Shinji Kagawa
Kagawa with Borussia Dortmund in 2014
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Shinji Kagawa | ||
| Date of birth | 17 March 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan | ||
| Height | 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
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Current team
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Borussia Dortmund | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1999 | Marino FC | ||
| 1999–2001 | Kobe NK Football Club | ||
| 2001–2005 | FC Miyagi Barcelona | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2006–2010 | Cerezo Osaka | 125 | (55) |
| 2010–2012 | Borussia Dortmund | 49 | (21) |
| 2012–2014 | Manchester United | 38 | (6) |
| 2014– | Borussia Dortmund | 67 | (14) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2006–2008 | Japan U19 | 4 | (0) |
| 2007 | Japan U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2008 | Japan U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 2008– | Japan | 83 | (27) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:41, 23 February 2017 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:50, 23 October 2016 (UTC) |
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Shinji Kagawa (Japanese: 香川 真司 Kagawa Shinji [kagawa ɕindʑi̥]; born 17 March 1989) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for German club Borussia Dortmund and the Japan national team. Kagawa began his professional career in his homeland with Cerezo Osaka before joining Borussia Dortmund in 2010. After two years with Dortmund, Kagawa signed for Manchester United on a four-year contract. Two years later, he returned to Dortmund. A goal-scoring midfielder, he is known for his "vision, technique, movement and deft passing." Kagawa holds the records for most appearances and goals by a Japanese player in UEFA club competitions.
Since making his senior international debut in May 2008, he has won over 80 caps. On 29 November 2012, Kagawa was named Asian Football Confederation International Player of the Year.
Kagawa started playing football at the age of five. He joined Marino Football Club from 1994 to 1999, Kobe NK Football Club from 1999 to 2001, and FC Miyagi Barcelona in Sendai from 2001 to 2005.
Cerezo Osaka noticed his talent and signed him at the age of 17. He was the first player in Japan to sign a professional contract before graduating from high school, except players promoted from youth teams of the J.League clubs. In 2007, he gained a regular position but the club missed promotion to the J.League Division 1. It was in 2009 that he became the top scorer of J.League Division 2 and drew widespread attention.
In the summer of 2010, Kagawa transferred from Cerezo to Borussia Dortmund for €350,000. The relatively modest cost of the transfer was because of a release clause in Kagawa's contract with Cerezo, which allowed him to leave the club cheaply if he had an opportunity to play in Europe.
On 23 August 2010, he made his debut appearance in the German Bundesliga, starting for his new club Dortmund. After scoring his first two competitive goals for the club in the UEFA Europa League qualifying tie against Qarabağ FK, he continued this form with his first goal in the Bundesliga match against VfL Wolfsburg, which Dortmund won 2–0. In the Revierderby against arch-rivals Schalke 04, which Dortmund won 3–1, Kagawa claimed pre-match that he would score two goals; he managed to indeed score twice, making him a fan favourite in the process.
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