Asian tradition at Real Mallorca

The Asian market has started to get used to seeing the vermilion Real Mallorca shirt in recent times. The signing of Kang-in Lee marks the fifth arrival from Asian football this century, between 2005 and 2021, and is the second South Korean to join the three Japanese who have also passed through Son Moix.

The first to arrive was Yoshito Okubo, at the 2005 winter market. He arrived as a fledgling star in Japan, coming from the Osaka cherry tree and international for his country. His contribution to Mallorca was intermittent and he combined good games with others in which he went unnoticed. His lack of adaptation and his problems with the language were a drag and in training, the figure of a young translator (Moisés) stood out, who transferred the coach's orders to him during work sessions and even before games in the locker room.

Okubo was on the island for two half seasons: 2004-2005 (it arrived in January 2005) and 2005-2006, reaching only until January 2006, that is, a calendar year in which played a total of 39 games in which he scored 5 goals.

Later, in 2011, other Japanese footballers joined the Mallorcan ranks: Akihiro Ienaga, known footballingly as 'Aki'. He arrived at the Balearic club in the winter market of the 2010-2011 season, in January 2011 signing for 5 years and with a buyout clause of 18 million euros. It was presented on January 1 of that year but it did not have a record because the quota of non-EU citizens in the vermilion team was covered.

But with his work he convinced the coaching staff led by Michael Laudrup and the loss of Brazilian Ratinho offered Aki the chance to join the team. He made his debut on February 5 but his performance left much to be desired, he also suffered adaptation and language problems and finally terminated his contract in 2013 to end up leaving the island without success.

The third Asian player to arrive was Take Kubo in what was his first stage at Mallorca in the 2019-2020 season. The Japanese, owned by Real Madrid after having passed through the Barcelona quarry, arrives at Mallorca as he does not have a place as a non-EU member in the white team, which he considers that Mallorca is a good team for the player to gain experience in First division.

Take (as he prefers to be called) has had a good season playing a total of 35 games and scoring 4 goals to which he added 5 assists, but can not avoid relegation of the team to Second division. Which forces him to leave Palma to land on loan last season in two teams, Villarreal and Getafe.

Now, Take has returned to the island to start a second stage and he does it with more baggage and more experienced, which suggests that he is one of the important players in Luis García Plaza's squad this season.

In the winter market of the 2019-2020 season, South Korean Ki Sung Yueng arrives in Mallorca, an experienced footballer with kilometers in British football where for eleven years he had played for teams such as Celtic in Glasgow, Swansea, Sunderland or Newcastle.

Ki arrives with stripes but his lack of adaptation, repetitive muscle injury and then confinement from the pandemic With his family having a hard time in Seoul they lead him to an absolute failure and he ends up terminating his contract to leave the island even before the end of the league, in July, when it was resumed after confinement.

Ki's contribution to Mallorca It is reduced to 9 minutes from the bench in the field of Ipurúa, against Eibar, in the only Majorcan victory away from home that season of relegation. Curiously, he entered the field of play to replace Take Kubo, who scored one of Mallorca's two goals in that match.

Now, Kang-in Lee, from Valencia, arrives free at no cost to Mallorca and he becomes the fifth Asian footballer for Real Mallorca who seems to maintain the tradition in recent times of having players from the Asian continent.

In the current players of the squad, Take Kubo and Kang-in Lee, there will be no adaptation problems since both have been in Spanish soccer since they were children.