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5 Asian players with the most Serie A goals

Shunsuke Nakamura is one of the most prolific Asian scorers in Serie A history.
Shunsuke Nakamura is one of the most prolific Asian scorers in Serie A history.

Unlike the English Premier League or the German Bundesliga, the Italian Serie A doesn't boast too many Asian players to have graced the competition.

In fact, quite unbelievably, only 32 players from the continent have ever plied their trade in the Italian top flight.

Top five Asian goal-scorers in the Serie A

Despite not many players from Asia playing in the Serie A, some of the greatest Asian players to have played the game have plied their trade in the competition.

On that note, let's have a look at the five most prolific of them all:

#5 Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan) - 11 goals

Shunsuke Nakamura's exploits in Serie A attracted interest from Europe's top-five league clubs;
Shunsuke Nakamura's exploits in Serie A attracted interest from Europe's top-five league clubs;

One of the few Asian players to have been nominated for the prestigious Ballon d'Or award, Shunsuke Nakamura is most fondly remembered for his time at Celtic, where he became one of the greatest Asian players to ever play in Europe.

But long before that, the former Japanese midfielder had three decent seasons in the Serie A with Reggina, making 81 league appearances and scoring 11 times.

However, due to injuries, he struggled to force his way into Walter Mazzari's XI towards the latter part of his Serie A tenure. The club's frequent flirts with relegation also disconcerted Nakamura, who moved to Glasgow in 2005.


#4 Ilyos Zeytulayev (Uzbekistan) - 11 goals

Ilyos Zeytulayev was the first-ever Uzbek player to grace the Serie A.
Ilyos Zeytulayev was the first-ever Uzbek player to grace the Serie A.

Before Eldor Shomurodov signed for Genoa last year, there was just one Uzbek player to have played in the Serie A, a little known Juventus reject by the name Ilyos Zeytulayev.

After starting his career with the Bianconeri's youth side, Zeytulayev was unable to register with the senior team due to certain regulations involving non-EU players by the Italian Football Federation.

That paved his way for a move to Reggina in 2005, where he made just two Serie A appearances. Zytulayev then went on a loan spree, trying his luck with Crotone, Genoa and Vincenza in the next 12 months.

The three stints yielded just three Serie A goals - all of them coming for Crotone. The Uzbek found a permanent home in Verona in 2007. But once again, his first-team opportunities were limited, as he featured in just 13 top-flight games.

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