*This content was translated by AI.
Legends of Korean football have swept the top ranks in the ranking of Asia's greatest football players of all time, proving their unrivaled status. Yet not once was a Chinese player mentioned.
Sports outlet 'Mad Football' recently announced its selection and release of the 18th greatest Asian footballers in history via social networking services (SNS).
The top three spots were all taken by Korean players. Son Heung-min, who plays for Tottenham Hotspur in England's Premier League (EPL), became the first Asian player to win the EPL Golden Boot and secured FIFA's Puskás Award, was ranked as the greatest Asian footballer of all time at No. 1.
Following him, former coach Cha Bum-kun, who led Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen in Germany's Bundesliga and won the UEFA Cup twice, took second place. Park Ji-sung (both from South Korea), who won the EPL four times with Manchester United and reached the summit of the UEFA Champions League, secured third place, firmly holding the top three positions.
Next, at fourth and fifth places were Shinji Kagawa, who lifted Bundesliga and EPL trophies with Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United, and Hidetoshi Nakata, who experienced Serie A title success with AS Roma (both from Japan). At sixth place was Paulino Alcántara, a legendary goal-scorer for FC Barcelona in the early 20th century, born in the Philippines.
Kim Min-jae, who led Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years and was named Serie A's best defender before joining Bayern Munich as a key player, was ranked seventh, earning high praise as an active defender. Eighth place went to AC Milan's Keisuke Honda; ninth to Ali Daei of Iran, who scored 109 career international goals while playing for clubs including Bayern Munich; tenth to Sunil Chhetri of India, who recorded over 90 international goals; eleventh to Shunsuke Nakamura of Japan, who dominated the Scottish stage with Celtic FC; and twelfth to Saudi Arabia and Al Hilal legend Sami Al-Jaber.
Lee Kang-in, who achieved back-to-back Champions League titles with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) before moving to Atlético Madrid, secured 13th place, solidifying his position as a next-generation ace. Following him, former South Korea national team coach Hong Myung-bo, who won the Bronze Ball at the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, ranked 14th; Iran's Javad Nekounam, who played in La Liga with clubs including Osasuna, took 15th; Kunishige Kamamoto, the top scorer of the 1968 Mexico Olympics, was 16th; Takefusa Kubo, a key player for Real Sociedad, ranked 17th; and Yuto Nagatomo, who played for Inter Milan (both from Japan), rounded out the list at 18th. In this 18-player roster, players from South Korea and Japan alone occupied no fewer than 13 spots.
Meanwhile, Chinese football, which failed to include even a single player on the list, could not hide its bitterness. Chinese outlet 'Sohu.com' reported on the 18th that "no Chinese player was included among the 18th greatest Asian footballers of all time selected by foreign media, while South Korea and Japan occupied 13 spots."
The outlet stated, "Son Heung-min ranked first, with Cha Bum-kun and Park Ji-sung forming the top three; active stars like Kim Min-jae (7th) and Lee Kang-in (13th), along with recently resigned Hong Myung-bo (14th), were all included," conveying the overwhelming dominance of South Korean and Japanese football in Asia. Local Chinese fans also expressed regret with self-mocking reactions, such as asking why Li Tie, who played in the EPL, was not included.
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*This content was translated by AI.
