South East Asian countries’ top football divisions may not be well known around the globe, but that didn’t prevent international stars to come and play there.
Here’s the list of eight international stars who played for Southeast Asia leagues.
1. Mario Kempes (Argentina)
A prolific goalscorer, at club level he is best known for playing for Valencia, finishing as La Liga’s top goalscorer twice, and scored 116 goals in 184 league games for the club.
At the international level, Kempes was the main inspiration for Argentina’s 1978 World Cup win where he scored twice in the final, and received the Golden Boot as top goalscorer. He also won the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament, making him one of only three players to have won all three awards at a single World Cup.
In 2004 he was named as one of the Top 125 greatest living footballers as part of FIFA’s 100th-anniversary celebration.
Kempes was a player-manager for Pelita Jaya (now known as Madura United FC) in Indonesia for the 1995-96 season, scoring 12 goals in 18 league matches.