Foreign players who played in Japan

Japan’s biggest sport is baseball, but football isn’t too far behind in the popularity stakes – and numerous overseas players have headed there to play the beautiful game.

The launch of the country’s first professional league, the J.League, in 1992, sparked a steady influx of foreign talent to the Far East.

Here, we take a look at just some of the stars from around the world to ply their trade in the Land of the Rising Sun.