2014/19 Shinji Kagawa @ Borussia Dortmund (GER/CL)

Please, please don't go to Besiktas/Süper Lig. It's the European equivalent of MLS; Where all the has-beens go. If you combine that with one of the worst structured leagues in the world, corruption stretching from referees to players via club owners, wages often not being paid, players allowed to be as dirty as they want and a general hostile atmosphere everywhere you go I can't seem to think of a single reason why any player would like to go there.

 

Yes I agree nipponbasse83, Shinji has still a few good years left in him. A move to Italy, Spain or back to England at least. No disrespect to the Super Lig of Turkey but Shinji is not done yet!

 

To Liverpool?

 

Just kidding, and hoping..

 

This week's Kicker magazine quotes director of sports Zorc that there's no offer by Sevilla so far. Kicker predicts Kagawa is bound to stay to help out during the weeks with matches every three days. We'll know more when the transfer window closes in about 17 hours.

 

Then again I wouldn't be surprised to see Kagawa pop up again around October to kickstart BVB's attacking engine.

 

So he is staying? Well I hope he at least make it back to the bench. Tragic otherwise.

 

Played 90 minutes together with other non-playing midfielders Götze and Weigl in the 6-0 friendly win against 3rd league club Osnabrück yesterday. They played the same system Favre used in the Buli matches so far (4-3-3 with Kagawa in the right midfield). A good sign, but that also means Dahoud (played both Buli matches on that position) and Guerreiro (was subbed in once for Dahoud) are ahead in the pecking order right now.

 

He will have to fight hard to get back in the team. This did not go as expected.

 

Not even on the bench tonight against Hasebe's Eintracht Frankfurt.

 

How/why did he fall so out of favor? He had a decent World Cup.

 

He didn't fall out of favor. The new coach Favre prefers a system/approach in which plenty of BVB's oversized squad no longer fit in. Aside Kagawa players like Götze, Weigl, Rode, Toprak and Toljan aren't seeing any minutes either so far.

 

Favre has commented multiple times that he sees Kagawa as a "9.5 or a 10", meaning a player best played close to goal rather than in the midfield. Most recently, he was asked why Götze wasn't playing and responded that there are other players with the physical/athletic attributes to play in midfield (in Favre's system, the 2 box-to-box positions), while in the "9.5 and 10" positions "we have Reus and Kagawa", making it tough for Mario to break into the lineup.

Kagawa has made the trip to Belgium to play Club Brugge in the CL group stage opener.

 

On the bench against Club Brugge in the CL:

⭐️ Die BVB-Bank in Brügge: Hitz - Zagadou, Hakimi, Pulisic, Philipp, Dahoud, Kagawa #CLUBVB #UCL

— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) September 18, 2018

 

Subbed in for Götze after 62 min.
Edit: And the match ends with a 1-0 win thanks to a late strike by Pulisic. Kagawa gets a yellow card.

 

Bench today

 

Not even on the bench. Another dull day for JPA.

 

Still not even on the bench. Sad.

Its like a fcking post WC curse.

 

Favre said that Kagawa is injured.

Favre didn't specify the injury. But we've been told that it's "nothing dramatic".

— Stefan Buczko (@StefanBuczko) October 2, 2018

 

Still out