21 Feb Keisuke Honda to end 12-year Japan wait

Keisuke Honda will play in his first club game in Japan in 12 years after Melbourne Victory were pitted with J-League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the Asian Champions League group stages.

Honda’s last appearance in Japanese club football was in 2007 when playing for Nagoya Grampus, where he made a total of 105 appearances in all competitions.

The Victory travel to take on Sanfrecce on March 12 before hosting the three-time J-League champions on May 22 in the final matchday in Group F.

Four-time A-League champion and former Victory striker, Besart Berisha, is contracted to Sanfrecce but has struggled for game time since moving to Japan in 2018.

Honda, 32, is one of the finest footballers to come out of Japan, winning 98 caps and scoring 37 goals in his decade long international career.

The playmaker played in four World Cups and became the first Japanese player to score in three editions of the tournament.

Honda update, for Kubota – Building Australia.