Shinji Kagawa

[Helios]

[Helios]

He had an impressive pre-season, 2 goals for his European debut yesterday, could have been a hattrick if the linesman didn't called for a not so obvious offside :

[youtube]6biZOx1WEro[/youtube]

[Malakayi]

man, the azerbaijanian keeper made a "robert green" :D:D

[Farfan17]

The goalkeeper was really very bad ..

[Kanouté]

wtf that goalkeeper

[Malakayi]

I like that little fellow

His style of playing is very entertaining and he shows great potential. Technical gifted with a good eye for situations, dangerous shoot technique and even some decent heading skills for little guy like him.

And his header is what bothers me about his set a little, after seeing him playing at least 4 matches by now and regarding his past as a centre forward until a few years ago a value of 68 in Header and 75 in Jumping seems quite underrated. He's able to pass the ball accurately with his head as well as getting a well placed header on the goal. In terms of jumping I think for a man of his inches he jumps quite high, a low yellow value seems reasonable for me. Regarding Kagawa's low BB value this stats wouldn't make him a monster in the air but enable him to reach somewhat higher balls treating them with more skill.

So I would suggest the following changes:

Header 76 (+8)
Jumping 81 (+6)

Maybe one of our Japanese Members could contribute to the discussion for I read that Kagawa scored 27 goals in 34 matches while he played in J-League First and Second Division, surely a few of them he scored with his head.

[s-cobar]

I`ll do nothing at this set until Helios will say anything. The most of the J-League players are created by him and he`s most close with them. So if GHelios will change anything or make suggestions I`m open for that, otherwise I´ll wait until the winterbreak or even the end of his first year at the BL.

[KillaKlo]

He's the new Koller!

[ballack13]

He's faster than this.

He looked really quick from what I saw. Probably high yellows for acceleration.

[KingKonami]

way faster than this
at least
speed: 85
acceleration: 86

also higher attack, balance, dribble accuracy/speed...

his impressive pre-season form continues, i think he deserves a small update.

@ s-cobar: i think this kind of attitude is one of the reasons why PSD goes down and dies one day. as long as there are some users that debate about the bundesliga players we should keep it up to date and react to users' feedback (we are not enough i know)

[s-cobar]

It`s just that you must think about the form. Is a playe ron a run and play above his class? or is he that good?

Should we wait a while? or do he need an update. But I`m no friend of update to fast and after two month he play crap and we`ve to decrease him.

definitely at the moment after all what he has shown we can think about a raise in attack, a raise in TS and ACC and a raise in DA, SA, ST, Header and mentality.

and you forgot an important thing.

This set is by Helios - Helios is one the best statsmakers I´ve ever seen. and another important point. he saw him in the J-league - no one of us take a view to the J-League. So we don´t know if he`s on this class a whole season.

I give you an example - afterthe last first round so many guys wanna update Özil and Ivanschitz - Özil played a real bad second round - and Ivanschitz didn´t play. It´s not about to change stats - it`s about to create players and reflected their performances.

[monKevski]

I think the stats here fit very good to him, I actually only see a raise in Mentality, the rest seems fine to me regarding here he is at a red or orange arrow at the moment.

[Helios]

his impressive pre-season form continues, i think he deserves a small update.

Well since I was pretty conservative in my ratings (as I told Fiddy) and update is justified.

It`s just that you must think about the form. Is a playe ron a run and play above his class? or is he that good?

Should we wait a while? or do he need an update. But I`m no friend of update to fast and after two month he play crap and we`ve to decrease him.
definitely at the moment after all what he has shown we can think about a raise in attack, a raise in TS and ACC and a raise in DA, SA, ST, Header and mentality.

the rest seems fine to me regarding here he is at a red or orange arrow at the moment.

Actually, the fans in Germany haven't seen the best of him just yet, while he has been playing great so far, he can do a lot more, I expect him to score more goals than what he did already, if he fully adapts to his new league/team he is definitely the sort of guy to score 15 goals or slightly more/season, his understanding with his teammates for example isn't optimal yet. (Far from that).

He had a bright debut and the fact that his adversaries didn't quite "figured" him yet back at the time helped him a lot. None of us (followers of him in J. League) was expecting him to play at this level or secure a place among the starting eleven so quickly, not because we had doubts in his huge talent, it was more due to the previous records of very difficult acclimation of Japanese players when they move to play abroad, especially at such a young age. While Japan may look westernized and so, the cultural differences are huge between Oriental and Western civilizations.
But times have changed, he was prepared to move abroad long time ago and started learning German months ago before last summer, agencies take care of everything.

Now he is been exposed to a lot of hype, reportedly scouted by Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter..While he is one of the best midfielders of his generation, adding more pressure on his shoulders could be detrimental to him. Moving to a powerhouse in Europe won't do him any good at the present time. He still needs to improve many aspect of his game and gain maturity, he isn't a finished project just yet.

So I would suggest the following changes:

Header 76 (+8)
Jumping 81 (+6)

Maybe one of our Japanese Members could contribute to the discussion for I read that Kagawa scored 27 goals in 34 matches while he played in J-League First and Second Division, surely a few of them he scored with his head.

Well, I would say that headers aren't really his "thing" and that's understandable. If he receives an aerial ball I expect him more to trap the ball with his chest or try to use his feet. I haven't watched ALL his goals but I don't remember seeing him scoring a header in Japan, it's a quite unusual for his former team to rely on long balls/crosses, they prefer 1-touch small passes relying more on the great mobility and the complicity between their players. There were numerous instances this season where :

- His timing was wrong.
- His headed passes lacked the necessary power to reach his teammates.

I don't mind a raise but not to the level of your suggestions : Header : 73 / Jumping : 78. It would be hard for him to win an aerial duel with those values but he might definitely score the "odd header" if he is unmarked and if he receives a very accurate/slow paced cross. His aerial abilities would be just about right when he is on a yellow/red arrow.

Speed: 85
Acceleration: 86
also higher attack, balance, dribble accuracy/speed...

Ditto. I would also raise his DS by two points. (87). He is amazingly fast while running with the ball. He demonstrated his attacking skills by getting into good goal-scoring positions all the time whether playing for Cerezo/Dortmund or the NT. I would go for a 76 and retain the same value for his finishing skills. Kagawa is a sharp shooter, doesn't matter if he's in a central position, shifting to the wings or using his left foot. You better not let him shoot or you'll be sorry. But he is likely to miss the target on "pure reflex" shots.

Balance is fairly rated IMO.

Response: 77

As you might have noticed it, he is quite sluggish at certain times, we saw him missing the reception of passes many times as he wasn't concentrated enough. At the other hand, he showed proof of "predatory striker"-like reactions in the box, he is the first player of his team when it comes to catch rebounds, preceding even Barrios ! A 79 would be just about right for now, we shall see later on if he deserves more.

As for his passing skills, other than a small raise in his LPA the present ratings are ok imo, passing star is a must-to-have for him since he is a very smart player who can find holes in defenses and deliver very well inspired and daring passes near the box.

@ s-cobar: i think this kind of attitude is one of the reasons why PSD goes down and dies one day. as long as there are some users that debate about the bundesliga players we should keep it up to date and react to users' feedback (we are not enough i know)

No problems at all, everyone is welcome to post his opinion, however we (mods in general) greatly appreciate if users could take the time to accompany their suggestions with some justification/explanations.

[Pumpernikiel]

No, no way, im not gonna do this, never.

[Helios]

My update would somewhat look like this :

Name: Shinji Kagawa



Club: Borussia Dortmund
Number: 23
Position: AM* / SS, SM
Nationality: Japanese
Age: 21 [March 17, 1989]

Foot: R
Side: B

Height: 172
Weight: 63

Attack: 76
Defence: 52
Balance: 75
Stamina: 83
Top Speed: 85
Acceleration: 86
Response: 79
Agility: 87
Dribble Accuracy: 84
Dribble Speed: 87
Short Pass Accuracy: 79
Short Pass Speed: 81
Long Pass Accuracy: 80
Long Pass Speed: 79
Shot Accuracy: 76
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 77
Free Kick Accuracy: 78
Curling: 84
Header: 73
Jump: 78
Technique: 84
Aggression: 82
Mentality: 76
Keeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 78

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 7
Weak Foot Accuracy: 7
Weak Foot frequency: 7
Consistency: 6

PLAYER INDEX CARDS:
P07 – Mazing Run
S01 – Reaction
S02 – Passer
S14 – Quick Turn

SPECIAL ABILITIES:
*Dribbling
*Reaction
*Passing

[Kanouté]

I like this set. I dunno so much about the ladders, though.

[Rfuna]

IMO Helios hasn't gone far enough with his numbers. Kagawa is integral to the dortmund attack, he's behind close to every move in the final 1/3. he's always aware of his team mates's positions, rarely fails to find them. TW in 80s is a must for me. mentality @ 76 is a tad too low. he runs out of juice in the 2nd half but going forward, he is an important player, not a bystander. SPA could be in 80s. He's not at Sahin's level, maybe a point or 2 less.

using Helio's stats, IMO

Attack @ 77
Short Pass Accuracy @ 81
Mentality: 77
Team Work: 83

not sure about reaction* either, aggression alone should be enough.

[Kanouté]

tw is fine as it's. he's many times shown that he can be a selfish player by at least what I've seen in his play this season.

[s-cobar]

IMO Helios hasn't gone far enough with his numbers. Kagawa is integral to the dortmund attack, he's behind close to every move in the final 1/3. he's always aware of his team mates's positions, rarely fails to find them. TW in 80s is a must for me. mentality @ 76 is a tad too low. he runs out of juice in the 2nd half but going forward, he is an important player, not a bystander. SPA could be in 80s. He's not at Sahin's level, maybe a point or 2 less.

using Helio's stats, IMO

Attack @ 77
Short Pass Accuracy @ 81
Mentality: 77
Team Work: 83

not sure about reaction* either, aggression alone should be enough.

agree with all without TW, he isn´t the guy who plays the final pass, he search for his own chance to score. The most passes are by Sahin, kagwa use a cross if the angle is too difficuilt but otherwise, he tries to score by himself.

[s-cobar]

updated

[Kanouté]

didn't you see Helios' set or was there a discussion between you and him via pm or msn for the general update?