How difficult is it for Asian players to win the Europa League championship? Only 7 people did it, Che Fangen won two championships, and Japan and South Korea completed the victory

The European football season is approaching, and the champions of major competitions have been decided one after another. In the UEFA Europa League field this season, Tottenham defeated his old rival Manchester United with a score of 1-0, winning the Europa League championship, and is also the third Europa League championship in the team's history. When Tottenham captain Son Heung-min lifted the Europa League trophy, Tottenham ended the 17-year championship drought, and Son Heung-min also won the first championship trophy in his career, and was the first Asian player to lead the team to win the European championship as captain. In the history of the Europa League, Son Heung-min is the seventh Asian player to win the championship. Let’s take a look at those Asian players who have won the Europa League championship today.

Cha Fangen 1978-80 season (Frankfurt); 1987-88 season (Leverkusen)

As the best player in Asian football, Che Fangen has been in European football for many years, playing for 10 seasons in Frankfurt and Leverkusen, and won the UEFA Cup championships in both teams. The 1979-80 Europa League final was played between two German teams. Che Fangen was in Frankfurt facing his old rival Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the two finals, the two teams reached a 3-3 draw. However, Frankfurt eventually narrowly defeated defending champion Borussia Mönchengladbach with his away goal advantage and won the UEFA Cup championship that season. Che Fangen also became the first Asian to win the European Championship. In the summer of 1983, Che Fangen transferred to Leverkusen and followed the team to the Europa League finals in the 1987-88 season. In the final, Leverkusen encountered the Spanish team Espanyol. Leverkusen lost 0-3 away in the first leg, but the pharmaceutical factory was at home in the second leg, showing amazing tenacity, equalizing the total score with a score of 3-0, and defeating Espanyol in a penalty shootout, and finally won the Europa League championship. Che Fangen won the second Europa League championship.

Nobuji Ono 2001-02 season (Feyenoord)

Former Japanese international Nobuji Ono played for the Bundesliga team Bochum, and his first stop in Europe was Eredivisie giants Feyenoord, who played for 5 seasons. In the 2001-02 season, Nobuji Ono followed Feyenoord to the Europa League final. Facing the Bundesliga team Dortmund, Feyenoord played at home. In the end, Feyenoord won 3-2 and won the UEFA Cup championship that season. Nobuji Ono is also the second Asian player to win the Europa League championship after Che Fangen.

Kim Dongjin&Li Hao 2007-08 season (Zenit)

2007-08 season two Korean players played for the Russian Super League giant Zenit. When Zenit reached the final of the UEFA Cup, Zenit competed with Glasgow Rangers in the final. With the goals of Denisov and Zilyanov, Zenit defeated his opponent 2-0 and won the Europa League championship. Kim Dongjin came on as a substitute in this game, but Li Hao did not get a chance to play. But this does not prevent the two from successfully winning the Europa League championship, and are one of the few players in Asia.

Makoto Hasegawa Makoto & Kamada Dadi 2021-22 season (Frankfurt)

Two Japanese players followed the Bundesliga team Frankfurt to win the Europa League championship. They are Kamada Dadi and Hasegawa Makoto. In the Europa League match that season, both were the main players of the team, and Kamada Dadi even played all 13 games. The team's promotion path is even more strong. They advanced to the knockout stage unbeaten in the group schedule. In the knockout match, Frankfurt encountered five major league teams, and even European giants like Barcelona. The French Eagles successively eliminated Real Betis, Barcelona and West Ham to enter the Europa League finals. Facing the final of the Soviet Super League team Glasgow Rangers, Kamada played for 120 minutes and Makoto Hasegawa also completed 62 minutes of appearance. In the end, the two teams tied in regular time and overtime, and had to have a cruel penalty shootout. Frankfurt won 5-4 in the penalty shootout and narrowly won the Europa League championship. Kamada Oji and Hasegawa Makoto also held up the UEFA Cup championship together.

Son Heung-min 2024-25 season (Tottenham)

Tottenham this season was a mess in the Premier League. They finally ranked 17th in the Premier League and lost 22 Premier League games. The victory of the Europa League championship made Tottenham get unexpected surprises this season. While the league was awkward, Tottenham Hotspur played steadily in the Europa League, achieving 5 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in the league stage, ranking 4th and directly qualified for the knockout stage. In the knockout round, it was also surprising that the Dutch Eredivisie team Alkmar, former Europa League champion Frankfurt and Norwegian team Bode shone, met with old rival Manchester United in the final, and won with Brennan Johnson's one-hit blow, defeated Manchester United to win the final, ending this season of sadness and joy with the Europa League champion, and at the same time, qualifying for the next season's Champions League as 17th in the Premier League is also very much. The team's captain, Korean Son Heung-min, although his goal efficiency was not as good as before this season, also scored 7 goals and 9 assists in the league. 11 goals and 11 assists throughout the season are an important contributor to help Tottenham break the championship drought. At the same time, Son Heung-min is also the first Asian player to win the European Championship as the captain.