Asian soccer players- can they adapt ?
Japanese and Korean soccer players are certainly good enough to play in the top European leagues. The question, though, that European soccer teams need to ask is , Can Japanese and Korean players adapt to life in the west?' More and more Asian soccer players are playing for teams in Europe and it is crucial that the teams help them to feel at home and enjoy their new lives.
Many of the best Asian soccer players have the the ambition to play in Europe. Ji-sung park, one of Korea's most popular sportsmen, is with Manchester United in the Englist Premiership and Jung-hwan Ahh is with MSV Duisburg in Germany. Japanese midfield player Shunsuke Nakamura is with Celtic in Scotland and , of course, Hidetoshi Nakata, former captain of the Japanese national team, played for seven seasons in Italy and for a year in England.
When Asian players arrive in Europe, they have to learn a new language and get used to very different food. However, the hardest thing to adapt to is the way players communicate with each other and with the coach. In Korea and Japan, players don't complain if their teammates play badly, and they never tell the coach they are unhappy about tactics. In Europe, it is usual for players to say what they think.
Ji-sung Park learned about the importance of communication in one of his early games for Manchester United. Late in the match he came on as a substitute for Ryan Giggs, who was the captain that night. Giggs passed the captain's armband to Park and wanted him to give it to another player, Rio Ferdinand. Park didn't understand and he put the armband on. He played for the last 7 minutes as the captain. The next day all the Korean newspapers wanted Park to tell them what it was like to be the captain of Manchester United.