Japan's Hasebe 'proud' after setting Asian Bundesliga games record

Berlin (AFP) – Former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe said he was “proud” after setting the record for most Bundesliga appearances by an Asian player.

Centre-back Hasebe, 36, played the full 90 minutes in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-0 loss to Mainz on Saturday in what was his 309th German top-flight match to leapfrog ex-South Korea forward Cha Bum-kun.

“I’m very proud to have played more Bundesliga games than any other Asian player. But for me, it would have been much, much more important for the team to win,” Hasebe told the Bundesliga’s official website.

“We weren’t as good as we needed to be today. We were lacking something in all areas,” he told the club website.

Hasebe made his Bundesliga debut in 2008 for Wolfsburg where he won the title before a one-season spell with Nuremburg.

In 2014 he joined Eintracht and has played more than 150 times for the Commerzbank Arena outfit with whom he lifted the German Cup in 2018.

He retired from international football after the 2018 World Cup having won 114 caps for Japan.

In May Hasebe announced he will take up a position as a club ambassador from next month and maintain a dual role during his 14th season in Germany in 2020-2021.

Eintracht are in 11th place in the table having only won once since the season returned after a two-month break due to the coronavirus pandemic.