Now bend it like an Asian

Julien Le Noble

Senior Managing Director, Asia Pacific

CME Group

THE blueprint for footballing success is investment and youth development. Successful footballing nations have a system in place for identifying and nurturing young talent, and of putting investment dollars into their domestic football ecosystem, including youth training academies and professional leagues. Participating nations that have done well in the World Cup have historically been represented by players plying their trade at the upper echelons of professional club football. While Asian footballing powerhouses such as Japan and South Korea may boast of a couple of players from top clubs such as Manchester United (Shinji Kagawa), AC Milan (Keisuke Honda) and Bayer Leverkusen (Son Heung-min), the reality is that too few Asian footballers have playing experienc…