The world has been a mixed bag in 2020 from the Covid-19 pandemic to recent devastations in Beirut. With the global economy still in remission, travel still at a standstill and slow progress in developing a vaccine for the virus, there’ve been scraps to be positive about.
Football has snailed back up from the sleepy lockdown months and we’re peaking with fantastic spectacles like the absolute stormer of a football match between Manchester City and Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 a few nights ago.
But at the end of a storm, there’s normally a golden sky; the future is certainly golden for top tier wonderkinds like 19-year-old Takefusa Kubo from Real Madrid and Lee Kang-In of Valencia CF.
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(Photo: Lalasport.com)
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Asian footballers have traditionally been seen as lightweight but skilful players compared to their European counterparts, but both these two attackers have truly taken their game to a different level in the past year and showed they can handle the rigours in the echelons of a top European league.
Here are 10 talented Asian wonderkids who may not be getting as many media coverage but seem to be on the cusp of breaking through.
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1) Han Kwang Song (21), N Korea , FW, Al-Duhail from Juventus.
We don’t hear much from secular state North Korea, but for a nation that appeared in 2 previous World Cups, there must be something they’re doing right with regards to their sporting development.
Enter Han Kwang Song whom many see as the natural successor to former star, North Korean striker and Shimizu S-Pulse captain – Jong Tae-Se.
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(Photo: Instagram/han.kwang.song16)
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Comfortable with both feet and blessed with natural poaching instincts, Han is the first North Korean in the Serie A after he signed for Cagliari at age 18.
His best season came on loan to Serie B club Perugia whom many might remember as the club Asian Superstar Hidetoshi Nakata also played for. Han scored 11 goals in 36 appearances that season.
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2) Doan Van Hau (21), Vietnam, LB, Ha Noi FC
A vital cog in his county’s victory in the 2018 AFF Championship at the age of just 18, Doan Van Hau is an accomplished modern left wing-back.
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(Photo: Instagram/doanvanhau_1904)
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He’s an iron-lunged left-back who is strong in the tackle, possesses a cultured left peg and loves to bomb forward.
His meteoric rise impressed Dutch side SC Heerenveen to take him on loan for 11 months. However, first-team opportunities were few and far between but featured extensively for the reserves.
At the time of writing, he’s back at parent club Hanoi FC.
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3) Worachit Kanitsribampen (22), Thailand, AMC, Chonburi FC
A product of the famed Chonburi FC youth academy, Worachit was the youngest scorer in the Thai League 1 at 18 years and 340 days.
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(Photo: Instagram/yimworachit)
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A diminutive creative midfielder with a knack for goals, Yim as he’s affectionately known in his home country, is an icy-cool operator with excellent shooting technique.
In 2015, JPF did a feature of Chonburi FC famous youth academy, helmed by Thailand’s first Bundesliga and J-League player, Witthaya Laohakul.
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4) Elkan Baggott (17), Indonesia, CB, Ipswich U18
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(Photo: Instagram/elkanbaggott)
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1.94m Ipswich youth centre-back might be the most under the radar wonderkid you’ve never heard of.
Borned to an English father and Indonesian mother, he grew up in Jakarta and captained the British School of Jakarta’s football team.
He’s expressed his intention to represent TIM Garuda and if he does, we would expect a very strong side in the coming years with the mercurial Egy Maulana and Bagus Kahfi.
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5) Luqman Hakim (18), Malaysia, FW, KV Kortrijk
Malaysian teenage sensation Luqman Hakim this week moved to Belgian side KV Kortrijk from Selangor.
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(Photo: Instagram/luqmansham_10)
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The U-19 striker was named in The Guardian’s list of 60 next-generation young talents in world football 2019 alongside Barcelona’s Ansu Fati and Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna.
Check out The Guardian’s 60 Next Generation list here
He scored 4 goals in 5 games during the 2019 U-19 AFF Youth Championship where Malaysia lost narrowly to Australia 1-0 in the finals.
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6) Hiroki Abe (21), Japan, LW, Barcelona B
Takefuso Kubo may be the face of the next generation of Japanese football wonderkids, but another player from that conveyer belt of talents, Hiroki Abe, was signed by FC Barcelona from J-League power-club Kashima Antlers for 1.1million Euros in 2018.
Abe, with his popstar idol looks, will be a marketing dream. His immense talents dribbling off the left forward position has already earned him a call-up to the Japanese national squad for the 2019 Copa America in Brazil.
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(Photo: Instagram/hiroki.abe_official)
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Unfortunately, he suffered a ruptured tendon which ruled him out for 5 months in February this year.
Perhaps in a twisted way, “luck” is on his side as the 2020 Japan Summer Olympics has been postponed due to the pandemic and we can now look forward to watching his talents on home turf at a major tournament next year.
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7) Ikhsan Fandi (21), Singapore, ST, Raufoss IL
The son of Singapore football legend Fandi Ahmad, Ikhsan is currently the only Singaporean player playing in a European league, turning out for Norwegian First Division club Raufoss IL.
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(Photo: Instagram/ikhsanfandi)
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A powerful, inventive target man who thrives off crosses in the mould of Zlatan, Ikhsan has exceeded expectations in Norway and a move to a bigger European club seems inevitable.
Only 21 and with the world at his feet, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see him spearhead the Singaporean strike-force for many years to come; just as his father did before him.
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8) Jasur Jaloliddinov (18), Uzbekistan, LW/AMC, FC Lokomotiv Moscow
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(Photo: Instagram/jaloliddinov_23)
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Uzbekistan wonderkid Jasur Jaloliddinov has signed a 5 year deal for Russian club FC Lokomotiv Moscow on 29th July 20.
He was named in The Guardian’s 60 best young talents in world football along with Malaysia’s Luqman Hakim.
Described as a pacy winger with a creative spark, this move to the Russian league will certainly put the spotlight on Uzbekistan football with FC Spartak Moscow also signing his compatriot, 19-year-old Oston Urunov.
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9) Lee Seung Woo (22), S Korean, AMC, Sint Truiden from Verona
The “Korean Messi” was signed by FC Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia at age 12 and scored a phenomenal 39 goals in 29 appearances.
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(Photo: Instagram/seungwooleeheart)
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Barcelona sold him to Italian club Hellas Verona in 2017 in search of more first-team opportunities but kept a clause to repurchase him.
He has represented South Korea in the 2018 World Cup, even assisting Son Heung-Min’s opening goal.
Blessed with supreme pace and a low centre of gravity, his key strength is his dribbling skill and killer passing.
Barcelona has chosen not to exercise their option, perhaps with the rise of a certain Ansu Fati, Lee has since joined Sint Truiden in the Belgian league in 2019 looking to reignite his European career.
Japanese owned Sint Truiden has been seen as a development club with several promising Asian players on their books like Keito Nakamura and Yuma Suzuki.
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10) Takehiro Tomiyasu (21), Japan, CB/RB, Bologna
Asian players who made it in Europe have traditionally been viewed as skilful or pacy attackers in the mould of Shinji Kagawa, Son Heung-Min or Hidetoshi Nakata.
It is therefore refreshing to see a Japanese ball-playing defender making it in the top leagues. Takehiro Tomiyasu can be described as a libero with his calmness under pressure and technical abilities.
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(Photo: Instagram/tomiyasu.t)
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Perhaps due to his youth and pace, Bologna prefers to play him as a right back. This move has seen him improve his reading of situations and positioning in the Serie A by leaps and bounds.
The Japan national team will certainly appreciate a player with his experience to balance the abundance of attacking talents within their squad in years to come.
Right now, with their excellent youth development, Japan has the strongest case of being the first FIFA World Cup winners from Asia.
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