Shinji Kagawa

Shinji Kagawa is currently in a relationship with Margaret Natsuki. She is a Japanese–Canadian fashion model and former TV presenter. The couple met for the first time when Natsuki conducted an interview with him, when the footballer was still with ‘Dortmund.’

Kagawa was rumored to be romantically involved with Japanese adult entertainment star Ameri Ichinose in the past, but he neither confirmed nor denied the rumors. Ichinose has also worked under the aliases “Ayaka Misora” and “Erika Kurisu.”

Shinji Kagawa was born on March 17, 1989, in Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. He had always aspired to be a professional footballer. In 1994, he started playing for ‘Marino FC,’ at the tender age of 5.

He continued with ‘Marino FC’ for 5 years, from 1994 to 1999. Such was his passion for the game that it is said that Kagawa carried a football with him all day and even insisted on carrying it to school.

Between the years 1999 and 2001, he played for ‘Kobe NK FC.’ From 2001, he proceeded to play for ‘FC Miyagi Barcelona’ and continued with them until 2005. He dreamt of playing for the Spanish football giant, ‘FC Barcelona.’ It was his obsession with the game that kept him going through the rigorous training sessions.

In 2006, Japanese football team ‘Cerezo Osaka,’ which was keeping an eye out for fresh talent, happened to spot Kagawa. Impressed by his skills, they inducted him into their club. At the age of 17, Kagawa became the first Japanese player, barring players who were promoted from the youth teams of the ‘J. League,’ to sign a professional contract before finishing high school.

In 2007, Shinji Kagawa was selected to play for the Japanese national ‘Under-20’ football team. A year later, he played for the Japanese team in the 2008 ‘Summer Olympics.’

After making his senior international debut in a ‘Kirin Cup’ friendly match on May 24, 2008, he made people sit up and notice him by being the top goal-scorer of the ‘J. League Division 2,’ in 2009.

In early 2010, Kagawa was transferred from ‘Cerezo Osaka’ to ‘Borussia Dortmund’ at a relatively moderate cost, owing to a release clause in his contract with ‘Cerezo Osaka’ that allowed him to leave the club cheaply, if he had an opportunity to play in Europe. In August, he made his debut appearance in the German ‘Bundesliga’ as part of ‘Borussia Dortmund.’ He scored the first two goals for ‘Borussia Dortmund’ in the ‘UEFA Europa League’ against ‘Qarabağ FK.’ He scored the only goal of the game in Japan’s win over Paraguay in September, 2010.

Before a match against arch-nemesis ‘Schalke 04,’ Kagawa had declared that he would score two goals, which he actually managed to accomplish, stealing a 3–1 victory for his team, ‘Borussia Dortmund.’ This made him an instant hit with football fanatics.