Clubs: Cerezo Osaka, Borussia Dortmund

• Kagawa was born in the suburbs of Kobe, Japan, and joined J. League Division 1 club Cerezo Osaka at the age of 17.

• Endured relegation to J. League Division 2 shortly after his arrival and spent the next three years developing his talent as a goalscoring attacking midfielder; was the championship's top scorer with 27 goals in 44 appearances in 2009 as Cerezo Osaka won promotion to Division 1 as runners-up.

• Maintained his impressive strike rate in the top flight – seven goals in 11 games – before signing a three-year contract with Dortmund in July 2010.

• Played for Japan at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and the 2008 Olympic Games but missed out on the senior squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

• A revelation for Dortmund in the first half of the 2010/11 season with eight goals in 17 Bundesliga appearances − including two in a 3-1 win at local rivals FC Schalke 04 − he fractured his right foot while competing at the AFC Asian Cup in January 2011, the injury coming in the semi-final against Korea Republic after he had struck twice in the last eight versus hosts Qatar.