Mattice Blog 2 Asia Sebastian Pervaza

Welcome to part two of this series. In case you missed the first part, we discussed
locations that could be scouted for future talents. The nations where stated along with one or
more players from that nation. Part one was on the African continent, but this will be about the
unpopular scouting locations of Asia. As many may or may not know, Japan and South Korea
are currently the top scouted nations in Asia and have some of the strongest national teams.
Our first region will be East Asia. Starting with a
location that has recently seen growth for its soccer
association, Vietnam has produced some young talents
that could prove to be up there with the right team and
exposure. This first player is not popular by any means
worldwide, however, at 23, Lương Xuân Trường has made
quite the name for himself in the Asian footballing
community. Trường is currently the team captain for the
Lương Xuân Trường at Gangwon FC
Vietnamese national team and has showed strong
anninhthudo.vn
leadership capabilities since a young age.
He started at HAGL – Arsenal JMG Academy (Hoang Anh Gia Lai) and was promoted to
the starting lineup of Hoàng Anh Gia Lai FC in 2015. In the same year, Trường was also given
the team captain role, which is normally given to the oldest or most experienced player. Trường
was 19 when he received this role. He has seen loans to South Korea and Thailand, but he still
has the opportunity to show off at club level like he does at the national level.
In the neighboring country of Thailand, a player by
the name of Chanathip Songkrasin, 25, has been in good
form for the past few seasons. Chanathip started his
professional career at the Thai club BEC Tero Sasana.
After a successful two seasons there he transferred to
another Thai club, Muangthong United. Here he saw vast
development in his ability to perform and he helped his
team win the Thai League and the Thai League Cup in
Chanathip Songkrasin at 2016.
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
football-tribe.com In 2017, Chanathip made a move to the Japanese
side Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Sapporo had been
watching Chanathip from a few years back with scouts and finally decided to pursue him after
his performance at Muangthong United. This signing made Chanathip the first Thai player to
play at the top tier of Japanese football. He also has a strong attacking role for the Thai national
team, where he has played since 2012. He has been awarded multiple Most Valuable Player
Awards and won the 2015 Southeast Asian Games with Thailand.
Our next player comes from the most populated country in the world. At six feet tall and
22 years of age, Zhang Yuning is an exciting prospect. Many Chinese players never actually
leave China, this location has many players to scout but very few are picked. Zhang Yuning was
being scouted at young age since he had played for the U-17 team for China. He started his
Mattice Blog 2 Asia Sebastian Pervaza

professional career at Hangzhou Greentown and was scouted by the Dutch club SBV Vitesse.
Vitesse gave him a huge chance to demonstrate his ability to Europe. Here he was performing at
his best making spectacular goals and assists for the club.
Due to the exposure, Zhang had been called up to
the Chinese national team and made many stunning
performances. These games, along with the matches he
played in the Netherlands, had led the English club West
Bromwich Albion to purchase him. Unfortunately, Zhang
couldn’t get a work visa for England. This forced him to
be loaned out to the German club Werder Bremen and
then to the Dutch club ADO Den Haag. He is still young Zhang Yuning at ADO Den Haag
and can develop with these loans. Zhang Yuning is surely adodenhaag.nl
one to watch.
This next player is probably the most unusual on the list.
Born in Japan to Korean parents, a 34-year-old named Jong
Tae Se has declared his nationality as North Korean. He
started playing at his school level and in 2006 was offered a
contract to the Japanese club Kawasaki Frontale. Here he rose
to be one of the best players Kawasaki have ever signed and
one of the best players in the J-League. He had a short spell in
England and was transferred to the German club VFL Bochum
Jong Tae Se at VFL Bochum and then moved on to the first division of Germany with
www.kicker.de another move to 1. FC Köln.
After his time playing in Germany, the South Korean club Suwon Samsung Bluewings
signed Jong. After a very successful run in South Korea, he signed back to his home country to
the Japanese club Shimizu S-Pulse. Where he still plays. During his career, he was also playing
for the national team of North Korea, making his debut in 2007. He was a key figure for North
Korean team when they qualified for the 2010 South Africa World Cup. This was the first time
North Korea had made the group stages in 44 years. He is coming to
the end of his career but will always have a spot in Asian football and
in the hearts of many Korean and Japanese fans.
Next on the list, we have a player who comes from the
smallest country listed. Dai Wai Tsun, 19, is from the packed country
of Hong Kong. Dai has been playing soccer since the age of 4 and
has almost always been put under the spotlight. Even at his local
academy, he had been a strong leader for his team. He later moved to
England in order to obtain higher quality training. He signed for the
English youth club Bury, which he later got promoted to the senior
team of. Dai had been gradually playing better and better for Bury
and even received a contract extension. He soon signed for Oxford Dai Wai Tsun at Bury
United who then loaned him to the Dutch club FC Utrecht. www.zimbio.com
Mattice Blog 2 Asia Sebastian Pervaza

In the meanwhile, Dai has both Hong Kong and British citizenship. Meaning he could
play for either the English or Hong Kong national teams. However, he has been called up once
for the 2019 EAFF E-1 Football Championship qualifiers for Hong Kong. He is still at a very
young age and has yet to prove how much he is truly worth. Dai Wai Tsun has high potential and
could be booming prospect.
Now that we have covered that region, lets take a look at Asia Minor, also known as the
middle east. Our first player has had his name in headlines. Coming from the United Arab
Emirates, Omar Abdulrahman, 27, has been the star man recently. He started his journey in the
UAE club of Al Ain. He played four successful seasons with Al Ain and then saw a trial to one
of England’s biggest clubs, Manchester City. This trial gave him
some exposure to Europe and he was about to sign for Manchester
City. However, he couldn’t get around the English work permit and
had a little dispute with national team play. After this he returned to
Al Ain to play another 5 good seasons before getting injured. In 2018
he loaned out to Saudi club Al-Hilal.
Omar also played very well for the national team of the United
Arab Emirates. He helped his team reach the finals of the 2010 Asian
Games. He also represented his team in the 2012 Summer Olympics
as well as played exceptionally well in the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup
where he earned the Player of the Tournament Award. He has amazed
many fans and quite a few of the world’s best players. Omar is an
Omar Abdulrahman at Al Ain
www.goal.com example of a missed opportunity for many big clubs who didn’t scout
this location.
The next player on the list is from the country of Iran. Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who is a 25-
year-old attacker. Alireza began at the second division of Iran at Damash Tehran. Many wouldn’t
scout a nation such as Iran, especially not the second division. However, Nijmegen Eendracht
Combinatie (NEC), a Dutch club, took their chances and discovered him. Alireza then signed for
NEC. In his first season with the club, he saved them from relegation with a last minute goal and
won runner up for the best young talent in the Eredivisie, the Dutch league. In his second season
he was voted by the fans as player of the season. He
accepted a transfer to another Dutch club, AZ Alkmaar
where he played for three seasons. He scored two hat-
tricks in his last season and became the leagues top
scorer, becoming the first Asian player to do so. He
recently made a move to the English club Brighton &
Hove Albion.
Alireza has also earned a spot on the Iranian
national team. In the youth team he was named the
team captain and making some impressive statistics. Alireza Jahanbakhsh at AZ Alkmaar
He also helped his team qualify for the group stages of football-tribe.com
Mattice Blog 2 Asia Sebastian Pervaza

the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In addition, he was called up for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Alireza is
another player with high skill who is ready to demonstrate when given the ability.
That will about wrap it up for this part of my blog. Each of the players shown have either
great potential or have shown great skill. They all come from unpopular scouting locations in
Asia. Whether it be at club level or at national level, they have all proved to be worth a watch.
Stay tuned for the next part to this blog.