“Shinji Kagawa is one of the best players in the world and he now plays 20 minutes at Manchester United – on the left wing! My heart breaks. Really, I have tears in my eyes. Central midfield is Shinji’s best role. He’s an offensive midfielder with one of the best noses for goal I ever saw. But for most Japanese people it means more to play for Man United than Dortmund. We cried for 20 minutes, in each others’ arms, when he left.” – Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp explained to the Guardian’s Donald McRae last year.
In a quick fire move Borussia Dortmund have confirmed the signing of fan favourite Shinji Kagawa from Manchester United for €8m. He has signed a 4 year deal with the club.
“The day I left, I said in an interview that the Borussia Dortmund chapter in my life was not closed”, Kagawa said upon returning to Dortmund. “I wanted to fulfil a dream in the Premier League. Now I am just happy to be back with this great team and unique fans…BVB is like a family and I am proud they did not forget me and that I can belong to it once more.”
Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc said, “The possibility of signing Shinji Kagawa from Manchester United only arose for the first time in the last few days. Naturally we decided to add his great qualities to our squad once again.”
Originally joining Manchester United in the summer of 2012, Kagawa found it difficult to fit into an already established side under three different managers. Firstly it was Sir Alex Ferguson then followed David Moyes and finally Luis Van Gaal, each with their own system. While Van Gaal can be pardoned from the equation, the other two simply did not know how to utilise the Japanese international and favoured other players in his preferred role.
2012/13 under Fergie
The BVB fan favourite had a difficult time at Manchester United after signing back in the summer of 2012. In the 2012/13 season Kagawa made 17(3) appearances in the Premier League only lasting the full 90 minutes five times, averaging 66 minutes a game. While the Japanese international played a large part of the 2012/13 season on the wings, mainly the left, he still had opportunities in his preferred attacking midfield role. As Sir Alex Ferguson tested using van Persie or Rooney as the main striker, Kagawa was given the ‘number 10’ role early on in the season, where his first five appearances in the English Premier League (EPL) resulted in a respectable return of 2 goals and 1 assist.
However, shortly after his introduction to life at Manchester United he suffered a knee injury in a UEFA Champions League group stage match against Braga. The injury put him out for around two months, a period in which Wayne Rooney flourished playing in the recently vacated attacking midfielder position. In Kagawa’s layoff the English forward contributed 7 goals and 7 assists in 12 EPL appearances up until he himself suffered a knee injury.
During Rooney’s month of recovery Kagawa was reinstated as the main attacking midfielder where he failed to impress and never lasted the full 90 minutes. Rooney’s return soon changed things for Kagawa as he was moved to the left wing to accommodate Rooney being used behind the striker. By the end of the season Shinji Kagawa contributed 6 goals and 4 assists in his 17(3) EPL appearances, a far cry from his form the previous season in Germany. In the 2011/12 season he was involved in 31% of Dortmund’s goals in the Bundesliga, contributing 13 goals and assisting in 12.
2013/14 under Moyes
It was easy to see the appeal of the mighty Red Devils under the stewardship of Sir Alex Ferguson, but under new management the lil’ maestro found himself very much out of favour. In Manchester United’s 2013/14 Premier League matches Shinji made 18 appearances, 4 of those coming off the bench, and was played on the left wing the majority of those times. In those 14 starts he only managed to last the full 90 minutes four times and failed to score a goal in any competition.
In Manchester United’s first ten games, he played just three times, made the bench five times and wasn’t even selected for the remaining two, with reports saying he had a knock. It was strange however that he played well for Japan between those two games by assisting Masato Kudo in a 3-0 win over Guatemala and scored impressively in a 3-1 victory over Ghana, which prompted the ‘Costless Shinji’ campaign by Dortmund fans. The campaign went viral in a matter of hours on Twitter, which was soon picked up by football reporters in England.
After his fantastic display against Ghana he said, “It is frustrating not playing, but to score a goal like that gives me confidence. Hopefully I can take that back to my club with me and things will improve. It’s hard not playing regularly. Some days the frustration is worse than others — it comes in waves.”
With the new Manchester United boss David Moyes favouring more of a 4-2-3-1 that often moved into a 4-4-2 system, it left Kagawa in a difficult situation. Firstly, his preferred attacking midfield role often translated to more of a second striker role, meaning he had to compete with the likes of Rooney, van Persie, Welbeck and Hernandez for a spot. Secondly, the left midfield position was deeper in Moyes’ system than the BVB 4-2-3-1, which means the player requires more defensive qualities to their game as well a fair amount of pace.
One thing Kagawa lacks is bursting pace to bomb down the wing. His game consists of getting the ball in the final third and creating chances for others or scoring goals inside the box. He has incredible vision and a fantastic first touch, but requires players to be on the same wavelength for his one touch passes to come off. As talented as he is, he really was of no use on the left of the half way line. To add to his problems the emergence of the talented youngster Adnan Januzaj meant Kagawa was now competing with Giggs, Young and Januzaj for the left wing spot.
Moving more centrally, Kagawa’s options were fairly non-existent, as Moyes preferred his two central midfielders to drop deeper, provide cover and arrive late in the final third to offer an anchor for play to continue while the forwards try and break down the opposition. This basically ruled out Kagawa due to his lack of defensive qualities and the simple fact that he isn’t built for that role.
Positions and formations aside, Manchester United’s long running system seemed to limit Shinji Kagawa’s style of play. Traditionally their system revolves around playing from the wings and stretching the opposition. The winger’s are not blessed with the space to cut inside regularly as the centre is often congested due to the systems rigidity in the middle. The two simply do not work well together and questions were asked on why Ferguson brought in Kagawa and then pursued van Persie, unless he had a view to eventually sell Rooney.
Rooney wanted to, and still wants to be top dog, especially after sacrificing himself for a number of seasons when Cristiano Ronaldo was running riot. While van Persie helped Manchester United win the 2012/13 title, his form and Fergie/Moyes’ reluctance to drop Rooney meant the future looked bleak for Kagawa. To add further insult to injury, a lacklustre Manchester United entered the 2013/14 winter transfer market in what should be called a panic buy as they spent €44m on Chelsea’s Juan Mata. Winning Chelsea’s Player of the Season two seasons in a row and being a very gifted attacking midfielder, Mata’s entrance at Manchester United was the final nail in the coffin for Shinji Kagawa.
2014/15 under Van Gaal
Another manager and another system. Van Gaal came in after the 2014 World Cup managing the Netherlands to third place, with the idea to implement a 3-5-2 system at United. While the formation worked well in pre-season, there wasn’t much to brag about at start of the 2014/15 season as Manchester United lost to Swansea, drew with Sunderland and Burnley and went out of the League Cup at the hands of MK Dons. As the 3-5-2 system didn’t offer Shinji’s preferred position, and with more in-form players ahead of him, Kagawa was deemed surplus to requirements and offered out to clubs. Initially it was rumoured that Valencia was leading the way for his signature, but as soon as Dortmund entered the fray there was only going to be one outcome.
Shinji and BVB
“Someday I want to return to that team (Dortmund), I will be back someday…if Dortmund is okay with it.” – Shinji Kagawa told ‘Foot Brain’ in Japan before the 2013/14 season.
While Kagawa was often played out of position and not in a formation that suited his style, he was given plenty of chances to prove himself at Manchester United. He failed to impress consistently, but isn’t the first Bundesliga export to not live up to expectations. What needs to be reiterated is that Kagawa is no longer the same player as when he left Dortmund due to injuries, form and playing a bit part role at Manchester United. He won’t walk straight into the Dortmund side due to a number of factors. Firstly, Dortmund’s style has changed since he’s left, as Klopp has increased and refined his ‘pressing machine’ and it has become much more fluid. As mentioned before, by playing out of position, playing a bit part role and his injuries, Kagawa is not on the same level as when he left. Lastly, new players have emerged in the central attacking midfielder role such as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and also Marco Reus so we should fully expect Klopp to slowly ease him back into the team.
All these factors sound very familiar, because it has all happened before with Nuri Şahin. After injuries and being played out of position Şahin made the return to Dortmund on an 18 month loan from Real Madrid, which included a €7mil transfer clause that the club activated at the end of last season. Kagawa would be in exactly the same spot Şahin found himself in. When Şahin arrived he had to fight to break into the team as Bender and Gündoğan were the preferred midfield duo, with Bender offering more defensive attributes than Şahin and Gündoğan being basically undroppable.
In addition he had to learn and adjust to Dortmund’s new and improved style of play. It was only recently that Şahin has reacquired some of the form that saw him win the Bundesliga Player of the Year award in the 2010/11 season. This is mainly down to Gündoğan’s back problems that sidelined the player for all of last season. When the club needed leaders on the pitch, Şahin was there to help the youngsters, especially when Dortmund was having a terrible time with injuries. It is that experience that Kagawa can offer Dortmund in the 2014/15 campaign as they battle on three fronts in the league, DFB Pokal and the UEFA Champions League.
This season Kagawa will offer support for the attack and assist last season’s big money summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The Armenian international had a solid debut season where he scored 9 goals and assisted in 10, including a standout performance against fierce rivals Schalke. However, in the latter stages of the 2013/14 season Mkhitaryan was often used out wide as Marco Reus enjoyed truly world class form in the centre attacking midfield role. Mkhitaryan has started the current campaign in fine form but thanks to his versatility Klopp could still find a way to fit both Kagawa and the Armenian in the same side.
Dortmund’s system would also mean Kagawa could also play on the left like he did for Japan and interchange with Mkhitaryan or Reus. It should be noted that Kagawa played predominantly on the left wing for the Japanese national team under Zaccheroni, as they used a 4-2-3-1 formation similar to Dortmund. Zaccheroni’s system allowed Kagawa to roam and cut inside while interchanging with Keisuke Honda as opposed to Ferguson’s slightly more rigid 4-2-3-1 in the 2012/13 season. Those familiar with Dortmund know the front three behind the striker are far from rigid and you will often see players switch throughout the game to test the opposition. Kagawa’s ability to play left and central attacking midfield in the BVB system would allow either Reus or Mkhitaryan to get a rest, something that a club in the Champions League needs to have, especially a team that presses as much as Dortmund do. Despite using different formations in the early stages of this season, Klopp would most likely stick with his 4-2-3-1 when all players are fit.
Dortmund looking to the future
After Bayern Munich activated Mario Götze’s €37mil transfer clause last season, Dortmund had to invest wisely, something they did with the acquisitions of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. All those players impressed in a season that was plagued by injuries. Dortmund needed to repeat that feat this summer as they lost one of the best forwards in the world, Robert Lewandowski, to league rivals Bayern Munich. Not only did they lose a forward whom I think is frankly irreplaceable, but they had to completely replace their strike force as second and third choice strikers Julian Scheiber and Marvin Ducksch also left. The signings of Ciro Immobile and Adrián Ramos will look to rectify that problem, with Ji Dong-Won offering a backup option.
Something that is vitally key to Klopp’s system is versatility and workrate. With last season’s additions all boasting competencies in different positions, this season’s additions show similar traits. Kagawa will bring an element of this due to his fluid playing style behind the striker, but the most important factor is he’ll provide strength in depth for the Dortmund coach. The Black and Yellows now boast an incredible strong squad after learning from last season’s injury crisis and will now look towards better challenging a dominant Bayern Munich.