Known for penalty-box instincts and physical forward play; biggest achievements: Bundesliga spells, 2000 Asian Cup top scorer, over 20 Japan goals.
One rank above: Takashi Inui at #23.
One rank below: Rui Ramos at #25.
Japan's editorial top five: Hidetoshi Nakata · Shinji Kagawa · Keisuke Honda · Makoto Hasebe · Shunsuke Nakamura.