Shinji Kagawa

When Shinji Kagawa first joined German giants Borussia Dortmund, he surprised reporters from the local press by insisting he was "not a special Japanese player". Two years later, he would have two German titles to his name and a move to Manchester United in his future. This was Kagawa in a nutshell. Humble and understated yet supremely talented at the peak of his powers. One of Japanese football's greatest exports, Kagawa has a century of caps for the Blue Samurai and is rightly revered in his home nation: an elegant passer and devastating creative with vision and skill that were always destined for the European stage.