The duels
Pick the greater legend. Every vote moves the people's ranking of Legends of Asia.
VS
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Pick the greater legend. Every vote moves the people's ranking of Legends of Asia.
Ranked by the almanac. Vote in the duels to build the people's version.
90
Son Heung-min 
144 caps · 56 goals · Hamburger SV, Bayer 04 LeverkusenAgainst Burnley on 7 December 2019 he collected the ball outside his own penalty area and ran 71.4 metres past six defenders in eleven seconds before finishing, a goal that won him the FIFA Puskas Award. He captained Tottenham to the 2025 Europa League in Bilbao, shared the 2021/22 Premier League Golden Boot with Mohamed Salah on 23 goals as the first Asian winner, and led South Korea to Asian Games gold in 2018.
LMAll-time
129 caps · 56 goals · SV Darmstadt 98, Eintracht Frankfurt · Hall of Fame 2019Bayer Leverkusen trailed Espanyol 3-0 from the first leg of the 1988 UEFA Cup final when he scored the goal that made it 3-3 on aggregate and forced the shootout they went on to win. That was his second UEFA Cup after Eintracht Frankfurt's in 1980, making him the first to win the trophy with two German clubs, and he scored 98 goals in 308 Bundesliga games before the IFFHS named him Asia's player of the century.
RMAll-time
89
Harry Kewell 
56 caps · 17 goals · Leeds United, LiverpoolStuttgart, 79 minutes gone on 22 June 2006, and Aloisi flicked on Bresciano's cross for Kewell to drive in the 2-2 with Croatia that carried Australia into a World Cup knockout round for the first time. He was the first Australian to win the European Cup, on the pitch for Liverpool's 2005 final in Istanbul, and added the 2006 FA Cup, PFA Young Player of the Year, and a Leeds semi-final run in the 2001 Champions League.
CAMAll-time
77 caps · 11 goals · Shonan Bellmare, A.C. Perugia CalcioPerugia trailed Juventus 3-0 at half-time of his Serie A debut on 13 September 1998, and he answered with two goals past Peruzzi in seven minutes before the champions held on to win 4-3. He won the Serie A title with Roma in 2001 and the Coppa Italia with Parma the following year, was Asian Footballer of the Year in 1997 and 1998, and played 77 times for Japan across the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
CMAll-time
89
Park Ji-sung 100 caps · 13 goals · Kyoto Sanga, PSV EindhovenUnited supporters called him Three-Lung Park, and the 2010 tie with Milan showed why: Ferguson gave him Andrea Pirlo, and he shadowed the Italian for 180 minutes, scoring himself in the 4-0 second leg at Old Trafford. Four Premier League titles, the 2008 Champions League and three League Cups came at Manchester United, where he was the first Asian player to start a Champions League final, in Rome in 2009.
CMAll-time
89
Tim Cahill 108 caps · 50 goals · Millwall, Everton · Hall of Fame 2021Australia had never scored at a World Cup until 12 June 2006, when he forced one in against Japan with six minutes left, struck a second four minutes later and turned a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 win. The 2015 Asian Cup came at home, and he finished as Australia's record scorer with 50 goals in 108 caps, five at World Cups, plus 56 Premier League goals for Everton and a 2004 FA Cup final with Millwall.
CMAll-time
88
Mark Viduka 43 caps · 11 goals · GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Leeds UnitedLiverpool led 2-0 at Elland Road on 4 November 2000 before he scored on 24 minutes, again after the break, then twice inside two minutes on 73 and 75 to finish it 4-3. He captained Australia at the 2006 World Cup, won three Croatian titles at Dinamo Zagreb, took the Scottish League Cup and was Scotland's Footballer of the Year in 1999-2000, reached the 2006 UEFA Cup final with Middlesbrough and was Oceania Footballer of the Year in 2000.
STAll-time
88
Shinji Kagawa 97 caps · 31 goals · Cerezo Osaka, Borussia DortmundRooney set up all three on 2 March 2013 and he finished each one without fuss, a 4-0 win over Norwich that made him the first Asian player to score a Premier League hat-trick. Two Bundesliga titles at Dortmund in 2011 and 2012 came with the 2012 German cup, followed by the 2012-13 Premier League with Manchester United, the 2011 Asian Cup with Japan, and a second DFB-Pokal back in Dortmund in 2017.
CAMAll-time
Al-Shaab CSCIn Singapore on 28 October 1989 he scored in the 16th minute against South Korea, and the 1-1 draw that followed carried the UAE to Italia 90, the only World Cup the country has reached. He remains its most capped player with 161 appearances, finished runner-up at the 1996 Asian Cup at home and in three Gulf Cups, played all twenty seasons of his club career at Al-Shaab, and was later voted UAE player of the century.
STAll-time
Daei scored four goals between the 66th minute and the 89th in Dubai on 16 December 1996, turning an Asian Cup quarter-final against South Korea into a 6-2 win. First man to 100 international goals, reached against Laos in November 2004, he held the world record until 2021; add the 1996 Asian Cup golden boot with eight, Asian Games gold in 1998, Asian Footballer of the Year in 1999 and a Bundesliga title at Bayern Munich.
STAll-time
Ali Karimi 127 caps · 38 goals · Persepolis, Shabab AlAhli Dubai ClubTehran called him the Magician, and on 30 July 2004 he showed why with a hat-trick against South Korea in an Asian Cup quarter-final Iran won 4-3. That tournament made him joint top scorer with five goals and Asian Footballer of the Year for 2004; he won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double with Bayern Munich in 2005-06, two Iranian titles with Persepolis, Asian Games gold in 1998, and played at the 2006 World Cup among 127 caps.
CMAll-time
136 caps · FC Pohang Steelers, Shonan BellmareIn Gwangju on 22 June 2002 he walked up to take South Korea's fifth penalty against Spain and buried it, sending the hosts into a World Cup semi-final. He was voted the tournament's third best player and took the Bronze Ball, the first Asian to finish in a World Cup's top three, after 136 caps, four World Cups from 1990 to 2002 and a place in the 2002 All-Star team.
CBAll-time
Keisuke Honda 98 caps · 38 goals · Nagoya Grampus, PFC CSKA MoscowJapan needed only a draw against Denmark in Rustenburg on 24 June 2010, and Honda opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a knuckling free kick that dipped away from Thomas Sorensen. The 2011 Asian Cup made him its most valuable player, and he went on to become the first Japanese player to score at three World Cups, winning a Russian league title and two Russian Cups with CSKA Moscow and the 2016 Supercoppa Italiana at Milan.
RMAll-time
Naples called him il Mostro in his first season there, 2022/23, when he replaced Kalidou Koulibaly and played 35 of 38 league games for a side that had not won Italy since Maradona. That Scudetto came with Serie A's best defender award, the first for an Asian player, and he has since won consecutive Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich, plus two K League crowns at Jeonbuk and Asian Games gold in 2018.
CBAll-time
Fans knew him as the Arabian Pelé, and he answered in finals, scoring the second goal against China in 1984 and burying his penalty in the 1988 shootout against South Korea. Two Asian Cups, Asia-Oceania Player of the Year in 1984, six Saudi league top-scorer awards, four league titles at Al-Nassr, and 72 goals in 117 caps.
STAll-time
Makoto Hasebe Urawa Red Diamonds, VfL WolfsburgFrankfurt trusted him with the armband deep into his thirties, and on 6 June 2020 he went past Cha Bum-kun as the Asian player with the most Bundesliga appearances, finishing his career on 380. He captained Japan to the 2011 Asian Cup and through three World Cups, won the 2022 Europa League and 2018 DFB-Pokal at Frankfurt, the 2009 Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, and the 2007 AFC Champions League with Urawa.
CDMAll-time
In the 53rd minute at Lusail on 22 November 2022 he turned inside the box and curled the ball past Emiliano Martínez, the goal that ended Argentina's 36-match unbeaten run. Two AFC Player of the Year awards in 2022 and 2025, the 2019 and 2021 AFC Champions League, six Saudi league titles with Al-Hilal, and 27 goals in 114 caps.
LMAll-time
Shunsuke Nakamura 98 caps · 24 goals · Yokohama F. Marinos, AS Reggina 1914Celtic Park, 21 November 2006: Nakamura bent a free kick from 30 yards past Edwin van der Sar late on, and the 1-0 win over Manchester United sent Celtic into the knockout rounds for the first time. He was Asian Cup champion with Japan in 2000 and 2004, best player of the 2004 tournament, and won three Scottish titles, a Scottish Cup, two League Cups and Scotland's 2007 player of the year award at Celtic.
CAMAll-time
Al-Wahda S.C.C., Al Sadd Sports ClubOn 30 January 2007 at Zayed Sports City he beat Oman with a 72nd-minute goal to win the UAE the Gulf Cup, the fifth of five in a tournament he left as top scorer and best player. He won it again in 2013, became the first Arab to take a World Youth Championship Golden Ball in 2003, and gave Al Wahda 23 seasons, 101 goals and three league titles, with 36 more in 136 caps for the national team.
SSAll-time
151 caps · Pas Tehran, Club Atlético OsasunaIran held Argentina goalless in Belo Horizonte on 21 June 2014 until Lionel Messi curled one in at the death, and the man wearing the armband through all 91 minutes was Nekounam. His 149 caps and 38 goals for Iran came alongside Asian Games gold in 2002 and the 2004 West Asian championship, a league title with Esteghlal in 2012-13, and 173 La Liga appearances across two spells at Osasuna.
CDMAll-time
Mark Schwarzer 109 caps · Marconi Stallions, Middlesbrough · Hall of Fame 2009On 16 November 2005 at Telstra Stadium, with Australia's 32-year wait for a World Cup on the line, he saved two Uruguayan penalties in the shootout and John Aloisi buried the last kick. He played 109 times for Australia across two World Cups, won the 2004 League Cup that remains Middlesbrough's only major trophy, reached the 2010 Europa League final with Fulham and made 514 Premier League appearances, the first player from outside Britain and Ireland past 500.
GKAll-time
Mehdi Mahdavikia 110 caps · Persepolis, Hamburger SVLyon, 21 June 1998: his goal made it 2-0 against the United States and sealed Iran's first win at a World Cup. Hamburg then kept him for eight seasons and 211 Bundesliga appearances, and he was named Asian Footballer of the Year in 2003, having already taken Asian Games gold in 1998; he finished with 110 caps and three years as Iran's captain.
RBAll-time
He kept goal for Al-Ta'ee's handball team as an eight-year-old until a coach moved him into football in 1988, and eight years later he stood in the Abu Dhabi shootout that won the 1996 Asian Cup, 0-0 after extra time and 4-3 on penalties against the hosts. An Asian Cup winner in 1996 and runner-up in 2000, best goalkeeper of that tournament, a FIFA U-16 world title in 1989, four World Cups, and 173 caps.
GKAll-time
Nashat Akram 
113 caps · Al-Shorta Baghdad, Al-NassrHe opened the scoring after 23 minutes against Australia in Bangkok on 13 July 2007 and created the second in a 3-1 group win. Iraq went on to take the 2007 Asian Cup with him voted man of the match in the final and chosen for the All-Star XI, and he captained the fourth-placed 2004 Olympic team and won league titles in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the Netherlands.
CDMAll-time
Nasser Hejazi 62 caps · Esteghlal, ShahinScotland could not beat him in Córdoba on 7 June 1978; their only goal was an Iranian own goal, and the 1-1 draw stayed Iran's sole World Cup point for twenty years. The AFC named him the second-best Asian goalkeeper of the twentieth century in 2000, and his medals include the 1976 Asian Cup won in Tehran, Asian Games gold in 1974 and the 1970 Asian club title with Taj.
GKAll-time
23 caps · Avispa Fukuoka, Bologna F.C. 1909Hajime Moriyasu sent him on at half-time on 23 November 2022, Japan a goal down to Germany, rebuilt the back line as a five around him, and won 2-1 on the day of Tomiyasu's World Cup debut. Runner-up with Japan at the 2019 Asian Cup, he won the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship with a back line that conceded nothing in six matches and took the 2023 Community Shield during four years at Arsenal.
CBAll-time
Younis Mahmoud Talaba SC, Al-Khor Sports ClubHawar Mulla Mohammed swung in the corner and the captain met it in the 73rd minute to beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 in Jakarta on 29 July 2007, four days after bombs killed at least fifty Iraqis celebrating the semi-final win. Iraq's first Asian Cup came with the tournament's MVP award and a share of its Golden Boot, and he finished as the country's most-capped player on 148 games with 57 goals and goals at four consecutive Asian Cups.
SSAll-time
Yuto Nagatomo 145 caps · FC Tokyo, Inter MilanAt 39 years and 286 days he came off the bench at the 2026 World Cup, Japan's oldest player at a finals and the first Asian to appear at five of them. He won the 2011 Asian Cup, appearing in every game of Japan's run to the final against Australia, took two Turkish league titles and a cup at Galatasaray and the 2011 Coppa Italia at Inter, and sits second on Japan's cap list with 146.
LBAll-time
Atsuto Uchida Kashima Antlers, Schalke 04On 26 April 2011 he took the field at Old Trafford, the first Japanese player to appear in a Champions League semi-final, three weeks after starting the 5-2 win at San Siro. Schalke lifted the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup that season, Japan won the 2011 Asian Cup with him at right-back, and Kashima Antlers had already given him three consecutive J1 League titles from 2007 to 2009.
RBAll-time
Maya Yoshida 126 caps · Nagoya Grampus, VVV-VenloAt Hampden Park on 26 July 2012, Yoshida captained Japan's Olympic team as its overage defender and kept Spain out in a 1-0 win, the opening result of a run to fourth place in London. He won the 2011 Asian Cup, playing all 120 minutes of the final against Australia, wore the armband at the 2022 World Cup, lifted MLS Cup with LA Galaxy in 2024, and finished on 126 caps.
CBAll-time
127 caps · PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham HotspurThe cross that knocked Italy out on 18 June 2002 was his, 117 minutes gone in Daejeon, Ahn Jung-hwan climbing above Paolo Maldini to head the golden goal. South Korea finished fourth that summer, the best World Cup placing any Asian side has managed, and he added two Eredivisie titles at PSV, the 2008 League Cup at Tottenham, two Saudi Pro League crowns at Al-Hilal, the 2000 K League and 127 caps across three World Cups.
LBAll-time
Lucas Neill 96 caps · Millwall, Blackburn RoversIn the last seconds against Italy at Kaiserslautern on 26 June 2006, Neill slid across in front of Fabio Grosso, Grosso went over the top of him, and Totti converted the penalty that put Australia out. He captained his country a record 61 times in 96 caps, led the side at the 2010 World Cup and to the 2011 Asian Cup final, and was part of the Blackburn squad that won the League Cup in 2002.
CBAll-time
Yuji Nakazawa 110 caps · América Futebol Clube, Tokyo VerdyBahrain led 3-2 in the Jinan semi-final on 3 August 2004 when Nakazawa, the centre-back Japan called Bomber, flung himself at a loose ball and headed the equaliser in the 90th minute. Japan won that Asian Cup and the 2000 edition before it, and at Yokohama F. Marinos he took back-to-back J1 titles in 2003 and 2004, the 2004 J.League MVP award, six Best Eleven selections and the 2013 Emperor's Cup, finishing with 110 caps and 17 goals.
CBAll-time
Legends of Asia's pool is led by Son Heung-min, Cha Bum-kun and Harry Kewell. The 33 covers 3 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 14 midfielders and 6 forwards. Son Heung-min leads the pool at 90 overall. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.