Yoichiro Kakitani
柿谷 曜一朗
Birth date3 January 1990 (age 36)
Birth placeOsaka, Japan
Height1.76 m[1]
PositionForward, attacking midfielder
Youthyears 11994–2005
Youthclubs 1Cerezo Osaka
Years 12006–2014
Clubs 1Cerezo Osaka
Caps 1129
Goals 137
Years 22009–2011
Clubs 2→ Tokushima Vortis (loan)
Caps 297
Goals 214
Years 32014–2015
Clubs 3FC Basel
Caps 318
Goals 34
Years 42016–2021
Clubs 4Cerezo Osaka
Caps 4124
Goals 420
Years 52021–2022
Clubs 5Nagoya Grampus
Caps 557
Goals 55
Years 62023–2024
Clubs 6Tokushima Vortis
Caps 629
Goals 60
Nationalyears 12005–2007
Nationalteam 1Japan U17
Nationalcaps 19
Nationalgoals 16
Nationalyears 22007–2009
Nationalteam 2Japan U20
Nationalcaps 28
Nationalgoals 23
Nationalyears 32013–2014
Nationalteam 3Japan
Nationalcaps 318
Nationalgoals 35
Club-update5 January 2023, 21:23 (UTC)
Nationalteam-update14 October 2014

Yoichiro Kakitani (柿谷 曜一朗, Kakitani Yōichirō) (born 3 January 1990) is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a forward or an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Cerezo Osaka

Born in Osaka, Kakitani joined Cerezo Osaka's youth team at the age of 4. In 2006, he signed his first professional contract with Cerezo at 16 – the club record for the youngest player signed to a professional contract. He played his first J-League game on 26 November 2006. He also trained with the Arsenal F.C. and Inter Milan youth teams.

Kakitani entered the e-School[2] of Human Sciences, Waseda University in 2008. Kakitani was loaned to Tokushima Vortis on 18 June 2009 and returned to Cerezo Osaka in 2012.

Basel

On 7 July 2014 FC Basel announced that they had signed Kakitani on a four-year contract.[3] Kakitani joined Basel to the start of the 2014–15 Swiss Super League season.[4] He joined the team on 17 July for their 2014–15 season under head coach Paulo Sousa.[5] Kakitani played his domestic league debut for the club in the away game in the Stockhorn Arena on 2 August, coming on as a substitute for Mohamed Elneny as Basel won 3–2 against Thun.[6] He scored his first goal for his new club one week later, on 9 August, in the home game in the St. Jakob-Park as Basel won 4–1 against Zürich.[7] The season 2014–15 was a successful one for Basel. Basel entered the Champions League in the group stage. They reached the knockout phase on 9 December 2014, as they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool.[8] But they were knocked out of the competition by Porto in the round of 16. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Basel won the championship for the sixth time in a row.[9] In the 2014–15 Swiss Cup Basel reached the final. However for the third time in a row they finished as runners-up. However, Kakitani failed to make a lasting impression in this season under trainer Paulo Sousa. Of the 50 competition matches (36 Swiss League fixtures – 6 Swiss Cup and 8 Champions League) that Basel played that season, Kakitani appeared in just 28.

In their following season new head coach was Urs Fischer and under him Kakitani played only in seven games. Being unhappy, he decided to return to Japan. During his 18 months with the club, Kakitani played a total of 41 games for Basel scoring a total of 14 goals. 18 of these games were in the Swiss Super League, six in the Swiss Cup, three in the 2014–15 Champions League and 14 were friendly games. He scored four goals in the domestic league, four in the cup and the other six were scored during the test games.[10]

Return to Cerezo Osaka

Unable to establish himself at Basel in the first half of the 2015–2016 season, Kakitani left the club in early January 2016 returning to his home club Cerezo Osaka which had been relegated to the J2 League during his absence.[11] The team has been playing in the J1 League since the 2017 season.

Return to Tokushima Vortis

On 6 January 2023, Kakitani announcement officially return to former club, Tokushima Vortis for upcoming 2023 season, he played for the club on loan in the middle of the 2009 season.

International career

He was named Most Valuable Player in the AFC U-17 Championship 2006 after helping Japan win the tournament, scoring 4 goals.

Kakitani scored two goals at 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in South Korea. Against France he scored a spectacular goal from the halfway line.[12][13]

Kakitani debuted for the Japan senior team at the 2013 EAFF East Asian Cup. He played his first international match against China, scoring his first international goal in the 59th minute. He then scored twice against South Korea in a 2–1 win. His three goals from three matches made him top goalscorer as Japan won the tournament.[14]

Career statistics

Club

.[15][16][17]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueEmperor's CupJ. League CupContinentalTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Cerezo Osaka2006J1 League1000000010
2007J2 League21210–00222
200824000–00240
200962––0062
Total524100000534
Tokushima Vortis2009J2 League27410–00284
201034420–00364
201136610–00376
Total971440–0010114
Cerezo Osaka2012J1 League30113175004017
201334210083004224
2014141000084225
Total7833311588410446
FC Basel2014–15Swiss Super League14334–30207
2015–164120–0061
Total18454–30268
Cerezo Osaka2016J2 League226000000226
2017J1 League346511100408
2018214002031265
2019233114000284
2020241004100282
Total12420621123114425
Nagoya Grampus2021J1 League365405272529
20222102061–291
Total57560113728110
Tokushima Vortis2023J2 League37700–00377
Total0000000000
Career total440862034316217530112

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Japan U17200510
200654
200732
Total96
Japan U20200742
200820
200921
Total83
Japan201394
201491
Total185

Under-17

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kakitani goal.
List of international goals scored by Yoichiro Kakitani
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
15 September 2006Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, SingaporeSingapore1–01–12006 AFC U-17 Championship
211 September 2006Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, SingaporeIran1–01–12006 AFC U-17 Championship
314 September 2006Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, SingaporeSyria2–02–02006 AFC U-17 Championship
417 September 2006Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar, SingaporeNorth Korea1–24–22006 AFC U-17 Championship
519 August 2007Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang, South KoreaHaiti3–13–12007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
625 August 2007Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang, South KoreaFrance1–01–22007 FIFA U-17 World Cup

Under-20

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kakitani goal.
List of international goals scored by Yoichiro Kakitani
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
112 November 2007Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, ThailandMyanmar8–08–02008 AFC Youth Championship qualification
214 November 2007Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok, ThailandLaos2–05–02008 AFC Youth Championship qualification
37 December 2009Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, Hong KongMacao4–05–02009 East Asian Games

Senior team

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kakitani goal.
List of international goals scored by Yoichiro Kakitani[18]
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
121 July 2013Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South KoreaChina2–13–32013 EAFF East Asian Cup
228 July 2013Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South KoreaSouth Korea1–02–12013 EAFF East Asian Cup
32–1
416 November 2013King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, BelgiumBelgium1–13–2Friendly
54 June 2014Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United StatesCosta Rica3–13–1Friendly

Honours

Basel

Cerezo Osaka

Nagoya Grampus

Japan

Japan U-17

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Yoichiro Kakitani" (in Japanese). Nagoya Grampus. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  2. ^ university correspondence education
  3. ^ FC Basel 1893 (7 July 2014). "Welcome to FC Basel 1893 Yoichiro Kakitani". FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  4. ^ "柿谷 スイスのバーゼル移籍決定 ("Kakitani - Moving to Switzerland's Basel")" (in Japanese). NHK. 7 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  5. ^ FC Basel 1893 (17 July 2014). "Yoichiro Kakitani ist in Basel angekommen" (in German). Yoichiro Kakitani has arrived in Basel. FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  6. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2 August 2014). "Der FCB siegt in Thun mit 3:2". FCB wins 3-2 in Thun. Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  7. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (9 August 2014). "FC Basel - FC Zürich 4:1 (2:0)". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  8. ^ McNulty, Phil (9 December 2014). "Liverpool 1-1 Basel". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  9. ^ FC Basel 1893 (29 May 2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer" (in German). The championship Friday in a colorful time lapse. FC Basel 1893 AG. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  10. ^ Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” (2022). "Yoichiro Kakitani - FCB statistic". Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv”. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  11. ^ "Kakitani verlässt den FC Basel" [Kakitani leaves FC Basel] (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  12. ^ FIFA.com. "FIFA U-17 World Cup archive". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2009.
  13. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqjhIbHqRc – YouTube
  14. ^ EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 Final Competition Score Sheet https://www.eaff.com/img/competition/eafc2013/pdf/m2.pdf https://www.eaff.com/img/competition/eafc2013/pdf/m6.pdf
  15. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "J1&J2&J3選手名鑑ハンディ版 2018 (NSK MOOK)", 7 February 2018, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411529 (p. 24 out of 289)
  16. ^ Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社, "2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)", 8 February 2017, Japan, ISBN 978-4905411420 (p. 273 out of 289)
  17. ^ "Japan - Y. Kakitani - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". int.soccerway.com
  18. ^ "Kakitani, Yoichiro". National Football Teams. Retrieved 3 April 2018.