staff search not finding people

Why is it that the staff search doesn't list people that I know exist in the game (because I can find them by their name) when I apply filters?

e.g. I try to find John Park by filtering for JPA/JPP=20, Youngster=20 and he doesn't get listed but he should because the attributes match! No I don't have the "filter unrealistic targets" option set.

Is it because the staff search says "Staff in you region" and I'm managing a german club? If so, how do I search within other regions?

Or is it a game feature?

thanks in advance,

Oliver.

PS: I'd rather not use external tools to find them because they show me info that I'd rather not know (like hidden attributes, potential,...).