J. League fans will be sorry he did not stick around longer, but there can be no denying the opportunity facing Takashi Usami as he prepares to begin a six-month loan spell at Bayern Munich.
Usami on Monday confirmed Japanese soccer's worst-kept secret when he announced his move from Gamba Osaka to the German Bundesliga, revealing that he turned down offers from Italian club Atalanta and Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon to join the Bavarian giants.
There can be few more daunting places to begin a European career than a club that has won the continent's top prize four times and goes by the nickname "FC Hollywood," but Usami does not appear star-struck in the least.