continued playing there till 1999 before moving to Kobe NK Football Club 1999 where he remained till 2001.
Eventually, he moved to FC Miyagi Barcelona in Sendai in 2001 and played there till 2005. At this time, he had dreams of playing for FC Barcelona one day and kept dazzling people with his skills on the pitch. He also started attracting the attention of different talent managers.
3. Where did he start his professional career?
In 2006, at the age of 17 years even before he finished high school, Shinji Kagawa got signed by Cerezo Osaka, a Japanese football club that had been keeping a tab on him. His signing made him the first Japanese player to get signed by a professional club even before finishing high school.
Kagawa hit the ground running as a Cerezo Osaka player. He got a lot of attention after displaying some mesmerizing skills on the pitch and became the top goal-scorer of the ‘J. League Division 2,’ in 2009.
4. Shinji Kagawa’s stints with Borussia Dortmund
Shinji Kagawa has had stints with different clubs since he started his career. In 2010, Kagawa left Cerezo and signed with Borussia Dortmund in Germany. He quickly became one of the fan favorites by scoring several goals in quick succession. He was even named in the Bundesliga Best XI at the end of the 2010–11 season.
In the 2011–12 season, he continued displaying his skills, earning respect with his deft passing ability. That season, he scored a total of 13 goals and had 8 assists.
5. The glorious Manchester United years
In 2012, after spending about 2 years with Dortmund, Kagawa left the German club and joined the Premier League club, Manchester United on a four-year contract. This move made him the very first Japanese player to join Manchester United.
With Manchester United, Kagawa thrilled Premier League fans with his clever moves in the midfield, helping to set up attackers on goal. In 2013, he became the very first Asian football player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League after sending the ball past the goalkeeper three times in his team’s 4–0 home win against Norwich City. Shortly after that, he became the very first Asian footballer to ever win a Premier League title in April 2013.
During Sir Alex Ferguson’s last home game before retirement, Kagawa was voted Man of the Match.
On 31 August 2014, Kagawa made a return to his former club, Borussia Dortmund to a rousing welcome from the many fans. Eventually, in August 2019, Kagawa left Dortmund and completed a transfer to Real Zaragoza of Spain’s Segunda División, on a two-year contract. Kagawa currently plays at Real Zaragoza.
6. He holds a UEFA record
At the moment, Shinji Kagawa holds a UEFA record. According to our findings, he holds the record for most appearances and goals by a Japanese player in UEFA club competitions.
Kagawa got this accolade while playing for Manchester United, having stunned fans with his incredible stamina and skill set.
7. His international career is illustrious
Shinji Kagawa is not just a great club player, he has also had an illustrious international career. He has played for his country in different divisions. In 2007, he joined the Japan national under-20 football team to play in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Canada. He also played as a member of the Japanese team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In 2008, Kagawa eventually made his senior international debut during a friendly Kirin Cup match which Japan won. Over the years, he has played several games for Japan, emerging ‘Man of the Match’ on several occasions. At the moment, he has won more than 90 caps for his national team and has also scored more than 30 goals in the process.
For his enormous contribution to the team, Shinji Kagawa was named as the Asian Football Confederation International Player of the Year on 29 November 2012.
8. Why his style of play is admired
Shinji Kagawa’s style of play is highly admired around the world by his many fans. This is especially because of his flow with the rest of his teammates whenever he played. He has shown, over the years, that he can play on either the left or right flank. He has also been hailed for his playmaking role which as helped attackers score goals on many occasions.
Kagawa has been praised severally for his speed as well as his agility. He also has incredible passing discipline and eyes for picking out a key pass. His creativity and positioning during an attack are also some of his awesome qualities.
9. Is he married?
At the moment, Shinji Kagawa is not married yet. However, he is in a relationship with a beautiful woman called Margaret Natsuki.
According to our findings, Natsuki is a Japanese–Canadian fashion model who happens to be a former TV presenter. According to reports, Kagawa and Natsuki first met when Natsuki conducted an interview with the footballer at a time when he was still with ‘Dortmund.’
They fell in love shortly after ad ave remained together ever since.
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10. Is he rich?
Apparently, Shinji Kagawa has been able to make some money for himself over the years since he kickstarted his professional football career. Having played in Europe at the highest competitive level and, having risen to become one of the star players in the Premier League, it is expected that he has raked in a substantial amount of money for himself.
At the moment, Shinji Kagawa’s net worth has been pegged at about $15 million by different sources.
Complete profile of Shinji Kagawa
| Shinji Kagawa | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Shinji Kagawa |
| Date of Birth | 17 March 1989 |
| Social media | 35 years |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Birth place | Tarumi Ward, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Profession | Professional football player |
| Playing Position | Midfielder |
| Club | 2006–2010 Cerezo Osaka 2010–2012 Borussia Dortmund 2012–2014 Manchester United 2014–2019 Borussia Dortmund 2018 Borussia Dortmund II 2019 → Beşiktaş (loan) 2019–2020 Zaragoza 2021 PAOK 2022– Sint-Truiden 2006–2008 Japan U19 2007 Japan U20 2008 Japan U23 2008–2019 Japan 1994–1999 Marino FC 1999–2001 Kobe NK Football Club 2001–2005 FC Miyagi Barcelona |
| Father | NA |
| Mother | NA |
| Siblings | NA |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Spouse/Partner | None |
| Girlfriend | Margaret Natsuki |
| Kids | NA |
| Religion | NA |
| Estimated Net Worth: | $15 million |
| Source of net worth | Football Career |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75m) |
| Weight | 68 kg |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair color | Dark Brown |
| Social media | Instagram |
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