japan football| 有名人の最新ニュースを読者にお届けします。

私たちは、人々が好きな有名人について読んで、それについて気分を良くすることができるスペースを作りたかったのです.私たちは、人々が有名人についてポジティブな方法でゴシップできる場所を作りたかった.
私たちは、何年もの間、日本のエンターテインメント ニュースを生き、呼吸してきた情熱的なエンターテインメント ニュース ジャンキーの小さなチームです。

japan football, Aug 20, 2011, 柳沢スーパーシュート !! from YouTube · Duration: 38 seconds , , Diego Dantas

概要と特徴

チームカラー

現在は基本色として青、サブカラーに白を使用している。青は「日本の国土を象徴する海と空の青」を表すとされているが、これは、後付の説明で採用時の正確な理由は日本サッカー協会に資料が現存せず、不明のままである（日本サッカー協会公式見解）^[5]。

日本代表にとって初の国際試合となった1917年極東選手権では、東京高等師範学校（現：筑波大学）が日本代表として出場したため、東京高等師範学校ユニホームである海老茶色のシャツ（黒のパンツ、白の鉢巻）をそのまま使用した^[6]。1930年の極東選手権の日本代表に大半の選手を送り込んだ東京帝国大学は淡青（ライトブルー）のシャツであった^[6][7]。1936年ベルリン五輪に出場した早稲田大学主体の選抜チームの日本代表は1930年の極東選手権の代表チームと同じ淡青のシャツを採用し、それ以降もチームカラーとして青が定着することになった^[6][7]。

1964年東京オリンピックでは、上下共に白、1968年メキシコオリンピックでは白のシャツに紺のパンツとなり、1970年代以降は白と青が交互に基調とされるようになった。1988年に日本代表監督に就任した横山謙三の意向により、日本代表のユニフォームは日本の旗「日の丸」の色である赤に同年変更され、胸には従来あった日の丸（1980年代半ばからは右下に青字の「J.F.A.」の文字が入る）ではなく三本足の八咫烏（やたがらす）が付けられるようになった（ユニフォームの胸の八咫烏のエンブレムは現在も続けて採用されている）。横山が監督を更迭されると、1992年に青を基調としたユニフォームに戻され現在も続いている^[6][8]。

歴代ユニフォーム

ファーストユニフォーム

セカンドユニフォーム

愛称

2005年10月、日本サッカー協会は5つの候補の中から一般投票を行い、2006年1月27日に他の候補に2倍以上の得票数を獲得した「SAMURAI BLUE 2006」を2006年ワールドカップに向けた愛称にすることが発表された。2009年10月19日には「SAMURAI BLUE（サムライ・ブルー）」を公式のペットネームとすると定められた^[9]。

マスメディアでは、横山が代表監督となった際に「横山ジャパン」という呼称が使われるようになり、以降「監督名+ジャパン」という呼称が用いられている。フィリップ・トルシエの代表監督時代は、「トルシエ・ニッポン」という呼称も使用されていた^{[10][11][12][13]}。

海外メディアでは「ライジング・サン」や「ブルー・サムライ」、「ブルーズ」という愛称もある^[14]。

マスコット

三本足のカラスである八咫烏をモチーフにした「カラッペ」と「カララ」がマスコットキャラクター。デザインは、松下進が行った。チームユニフォームのデザインが変更される度に、2匹のユニフォームもそれに合わせて手直しされている。

日本代表グッズ

大日本蹴球協會は、1936年ベルリンオリンピック（「ベルリンの奇跡」の大会）へ日本代表を派遣する費用のうち、大日本體育協會から支給される旅費以外の経費3万円を調達するため、浴衣地や手拭の販売など積極的に募金活動をした^[15]。これを端緒にのちの「日本代表グッズ」へつながり^[6]、現在はレプリカユニフォームやタオルマフラーなどが販売されている。

プレースタイル

最初期の日本のプレースタイルであったショートパス戦法は1920年（大正9年）頃から日本国内で指導し、1923年（大正12年）8月には『How to play association football』という日本語版の指導書を出版したチョウ・ディンによりもたらされた^[6][16]。後にテクニカルなブラジルスタイルを模倣するようになった^[17]。

1960年代から1970年代の代表チームのFWであった釜本邦茂以降はシュート・得点能力に優れるFWの選手が存在せず、ゴール前での絶好のシュートチャンスを決めきれないという特徴がある^[18]。この特徴はしばしば「決定力不足」と形容される^[18]。

このように、サッカー日本代表は悪質なファウルなどが他のナショナルチームと比べて少なく、世代別代表も含め国際大会ではフェアプレー賞を多く受賞している。

ワールドカップにおいては、初出場以来連続全21試合でレッドカードが0という歴代世界最高連続記録を持っており、FIFAも公式HP内で紹介している^[19]（2018年ロシアワールドカップ決勝トーナメント1回戦ベルギー戦終了時現在。FIFAワールドカップにおける記録も参照）。

悪質なファウルが少ないというイメージを持たれてはいたが、キリンチャレンジカップ2022のブラジル戦では監督のアデノール・レオナルド・バッチが「日本はファウルを武器として使った。これは重いことだ」、コーチのセザール・サンパイオが「日本の暴力的なファウルはブラジルを驚かせた。私の知っている日本とは違う。明らかにいきすぎだった」と従来のイメージと異なる戦術を取ったと批判された。ちなみにこの試合で19のファウルのうち13はネイマールに対するものだった^[20]。

詳細については、次の URL をご覧ください。……

History[edit]

Pre-war era (1910s–1930s)[edit]

Japan’s earliest international matches were at the 1917 Far Eastern Championship Games in Tokyo, where it was represented by a team from the Tokyo Higher Normal School. Although Japan made strong showings in swimming, baseball, and track and field, its football team suffered resounding defeats to the Republic of China and the Philippines.^[10] Nevertheless, the game was promoted in Japanese schools in the 1920s.^[11] The Japan Football Association was formed in 1921,^[12] and Japan joined FIFA in May 1929.^[11]

Japan’s first “true” national team (as opposed to a university team chosen to represent the country) was fielded at the 1930 Far Eastern Championship Games, and drew with China for the championship title.^[11] Shigeyoshi Suzuki coached the national team to its first Olympic appearance at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin.^[12] Japan was an entrant for the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, but withdrew before its scheduled qualifying match against the Dutch East Indies.^[13]

After World War II began in earnest, Japan did not play in international competition, except for a handful of matches against Manchuria and other colonies.^[11] Its last prewar match for purposes of Elo ratings was a friendly against the Philippines in June 1940.^[14]

While Korea was under Japanese rule, multiple Koreans played in international competition for Japan, including Kim Yong-sik (1936–40), Kim Sung-gan (1940) and Lee Yoo-hyung (1940).

Post-war Era (1950s–1980s)[edit]

Japan’s postwar debut was in the 1951 Asian Games in India.^[14] Japan re-joined FIFA in 1950 and played in qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, but lost the AFC qualifying berth to South Korea after two matches, beginning an intense rivalry.^[12] Japan also joined the Asian Football Confederation in 1954.^[11]

Dettmar Cramer joined the Japan national team as coach in 1960, and helped lead the team to the round of eight at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.^[15] Japan’s first major achievement in international football came in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where the team won the bronze medal. Although this result earned the sport increased recognition in Japan, the absence of a professional domestic league hindered its growth and Japan would not qualify for the FIFA World Cup until 30 years later.^[16] Nonetheless, Japan had come close to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost to South Korea in the deciding matches.

Japan made its first appearance in the Asian Cup in 1988, where they were eliminated in the group stage following a draw with Iran and losses to South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

The late 1980s saw concrete moves to professionalize the sport in Japan. JFA introduced a Special Licensed Player system in 1986, allowing a limited number of professional players to compete in the domestic semi-professional league. Action committees were held in 1988 and 1989 to discuss the introduction of a full professional league in Japan.^[15]

1990s: Rise[edit]

In 1991, the owners of the semi-professional Japan Soccer League agreed to disband the league and re-form as the professional J.League, partly to raise the sport’s profile and to strengthen the national team program. The following year, Japan hosted the 1992 Asian Cup and won their first title by defeating Saudi Arabia 1–0 in the final. The J.League was officially launched in 1993.

However, in its first attempt to qualify with professional players, Japan narrowly missed a ticket to the 1994 World Cup after drawing with Iraq in the final match of the qualification round, remembered by fans as the “Agony of Doha“. Japan’s next tournament was a defence of their continental title at the 1996 Asian Cup. The team won all their games in the group stage but were eliminated in the quarter-finals after a 2–0 loss to Kuwait.

The nation’s first ever World Cup appearance was in 1998, where Japan lost all their games. The first two fixtures went 1–0 in favour of Argentina and Croatia, and the campaign ended with a 2–1 defeat to Jamaica. Japan impressed in all three games, however, with all three defeats were just one goal margin.

2000s[edit]

In the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, Japan managed to reclaim their title after defeating Saudi Arabia in the final, becoming Asian champions for the second time.

Two years later, Japan co-hosted the 2002 World Cup with South Korea. After a 2–2 draw with Belgium in their opening match, the Japanese team advanced to the second round with a 1–0 win over Russia and a 2–0 victory against Tunisia. However, they subsequently exited the tournament during the round of 16, after losing 1–0 to eventual third-place finishers Turkey.

With the 2004 AFC Asian Cup hosted by China, the Japanese managed to retain the title by winning their group after two victories over Thailand and Oman, before surpassing Jordan and Bahrain. They won against China in the final 3–1.

On 8 June 2005, Japan qualified for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, its third consecutive World Cup, by beating North Korea 2–0 on neutral ground. However, Japan failed to advance to the round of 16, losing to Australia 1–3, drawing Croatia 0–0 and losing to Brazil 1–4.

The 2007 AFC Asian Cup saw Japan failed to defend the title. Although easily winning the group Vietnam and two Arab rivals, Qatar and the UAE, the Japanese were totally exhausted in their game against Australia, where Japan won only by a penalty shootout. Japan lost to Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals before failing in the third-place match against South Korea.

2010s[edit]

During the 2010 World Cup qualification, in the fourth round of the Asian Qualifiers, Japan became the first team other than the host South Africa to qualify after defeating Uzbekistan 1–0 away. Japan was drawn in Group E along with the Netherlands, Denmark and Cameroon.^[17] Japan started with a 1–0 win against Cameroon, before subsequently losing to the Netherlands 0–1. Then, Japan resoundingly beat Denmark 3–1 to advance to the next round against Paraguay. In the round of 16, Japan were eliminated from the competition following penalties after a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.

After the World Cup, head coach Takeshi Okada resigned. He was replaced by former Juventus and Milan coach Alberto Zaccheroni. In his first few matches, Japan recorded victories over Guatemala (2–1) and Paraguay (1–0), as well as a 1–0 victory over Argentina.

In 2011, Japan participated in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. On 29 January, they beat Australia 1–0 in the final after extra time, their fourth Asian Cup triumph and allowing them to qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.^[18]

Japan then started their road to 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Throughout, they suffered only two losses to Uzbekistan and Jordan, and drawing against Australia. Afterwards, on 12 October, Japan earned a historic 1–0 victory over France. After a 1–1 draw with Australia they qualified for the 2014 World Cup, becoming the first nation aside from Brazil to qualify.

Japan started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign with a 3–0 loss to Brazil. They were then eliminated from the competition after losing to Italy 3–4. They lost their final match 1–2 against Mexico and finished in fourth place in Group A. One month later, in the EAFF East Asian Cup, they started out with a 3–3 draw to China. They then beat Australia 3–2 and beat South Korea 2–1 in the third and final match in the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup to claim the title.

Japan was placed into Group C at the 2014 World Cup alongside the Ivory Coast, Greece and Colombia. They fell in their first match to Ivory Coast 2–1 after initially taking the lead, allowing two goals in a two-minute span. They drew their second game to Greece 0–0. To qualify for the second round, they needed a victory against Colombia and Greece to win against Ivory Coast. Greece beat Ivory Coast 2–1, but Colombia won 4–1, eliminating Japan from the World Cup. Alberto Zaccheroni resigned as head coach. In July 2014, former Mexico and Espanyol manager Javier Aguirre took over and Japan lost 0–2 to Uruguay in the first game he managed.

Japan won its opening match at the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Group D against Asian Cup debutantes Palestine 4–0, with goals from Yasuhito Endō, Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda via a penalty and Maya Yoshida. Okazaki was named man of the match. They then faced Iraq and Jordan in their next group matches, which they won 1–0 and 2–0 respectively. They qualified to knockout stage as Group D winner with nine points, seven goals scored and no goals conceded. In the quarter-finals, Japan lost to the United Arab Emirates in a penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw, as Honda and Shinji Kagawa missed their penalty kicks. Japan’s elimination marked their worst performance in the tournament in 19 years.

After the Asian Cup, Aguirre was sacked following allegations of corruption during a prior tenure. He was replaced by Vahid Halilhodžić in March 2015. Japan started on a rough note during qualification, losing to the UAE 1–2 at home. They then picked up the pace in their other qualifier games against Iraq, Australia, and Thailand, picking up 5 wins and 2 draws. Then, on 31 August 2017, Japan defeated Australia 2–0 at home thus qualifying them for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, making it their sixth successive World Cup. However, the Japan Football Association decided to sack Halilhodžić on 9 April 2018, only ten weeks before the World Cup finals, citing reasons of a breakdown in relationship between coach and player, and poor recent friendly results, and appoint the Technical Director, Japanese coach Akira Nishino, who had managed the Japanese Under-23 team at the 1996 Olympics, as the new manager.^[19]

Japan made history in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by defeating Colombia 2–1, their first ever victory by any AFC team against a CONMEBOL team in an official tournament,^[20] as well as Japan’s first ever victory at the FIFA World Cup finals in UEFA nations. Their second match ended in a draw against Senegal, with one goal scored by Takashi Inui and the other by Keisuke Honda.^[21] Japan were defeated in their last group game in the Group H against Poland 0–1,^[22] leaving Japan and Senegal tied for second with an identical record, however, as Japan had received two fewer yellow cards, Japan advanced to the knockout stage on the Fair Play Points tiebreaker, the first team to do so.^[23] The match with Poland caused controversy; as Japan were made aware of their advantage over Senegal with ten minutes left and decided to play an extremely conservative game, passing the ball around to one another and keeping it in their own box, seeking to avoid any bookings and didn’t attempt to take any serious shots on goal, despite losing 0–1, with some fans booing the players.^[24][25][26] The match received comparison to the 1982 World Cup Disgrace of Gijón, in which a similar game was played.^[27] Japan were the only AFC team to have qualified to the knockout stage.^[28] In the Round of 16 against Belgium, Japan took a surprising 2–0 lead with a goal in the 48th minute by Genki Haraguchi and another in the 52nd by Takashi Inui, but yielded 3 goals afterwards, including the winner by Nacer Chadli on the counterattack in the 94th minute. This was Japan’s third time having reached the last 16, equaling their best result at a World Cup.^[29] Japan’s defeat to eventual third-place finishers Belgium was the first time a nation had lost a knockout match at the World Cup after taking a two-goal advantage since England lost to West Germany 2–3 in extra-time in the quarter-final of the 1970 edition.^[30][31] This unfortunate scenario was due to the naivety of the Nipponese,^[32][33][34] who were very offensive and did not fall back enough in defense once the two-goal lead was acquired (unlike France, eventual champion, in the semifinals who played low block against these same Belgians with success), leaving a lot of space to the Belgians, who also took advantage of their physical and athletic superiority to turn the game around. However, Japan’s impressive performance was praised by fans, pundits and medias for their fighting spirits, as demonstrated by Japan’s win over Colombia, a draw to Senegal and a strong counter offensive against heavyweight Belgium.^[35]

Japan participated in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup and had an almost successful tournament. The team easily topped group F after defeating Turkmenistan 3–2,^[36] Oman 1–0^[37] and Uzbekistan 2–1.^[38] The team, however, got criticized for its defensive approach (as the offensive approach lead to a regretful scenario against Belgium during the World Cup 2018), as Japan won the group with only one goal margin wins in all three matches and two later knockout stage’s matches as Japan only beat fellow powerhouse Saudi Arabia in the round of sixteen and dark horse Vietnam in the quarter-finals both with 1–0 margin.^[39][40] After defeating Iran 3–0 to reach the final, Japan’s hope to win their fifth Asian Cup in two decades shattered with the team suffering a 1–3 loss to Qatar, who won the Asian Cup for the first time.^[41]

Japan were invited to the 2019 Copa America, their second appearance at the tournament, and brought a young squad to the competition. They were in Group C with Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador. They lost their opening match, 0–4 to Chile.^[42] Japan, however, bounced back well and managed to unluckily draw against football giants Uruguay 2–2, who (Uruguay) were deemed to been saved by VAR.^[43] Japan needed a win against Ecuador to qualify for the knockouts, however they drew 1–1 and missed out due to inferior goal differences to Paraguay.^[44] Aftermath saw Japan played a friendly game against the Paraguayans, and won 2–0 at home.

2020s[edit]

Japan qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and were grouped with Germany, Costa Rica and Spain in Group E.

After China was removed as host of the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship, it was announced that Japan was the new host; Japan won the championship after topping the table with two wins and one draw.^[45]

詳細については、次の URL をご覧ください。……

History[edit]

The organisation was founded in 1921 as the Greater Japan Football Association (大日本蹴球協会, Dai-Nippon Shūkyū Kyōkai), and became affiliated with FIFA in 1921.^[1] In 1945, the name of the organisation was changed to the Japan Football Association (日本蹴球協会, Nihon Shūkyū Kyōkai); its Japanese name was changed to the current title in 1975. This reflected common use of the word sakkā (サッカー), derived from “soccer”, rather than the older Japanese word shūkyū (蹴球; literally “kick-ball”). The word sakkā gained popularity during the post-World War II occupation of Japan by the United States-led Allied powers. The association generally translates its name to “Japan Football Association” in English,^[5] though “Japan Soccer Association” is also used.^[6]

Source: JFA (in English)

National teams[edit]

• List of international matches (in English)

Men’s[edit]

Last updated: 9 February 2022

Women’s[edit]

Last updated: 9 February 2022

詳細については、次の URL をご覧ください。……

Contents

• 1 Players
• 2 See also
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Players[edit]

^[1][2]

• Bold players have been called up to the Japan national football team in the last 12 months.

詳細については、次の URL をご覧ください。……

Club career[edit]

Nagoya Grampus[edit]

Born in Nagasaki, Japan, Yoshida began playing football at Nanling FC in his second year at elementary school.^[3][4] His older brother, Honami, played an important role in starting his football career when he searched on the internet for Nagoya Grampus‘s U-15 team and this led Yoshida to join the U-15 side.^[3] Once Yoshida has joined, Yoshida relocated to Nagoya to be close at Nagoya Grampus and attended Toyota High School.^[3][4][5]

After spending five years at Nagoya Grampus Youth Academy, he was promoted to the first team in the 2007 season, having signed his first professional contract.^[6] Yoshida joined the club’s first team training soon after and started out in a defensive midfielder when playing for Grampus’s youth team, but was converted to a centre back.^[7] After spending months on the substitute bench, Yoshida finally made his debut for the club, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 2–1 loss against Oita Trinita on 3 May 2007.^[8] Since then, he became a first team regular for the side, playing in the centre–back position.^[9] It wasn’t until on 5 November 2007 when Yoshida scored his first Nagoya Grampus goal, in a 3–1 win against Thespa Kusatsu in the fourth round of the Emperor’s Cup.^[10] At the end of the 2007 season, he went on to make twenty–four appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

In the 2008 season, Yoshida began to feature in the starting line-up for most of the league matches with his Serbian teammate Miloš Bajalica.^[11] He started the season well when he helped the side go on an unbeaten with seven matches in all competitions.^[12] Yoshida continued to feature in the first team until he was called up to the Japan U23 squad in July.^[13] After Japan U23’s elimination in the Summer Olympics, it wasn’t until on 23 August 2008 when Yoshida returned to the starting line-up against Kashima Antlers and scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win.^[14] Following this, he lost his first team place and was placed on the substitute bench for the next five matches, leading his playing time to be reduced.^[15] Yoshida’s second goal then came on 2 November 2008 against FC Gifu in the fourth round of the Emperor’s Cup and helped them win 1–0.^[16] By mid–October, he regained his first team place for the remaining matches of the season and helped the side finish third place in the league.^[17] For his performance, Yoshida was award Rookie of the Year at the 14th Aichi Toyota “Grand Pass Rankle Award”.^[18] At the end of the 2008 season, he went on to make twenty–nine appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2009 season, Yoshida switched number shirt to four.^[19] He scored Nagoya Grampus‘s historical first goal in the AFC Champions League in the game against Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i on 10 March 2009.^[20] Yoshida continued to regain his first team place for the side, playing in the centre–back position.^[21] A month later on 26 April 2009, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against Yokohama F. Marinos.^[22] However, Yoshida suffered a calf injury that saw him sidelined for two weeks.^[23] Yoshida made his first team return on 18 July 2009 and started the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against Kyoto Sanga.^[24] He scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against FC Tokyo eleven days later on 29 July 2009, but the club was eliminated in the J.League Cup following a 6–3 on aggregate.^[25] Yoshida later added two more goals throughout September, scoring against Kashiwa Reysol and Kawasaki Frontale.^[26][27] Since returning to the first team, Yoshida regained his first team place for the remaining matches of the season.^[28] He later added two more goals throughout October.^[29] Yoshida scored his eighth goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Júbilo Iwata in the fourth round of the Emperor’s Cup.^[30] He later helped the club to reach the Emperor’s Cup final after beating Shimizu S-Pulse 5–4 on penalty shoot–out following a 1–1 draw throughout 120 minutes.^[31] However, he started in the Emperor’s Cup Final against Gamba Osaka, as Nagoya Grampus lost 4–1 in what turned out to be his last appearance for the club.^[32] At the end of the 2009 season, Yoshida went on to make forty–eight appearances and scoring eight times in all competitions.

VVV-Venlo[edit]

In December 2009, it was announced that Yoshida had transferred to Dutch club VVV-Venlo, signing a three–year contract.^[33] He had desired to play for a club in Europe since he was young. Keisuke Honda, who was his teammate at Nagoya Grampus, introduced his agent, Tetsuro Kiyooka to support his future vision.^[34] Indeed, Yoshida followed the footsteps of Keisuke Honda who also played for VVV-Venlo before he joined them.^[35] However, Yoshida’s start to VVV-Venlo career suffered a setback when he fractured his foot and left him sidelined for the rest of the 2009–10 season.^[36]

At the start of the 2010–11 season, Yoshida continued to recover from his fractured foot.^[37] It wasn’t until on 30 October 2010 when he made his VVV-Venlo debut, coming on as a 75th-minute substitute, and set up the club’s third goal of the game, in a 5–3 loss against FC Groningen.^[38] Since making his debut, Yoshida quickly became a first team regular for the side.^[39] After spending January with Japan in the Asian Cup and winning the tournament, he made his first team return, starting the whole game, in a 3–0 win against NAC Breda on 5 February 2011.^[40] Yoshida later regained his first team place for the remaining matches of the season, as VVV-Venlo qualified for the relegation play–offs.^[41] He started all the four matches in the relegation play–offs and helped the club retain their Eredivisie league status.^[42] At the end of the 2010–11 season, Yoshida went on to make twenty–four appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2011–12 season, Yoshida continued to retain his first team place for the side, playing in the centre–back position.^[43] He scored a bicycle kick goal for VVV-Venlo off a corner kick on 11 September 2011 against PSV Eindhoven, as the match ended in a 3–3 draw.^[44] This goal was awarded as “Goal of the Season 2011–2012” of the Eredivisie.^[45] The Yoshida scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against RKC Waalwijk on 22 October 2011.^[46] It wasn’t until on 18 February 2012 when he scored his third goal of the season, in a 4–1 win against De Graafschap.^[47] Yoshida’s fourth goal of the season came on 3 March 2012, in a 2–1 win against NAC Breda.^[48] He scored his fifth goal of the season against Roda JC, but was sent off in the 73rd minute for an unprofessional foul, in a 3–1 loss.^[49] After serving a two match suspension, Yoshida returned to the starting line-up, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against PSV Eindhoven on 31 March 2012.^[50] He later started all the four matches in the relegation play–offs and helped the club retain their Eredivisie league status once again.^[51] Yoshida’s experience in the relegation play–offs led him to write a blog about the subject.^[52] At the end of the 2011–12 season, Yoshida went on to make thirty–seven appearances and scoring five times in all competitions as a central defender.

In the 2012–13 season, Yoshida made two appearances for the side, including one against ADO Den Haag on 25 August 2012, in which he set up the club’s first goal of the game, as they lost 4–2 in what turned out to be his last appearance for VVV-Venlo.^[53]

Southampton[edit]

On 30 August 2012, Yoshida agreed to join newly–promoted Premier League side Southampton on a three-year contract for a fee thought to be in the region of £3 million and was joined by his teammate, Tadanari Lee.^[54] Upon joining the club, he told the Southern Daily Echo that the move to England would help him grow as a player.^[55]

Yoshida made his debut for the Saints on 15 September 2012, against Arsenal in a 6–1 defeat, coming on as a 28th-minute substitute for Jos Hooiveld.^[56] He then made his home debut a week later on 22 September 2012 in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa, playing the whole 90 minutes.^[57] Since joining the club, Yoshida quickly became a first team regular, playing in the centre–back position and forming a partnership with José Fonte.^[58] During a 1–1 draw against Swansea City on 10 November 2012, Yoshida made a poor control to the ball that led to Nathan Dyer scoring an equaliser.^[59] Despite, he continued to retain his first team place against Queens Park Rangers and helped them win 3–1 on 15 November 2012.^[60] Along the way, he was rotated to playing in the left–back and right–back positions.^[61] Since making his debut for Southampton, Yoshida started in every match for the side and helped improve the results on both the club and the player, himself.^[62] Having started the 2012–13 season at the bottom of the table, results have improved and he helped the side avoid relegation by finishing fourteenth place.^[63] In his first season at Southampton, he went on to make thirty–four appearances in all competitions.

However at the start of the 2013–14 season, Yoshida’s first team opportunities became limited under the management of Mauricio Pochettino and he found himself on the substitute bench.^[64] Despite this, he made his first appearance of the season, in a 5–1 win against Barnsley on 27 August 2013.^[65] Yoshida then scored his first goal for Southampton in a 2–1 defeat to Sunderland in the League Cup on 6 November 2013.^[66] A month later on 4 December 2013, he made his first Premier League appearance, starting the whole game, in a 3–2 loss against Aston Villa.^[67] At the start of January, Yoshida had a first team run in following an injury to Dejan Lovren, starting the next six matches and improved with the results.^[68] He scored his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 defeat at West Ham United on 22 February 2014 after a Steven Davis free kick.^[69] But following Lovern’s return, he was once again behind the pecking order in the centre–back competitions, as well as, his own injury concerns.^[70][71] At the end of the 2013–14 season, Yoshida went on to make fourteen appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2014–15 season, Yoshida regained his first team place, playing in the centre–back position, following Lovern’s departure.^[72] However, during a 1–0 win against Swansea City on 20 September 2014, he suffered ankle injury that saw him substituted in the second half, resulting in him sidelined for four weeks.^[73] Although Yoshida returned from injury, he was placed on the substitute bench until on 30 November 2014 against Manchester City, coming on as a second–half substitute, in a 3–0 loss.^[74] His next goal came on 20 December 2014, in a 3–0 victory over Everton, with Steven Davis again providing the assist.^[75] Two weeks later on 8 January 2015, Southampton announced that Yoshida and the club had agreed terms to an extension of his contract until 2018.^[76] After spending January with Japan’s campaign at the AFC Asian Cup, he returned to the starting line-up and played the whole game, in a 1–0 loss against Swansea City on 1 February 2015.^[77] In a follow–up match against Queens Park Rangers, Yoshida played an important role in the game when he set up the only goal of the game, in a 1–0 win.^[78] Towards the end of the season, he found himself in and out of the starting line-up in the first team and demoted on the substitute bench.^[79] Despite this, Yoshida helped the club finish seventh place in the league, resulting in their qualifying for the UEFA Europa League next season.^[80] At the end of the 2014–15 season, he went on to make twenty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

At the start of the 2015–16 season, Yoshida started the season well when he helped a clean sheet in both legs by beating Vitesse 5–0 on aggregate in the third round of the UEFA Europa League.^[81] However, Yoshida was unable to help Southampton reach the Group Stage of the tournament after losing 2–1 on aggregate against Midtjylland.^[82] Despite this, Yoshida helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets between 23 August 2015 and 23 September 2015.^[83] Having started playing in the centre–back position, he played in the right–back position, due to increase competitions among the centre–backs.^[84] During a match against Manchester United on 21 September 2015, Yoshida was at fault when his back pass backfired, allowing Anthony Martial to score, as Southampton lost 3–2.^[85] Following this, Yoshida mostly appeared for the side from the substitute bench, due to strong competitions in the defence.^[86] On 28 October 2015, he scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season with a 20-yard strike against Aston Villa in the League Cup.^[87] Yoshida’s second goal of the season came on 6 February 2016 in a 1–0 victory at St. Mary’s over West Ham United.^[88] The club later finished sixth place in the league, resulting their qualification of the UEFA Europa League once again next season.^[89] At the end of the 2015–16 season, he went on to make twenty–seven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2016–17 season, Yoshida started the match against Watford in the opening game of the season, resulting a 1–1 draw.^[90] However, he became a backup in the club’s centre–back position behind Virgil van Dijk and Fonte.^[91] Despite this, national newspaper Daily Mirror mentioned Yoshida in their article of Premier League pace-setters.^[92] It wasn’t until on 6 November 2016 when he made his return to the starting line-up against Hull City and won a penalty, leading Charlie Austin to successfully convert, leading Southampton losing 2–1.^[93] Amid to the league, Yoshida started all six matches in the UEFA Europa League.^[94] He helped the side keep two clean sheets in the first two matches.^[95] After a famous 2–1 win against Inter Milan on 3 November 2016, their forms declined and were eliminated from the tournament.^[96] It wasn’t until on 7 January 2017 when Yoshida scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Norwich City in the third round of the EFL Cup.^[97] Following the match, he dedicated his goal to his newly born baby daughter.^[98] Yoshida captained the side for the first time in his Southampton’s career, beating Norwich City 1–0 in the third round of the FA Cup replay.^[99] Despite indifferent form on the part of both Yoshida and Southampton as a whole, Southampton became the first team in history to reach the final without conceding a single goal after beating Liverpool 2–0 on aggregate in the EFL semi–finals.^[100] Yoshida previously helped Southampton keep three clean sheets in a built up to the EFL Cup semi–finals.^[101] However, he started in the final, as Southampton lost 3–2 to Manchester United on 26 February 2017.^[102] Following Fonte’s departure from the club, Yoshida regained his first team place for the rest of the season.^[103] It wasn’t until on 5 April 2017 when he scored his second goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against Crystal Palace.^[104] After the match, Manager Claude Puel praised Yoshida’s performance, saying he was “fantastic” and mentioned that he could be “a captain” for Southampton.^[105] In a follow–up, Yoshida captained the side once again, in a 1–0 win against West Bromwich Albion.^[106] He then made his 100th appearance for Southampton and Premier League overall, becoming the first Japanese player to reach the milestone, in a 0–0 draw against Hull City on 29 April 2017.^[107] At the end of the 2016–17 season, which saw the club finish in seventh place, Yoshida went on to make thirty–seven appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

In the 2017–18 season, Yoshida appeared in the first three league matches of the season, including winning a penalty and it was successfully converted by Austin, in a 3–2 win against West Ham United on 19 August 2017.^[108] It was announced on 24 August 2017 that Yoshida signed a further extension of his contract with Southampton until 2020.^[109] He continued to remain in competitions among the centre–backs, which saw him placed on the substitute bench.^[110] It wasn’t until on 30 September 2017 when Yoshida scored his first goal of the season, scoring from a volley in the 75th minute in a 2–1 loss against Stoke City.^[111] By the end of 2017, he captained six out of the eight matches for the side.^[112] Yoshida also scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–1 loss against Leicester City on 13 December 2017.^[113] However, Yoshida suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for two weeks.^[114] It wasn’t until on 27 January 2018 when he made return from injury, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 win against Watford.^[115] Yoshida’s return was short–lived when he suffered a knee injury that kept him out for two months.^[116] It wasn’t until on 8 April 2018 when Yoshida returned to the starting line-up and played for 72 minutes before being substituted, in a 3–2 loss against Arsenal.^[117] Throughout the 2017–18 season, the club have found themselves in a relegation zone, putting their Premier League status under threat.^[118] However, in the penultimate match of the season, a 1–1 draw with Everton on 5 May 2018, he was sent–off for a second bookable offence, so was suspended for the visit to Swansea City from which Southampton needed a win to survive at their hosts’ expense.^[119] The match was won by Southampton, so Swansea City were relegated.^[120] At the end of the 2017–18 season, Yoshida went on to make twenty–eight appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2018–19 season, Yoshida was linked a move away from Southampton, with Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal interested.^[121] But the transfer speculation came to an end after Yoshida announced his intention to stay at the club.^[122] At the start of the season, he found his first team opportunities limited under the management of Mark Hughes.^[123] It wasn’t until on 27 August 2018 when Yoshida made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion in the second round of the EFL Cup.^[124] He soon had a first team run, starting a lot of matches by the end of 2018.^[125] Following his international commitment with Japan at the AFC Asian Cup came to an end, it wasn’t until on 27 February 2019 when Yoshida returned to the starting line-up and helped the side keep a clean sheet, in a 2–0 win against Fulham.^[126] Since returning to the first team, he regained his place for the rest of the season and helped Southampton avoid relegation once again.^[127] Despite being sidelined with an illness that eventually saw him out for the rest of the 2018–19 season, Yoshida went on to make twenty appearances in all competitions.^[128]

In the 2019–20 season, Yoshida made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 loss against Liverpool on 17 August 2019.^[129] He soon had a first team run ins for the next two months.^[130] Following a 9–0 loss to Leicester City in October, Yoshida was dropped to the bench and only played two further times for the team.^[131][132] On 30 June 2020, he confirmed his departure from the club after 8 years.^[133]

Sampdoria[edit]

On 31 January 2020, Yoshida joined Serie A side Sampdoria on loan until the end of the season.^[134] Local newspaper the Southern Daily Echo described Yoshida’s departure as the “end of an era”.^[135]

Having appeared on the substitute bench for two matches, Yoshida made his Sampdoria debut against Hellas Verona on 8 March 2020 and played the whole game, as the club won 2–1.^[136] Following his debut for Sampdoria, he quickly became a fan favourite among the club’s supporters.^[137] However, this turns out to be his only appearance for Sampdoria, as the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[138] He remained an integral part of the club once the season resumed behind closed doors.^[139] In a match against Udinese on 12 July 2020, Yoshida set up a goal for Manolo Gabbiadini to help Sampdoria secure a 3–1 win.^[140] By the end of the 2019–20 season, Yoshida made fourteen appearances in all competitions.

After two months of negotiations over a permanent move, Yoshida returned to Sampdoria, signing a one–year contract with the club and took a pay cut upon doing so.^[141] His first game after signing for Sampdoria on a permanent basis came in the opening game of the season against Juventus, coming on as a second half substititute, in a 3–0 loss.^[142] Since joining the club, he found himself facing competitions in the centre–back positions with Omar Colley and Lorenzo Tonelli.^[143] Despite this, Yoshida continued to remain in the starting line–up, forming a centre–back partnership with either Colley or Tonelli.^[144] Halfway through the 2020–21 season, Yoshida played in the right–back position three times between 23 December 2020 and 6 January 2021, due to the absent of Bartosz Bereszyński.^[145] Following the return of Bereszyński, he returned to playing in the centre–back position for the rest of the 2020–21 season.^[146] On 19 January 2021, Yoshida signed a two–year contract with the club, keeping him until 2022.^[147] He scored his first goal for the Blucerchiati on 24 January 2021 against Parma.^[148] Despite suffering setbacks on two occasions throughout the 2020–21 season, Yoshida made thirty–four appearances and scoring once in all competitions.^[149]

Schalke 04[edit]

On 5 July 2022, he was unveiled as a new Schalke 04 player, signing a one-year contract extending until 30 June, with a renewal option in his contract.^[150]

詳細については、次の URL をご覧ください。……

Team image[edit]

Nicknames[edit]

“サムライ・ブルー (Samurai Blue)” basically refers to the Japan national football team, but the under-23 football team are sometimes referred to as “Young” Samurai Blue. However, in reality, Samurai Blue is not often used.

Rivalries[edit]

South Korea[edit]

Japan maintains a strong football rivalry with South Korea.

Media coverage[edit]

Summer Olympics[edit]

AFC U-23 Asian Cup[edit]

Friendly and Qualifiers[edit]

Dubai Cup U-23

詳細については、次の URL をご覧ください。……