A tier list of the greatest Asian football players chosen by foreign media was released, sparking heated debate about the evaluation criteria and ranking placements at the same time.
Barak Fever, a reporter for global sports outlet ESPN, on the 9th (Korea time) released a tier list that divided the greatest Asian players into GOAT, S, A and B tiers.
He explained that the evaluation was based on symbolism and influence across entire careers, not simple popularity or short-term impact.
Son Heung-min was the only player listed in the highest GOAT tier. It is virtually an undisputed choice. Son spent his prime at Tottenham Hotspur after spells with Hamburger and Bayer Leverkusen, leaving a record of 173 goals and 101 assists in 454 official matches.
He was the first Asian player to win the Premier League golden boot, he won the Puskás Award, and he also won the Europa League. Beyond being simply the "best in Asia," the GOAT tier is natural given that he became a league-representing star.
The S tier included Cha Bum-kun and Park Ji-sung, other icons of Korean football. Cha, who was known as the bomber in the Bundesliga, and Park, who reached the pinnacle of European football with Manchester United, are representatives of their generations to the extent that they are grouped under the name "Son-Cha-Park." The inclusion of Ali Daei and Shinji Kagawa in that group is to some extent understandable.
The problem lies in the lower tiers. The A-tier list included a large number of Japanese players such as Honda Keisuke, Nakata Hidetoshi, Nagatomo Yuto and Nakamura ?�s?;, while in Korea only Kim Min-jae was listed. There is a clear question mark over evaluating Kim Min-jae on the same footing as these players.
Kim Min-jae played a key role in Napoli's Serie A title from his first season after the transfer and won the league's best defender award. Finishing 22nd in Ballon d'Or voting is an unusual achievement for an Asian defender.
Even considering that he has had ups and downs at Bayern Munich recently, judging by his prime, it would not be at all strange for him to be placed near the top of A tier or on the borderline of S tier. Evaluating him simply on the basis of "having played in Europe for a long time" does not capture that his impact was clearly on a different level.
A tier also included Paulino Alcántara and Saeed Al-Owairan. While the choices considered historical symbolism, some argue the composition was somewhat ambiguous when directly compared with influence by modern football standards.
In B tier, Kim Ju-sung was the only Korean player included. Japan's Shinji Okazaki, Makoto Hasebe, Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma, and players from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan were also listed. The selection appears to emphasize consistency and team contribution, but it leaves an impression of being relatively conservative.
In summary, this tier list reaffirms Son Heung-min's unrivaled status while leaving the impression that it somewhat undervalued Kim Min-jae's current standing. Although it is meaningful as a work organizing the history of Asian football, there remains room for debate over whether it more precisely reflected peak impact and league level.
[Photo] Fever SNS capture.
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