L=League games LC=League Cup FA=FA Cup Yoshito Okubo - Mallorca (Spain) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Primera Division (L) Mallorca 25 2 2 Copa del Rey (LC) Mallorca 1 1 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 26 3 2 Junichi Inamoto - West Bromwich (England) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Premiership WBA 22 0 3 FA Cup WBA 2 0 0 Carling Cup WBA 2 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 26 1 4 Hidetoshi Nakata - Bolton (England) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Premiership Bolton 21 1 2 FA Cup Bolton 2 0 0 UEFA Cup Bolton 6 0 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 29 1 3 Daisuke Matsui - Le Mans (France) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Ligue 1 (L) Le Mans 33 3 7 Coupe de la Ligue (LC) Le Mans 2 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 35 3 7 NOTE - He won France Ligue 1 Player of the Month in January. - He won France Ligue 1 Player of the Week twice. - According to“France Football”, his average rating ranked 12th in France Ligue 1. - He won top assister in France Ligue 1. Masashi Oguro - Grenoble (France 2) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Ligue 2 (L) Grenoble 17 5 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 17 5 0 NOTE - He joined Grenoble in January. Naohiro Takahara - Hamburger SV (Germany) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Bundesliga (L) HSV 21 1 1 DFB Cup (FA) HSV 2 1 0 UEFA Cup HSV 7 0 0 Intertoto Cup HSV 2 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 32 2 1 Sota Hirayama - Heracles (Holland) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Eredivisie (L) Heracles 31 8 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 31 8 2 Shunsuke Nakamura - Celtic (Scotland) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Premier League (L) Celtic 33 6 9 CIS Insurance Cup (LC) Celtic 4 0 1 Scottish Cup (FA) Celtic 1 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 38 6 10 NOTE - Celtic won the Premier League and CIS Insurance Cup. - His 9 assists ranked 4th in SPL assist ranking. Koji Nakata - Basel (Switzerland) and Marseille (France) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Super League (L) Basel 10 1 0 Ligue 1 (L) Marseille 4 0 0 Coupe de la Ligue (LC) Marseille 1 0 0 UEFA Cup Marseille 3 0 0 Intertoto Cup Marseille 2 0 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 20 1 0 NOTE - He moved to Basel from Marseille in January. Takayuki Suzuki - Red Star Belgrade (Serbia and Montenegro) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Meridian SuperLiga (L) Red Star 6 0 0 League Cup Red Star 1 2 0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 7 2 0 NOTE - Red Star won Meridian SuperLiga and the Serbian League Cup. - He joined Red Star in January. Atsushi Yanagisawa - Messina (Italy) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Serie A Messina 7 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 7 0 0 NOTE - He moved to J-League in February. Shinji Ono - Feyenoord (Holland) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Eredivisie (L) Feyenoord 4 0 0 UEFA Cup Feyenoord 1 0 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 5 0 0 NOTE - He moved to J-League in January. Kenji Fukuda - Castellion (Spain 2) Code: [B]Competition Club Apps Goals Assists [/B] Segunda Division (L) Castellion 16 1 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Total 16 1 1 NOTE - Segunda Division is still being played. - He joined Castellion in January.
I'm still thinking, so I haven't voted yet. I don't know what would qualify as "best" in this context. So I need more time if I were to pick just 1 player in general terms. Notable ones FOR ME are: - Matsui. He has reinvented himself. No doubt he has long way to go, but he's on the right path to greatness IF he can keep this up. It's a good thing he's still young. - Nakata. You can argue all day about his ability (I would, as I've been critical of his decline), but he's the first Japanese player to manage EPL without showing much distress. Bolton has a depth in their squad and Nakata has had his share of inconsistency, but no doubt he's been the least bad Japanese player in EPL. Surely we must credit him for that. - Nakamura. It seems to me that he needed the "right context" in which he can show his ability and creativity. And it so turns out, Celtic was the right place to give him that stepstone. I've been impressed with his magic boots and calm creativity this season. I can't think of another Japan player who can match him in this field. If he can transfer that to WC2006, I'd call him the best this year. - Inamoto. He's fallen out of favour with Robson towards the end and I actually think Inamoto is partly responsible for that. Still, earlier this season he has shown a great progress at persona level. I had thought he lost it completely at the end of the last season, but he proved me wrong. He CAN be a fantastic player when his heart is in the right place. It's a shame he seems to indulge in a comfy zone when he finds one. - Hirayama. I don't think he's gone far enough to be called "best player" in any year yet. But he seems to have made the right step forward. Initially a half-hearted wannabe who had the potential with his sufficient physical size, yet going to university is a bit of an insult to the world football if he ever wanted to become a pro. He's quit the Uni now, and I'd congratulate him for his dedication. Too little too late, perhaps, but it seems to me that he has gone through some personal dilemma to get to where he is now. - I like Yanagisawa historically, but in other ways he's embarrassing. He was bought as a "forward who never scores". I'm sorry for being cynical, but he's a walking embarrassment when it comes to the markettability of a Japanese player; he was "desirable" despite the fact that he was a striker who couldn't score goals. He's meant to put food on the table by scoring goals. When was the last time he did that in Italy? "Laughing stock" award is well deserved, if there was one. I still like him though. - And finally, Fukuda. If "Best Soot" award can be given, I might give him that. You never know, an 'Urban Legend' is a possibility. If he can bring back to Japan the knowledge he has gained and pass it onto youth players, he could turn out to be "the best" this year... with a bit of imagination.