10. Mark Milligan
Nicknamed ‘Popeye’ by Shanghai Shenhua fans due to his long throws, Milligan has admirers all over Asia and news of his international retirement last year was widely reported.
After his spell in China, the midfielder went to JEF United in Japan and then United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Highly-spoken of wherever he went, a real professional.
9. Erik Paartalu
The list of Asian countries on this player’s CV is long. The midfielder has seen action in China, South Korea, Thailand, Qatar and now India.
Paartalu has saved his best for last and has become a mainstay for Bengaluru, one of the top teams in South Asia, and helped the Blues win the title last year. Has done so well that he has been offered a new contract. Not bad for a 33-year-old.
8. Adam Taggart
Taggart has not been in Asia that long but has already made his mark and did so time and time again in a debut season with Korea Republic's Suwon Bluewings that will go down as one of the best ever.
The K-League can be a difficult one to adapt to, especially for strikers. Yet the Aussie ended up as the top scorer with a hugely impressive 20 goals. Was starting to attract serious attention from clubs with deeper pockets in China and Japan before the coronavirus intervened.
7. Alex Brosque
Asamoah Gyan got many of the goals and headlines for UAE giant Al Ain but fans in the city appreciated Alex Brosque just as much for his contribution to winning the league title in 2013.
The Sydney FC legend achieved the rare feat of being successful at both ends of Asia and is still well-thought of by fans of Japan's Shimizu S-Pulse.
6. Tony Popovic
In the late nineties and early noughties, you could barely kick a ball at Sanfrecce Hiroshima without it hitting an Aussie. Graham Arnold, Phil Stubbins, Aurelio Vidmar, Steve Corica and Hayden Foxe all spent time in Chugoku helping out the Purple Archers.
Popovic, who captained the team, was a consistent and solid presence in the backline for almost five years and showed the ability to read the game that was to serve him so well when leading Western Sydney Wanderers to the AFC Champions League title in 2014.
5. Alex Wilkinson
The centre-back struggled a little when he first joined Jeonbuk Motors in South Korea back in 2012 and there was even talk early on that he may return down under sooner before the first season was over.
He stayed though, and went on to become a valued member of one of Asia’s best and biggest teams. In his four seasons in Korea’s southwest, Wilkinson lifted the league trophy twice and also made the team of the season.
4. Brad Jones
The goalkeeper has had a long career where he made his name in Europe but there can be few accomplishments to match winning the Saudi championship with Al Nassr last year.
The former Liverpool and Feyenoord number one has been a standout between the sticks in a league that is more famous for formidable foreign forwards than imported goalkeepers.
3. Scott Ollerenshaw
Malaysia can be an unforgiving place for foreign players and you have to produce from the get go. Ollerenshaw did just that as he became a Sabah legend in the mid-nineties.
The ‘Ginger Maradona’ averaged a goal a game in four seasons for the club and is still revered on the island of Borneo and elsewhere. One of the best Aussies exports anywhere, not just in Asia.
2. Josh Kennedy
There were a few eyebrows raised in 2009 when Nagoya Grampus coach Dragan Stojkovic signed one of the tallest strikers in Asian football, but Kennedy wasted little time in settling into the club’s style.
The following year, the Aichi outfit finally got their long-awaited title and Kennedy more than played his part in the success. ‘Jesus’ scored 17 league goals that year, a tally that included some vital strikes.
In all, he stayed in Japan from 2009 to 2014 and averaged almost a goal every other game in those 150 appearances. No wonder he was popular.
1. Sasa Ognenovski
There was little inkling that the big centre-back was going to change Asian football when he arrived at Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in 2009.
‘Sasa’, as he was called throughout his time in South Korea, was inspirational on and off the pitch and played a major role in Seongnam becoming the Champions of Asia in 2010.
Within a month he had been named Asian Footballer of the Year, the first, and so far the only, Aussie to do so. He helped pave the way for many compatriots to follow.
