Season review of Japanese players in top European leagues #2

La Liga

Takefusa Kubo continues to play central role for Real Sociedad and achieves further growth after also experiencing Champions League

In his second season with Real Sociedad Takefusa Kubo led the team in attack, just as he did last season when he won the team’s Player of the Year award.

After scoring against Girona in the season opener Kubo found the net twice against Granada in Matchweek 4, then added another against Getafe in Matchweek 6 and was named La Liga MVP in September.

He also played for the first time in the Champions League, making a huge contribution as the team advanced to the Round of 16.

Despite being away from the team for a period of time due to his participation in the Asian Cup, Kubo’s seven goals and four assists were enough to equal his contributions from last season.

After the Asian Cup, however, his performance declined slightly, and it was not unusual for him to be on the bench towards the end of the season. The team finished in sixth place and failed to secure a return to the Champions League.

There are reports that a number of big clubs are interested in the 22-year-old, who continues to develop at La Real. With a contract with Real Sociedad that runs until 2027 and a transfer fee reportedly in the range of 60 million euros, it will be interesting to see if any club makes a serious offer for Kubo ahead of next season.

Takefusa Kubo / Real Sociedad
Played 30 matches / 2,154 minutes / 7 goals, 4 assists
Real Sociedad finished in 6th place

Serie A

Daichi Kamada struggles on his debut season in Italy, but change of manager triggers turnaround

Daichi Kamada joined Lazio from Eintracht Frankfurt this season and endured plenty of struggles in his first year in Italy. In the early part of the season he was used as an inside half and scored his first goal against Napoli in Matchweek 3. However, he was gradually omitted from the plans of manager Maurizio Sarri, who emphasised physicality, and spent more and more time on the bench.

In the winter there were rumors of a transfer, and he was also left out of the Asian Cup squad for the Japan national team. The number of games in which he was not even included in the squad increased, but a turning point came with the change of head coach. Igor Tudor, who succeeded Sarri as coach in March, was impressed with Kamada’s ability and returned him to the starting lineup for the Matchweek 30 fixture against Juventus. He started every game after that, even scoring against champions Internazionale.

Despite the ups and downs of the season, Kamada has won the trust of the club and is likely to sign a one-year contract extension.

Daichi Kamada / Lazio
Played 29 matches / 771 minutes / 2 goals, 2 assists
Lazio finished in 7th place

Eredivisie

Six players show high performance; Koki Ogawa returns to Japan national team

The six Japanese players who played for Eredivisie clubs all had productive seasons. Yukinari Sugawara’s AZ Alkmaar finished a respectable fourth, although narrowly missed out on a Champions League berth. As a starting full-back he was active in both attack and defence, scoring four goals and providing seven assists. After five seasons in the Netherlands, will the 23-year-old finally step up to the next level? Rumours include a move to Inter, where Yuto Nagatomo once played.

Ayase Ueda of Feyenoord probably had high expectations heading into the season, but his five goals and two assists were ultimately disappointing. However, the centre-forward gradually adapted to the demands of coach Arne Slot, who will take over at Liverpool next season, and played well towards the end of the campaign. In the last four games he improved his reputation with three goals and two assists. With the departure of Santiago Jimenez, Ueda could well be the new starting striker for the prestigious club next season.

Another centre -forward, Koki Ogawa, played 32 games for NEC Nijmegen, helping them to a sixth-placed finish. He scored 11 goals, the most on the team, and also returned to the Japan national team for the first time in four and a half years. Like Ogawa, Kodai Sano joined the team last summer and began to make more appearances in the second half of the season. He fulfilled multiple roles in midfield and found himself at the heart of the team, and in the end showed his attacking ability by scoring in three consecutive games.

Sparta Rotterdam’s Koki Saito was another player who made a strong impression. Playing mainly on the left wing, Saito boldly used his dribbling ability to score three goals and provide five assists. He is also keen to play in the Paris Olympics, and is looking to make the step up to a bigger club in the near future.

Ayase Ueda / Feyenoord
Played 26 matches / 814 minutes / 5 goals, 2 assists
Feyenoord finished in 2nd place

Yukinari Sugawara / AZ Alkmaar
Played 30 matches / 2,564 minutes / 4 goals, 7 assists
AZ Alkmaar finished in 4th place

Koki Ogawa / NEC Nijmegen
Played 32 matches / 2,281 minutes / 11 goals, 1 assist
NEC Nijmegen finished in 6th place

Kodai Sano / NEC Nijmegen
Played 25 matches / 1,680 minutes / 5 goals, 3 assists

Koki Saito / Sparta Rotterdam
Played 22 matches / 1,759 minutes / 3 goals, 5 assists
Sparta finished in 8th place

Shunsuke Mito / Sparta Rotterdam
Played 19 matches / 1,040 minutes / 2 goals, 0 assists

Jupiler Pro League

Koki Machida plays central role for runners-up; Watanabe, Ito, and Kawabe also make impacts

An impressive 18 Japanese players featured in the Jupiler Pro League in the past season. Among them, Koki Machida and Shion Homma competed for the championship in the playoffs. Machida played 31 games at centre-back for Union SG and also scored in the cup final to lead his team to its first title in 110 years. His consistent performances mean he has a good chance of moving on to a bigger club soon.

Homma’s Club Brugge made a huge comeback from fourth place to win the championship after the play-offs. His main experience this season came in the second team, where he scored two goals and provided six assists in 24 games. For the first team, Homma got more bench time at the end of the season but only played for a total of 10 minutes. If he can win a place in the first team next season then Homma will have the opportunity to participate in the Champions League.

KAA Gent centre-back Tsuyoshi Watanabe and attackers Ryotaro Ito of Sint-Truidense and Hayao Kawabe of Standard Liège also played regularly for their new teams. Watanabe became an integral figure for Gent, starting immediately after his return from the Asian Cup, while Ito and Kawabe were also key players in attack for their clubs, scoring seven goals apiece.

Shion Homma / Club Brugge
Played 2 matches / 10 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists
Club Brugge finished in 1st place

Koki Machida / Union SG
Played 31 matches / 2,674 minutes / 1 goal, 1 assist
Union SG finished in 2nd place

Tsuyoshi Watanabe / KAA Gent
Played 35 matches / 3,137 minutes / 2 goals, 2 assists
KAA Gent finished in 7th place

Daniel Schmidt / KAA Gent
Played 13 matches / 1,170 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists

Daisuke Yokota / KAA Gent
Played 6 matches / 337 minutes / 0 goals, 1 assist

Zion Suzuki / Sint-Truidense VV
Played 32 matches / 2,880 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists
Sint-Truidense VV finished in 9th place

Ryotaro Ito / Sint-Truidense VV
Played 36 matches / 2,500 minutes / 7 goals, 4 assists

Joel Chima Fujita / Sint-Truidense VV
Played 25 matches / 1,058 minutes / 1 goal, 2 assists

Rihito Yamamoto / Sint-Truidense VV
Played 33 matches / 875 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists

Ryoya Ogawa / Sint-Truidense VV
Played 7 matches / 409 minutes / 1 goal, 2 assists

Shinji Okazaki / Sint-Truidense VV
Played 7 matches / 107 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists

Takahiro Akimoto / OH Leuven
Played 15 matches / 1,155 minutes / 0 goals, 1 assist
OH Leuven finished in 10th place

Kento Misao / OH Leuven
Played 20 matches / 855 minutes / 1 goal, 1 assist

Hayao Kawabe / Standard Liège
Played 36 matches / 2,717minutes / 7 goals, 9 assists
Standard Liège finished in 11th place

Ryota Morioka / R Charleroi
Played 23 matches / 1,016 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists
R Charleroi finished in 13th place

Haruya Fujii / KV Kortrijk
Played 12 matches / 959 minutes / 0 goals, 0 assists
KV Kortrijk finished in 14th place

Ryotaro Tsunoda / KV Kortrijk
Played 9 matches / 793 minutes / 0 goals, 1 assist

Shuto Abe / RWD Molenbeek
Played 34 matches / 1,887 minutes / 3 goals, 1 assist
RWD Molenbeek finished in 15th place