The Japanese soccer world has always produced a lot of outstanding midfielders, from Hidetoshi Nakata, Shunsuke Nakamura, Shinji Ono, to Takumi Minamino, Yasunori Don, Kamata Dai, and many more in recent years. This season has already reached the final stage of the JLF, and there are many new stars in the midfield that have emerged since the start of the season, so let's introduce them to you today.
1. Toyoshi Honda (Tosu Sandstone)
Tosu Sandwiches' performance in the J-League is not bad, and the team is still in the top half of the league table, so I believe the fans will be satisfied. In addition to the good results, the team has also utilized a lot of post-00s players to play, and Toyotomi Honda is one of the most outstanding players.
Toyotoshi Honda, born in 2001, made his debut for Tosu Sandwiches in the 2020 season, and after two seasons of building up he has established himself as a regular in the team. Wearing the No. 8 jersey, Toyotoshi Honda appears as an attacking midfielder on the field, and he has a good passing vision to pave the way for the team, but also often uses his speed to lead the ball forward to challenge the opposing team's defenders, so that the team's attacking path is more diversified, and Toyotoshi Honda can be said to be a source of attack for Tosu Sandstone in recent seasons, and so for the time being, he has also contributed to the team's assists 2 times this season.
Toyotoshi Honda has a good long-distance shooting ability, and also has a good grasp of the goal, so this season has scored five goals to become one of the team's top scorers; more noteworthy is that although Toyotoshi Honda is only 1.70 meters tall, but two of the five goals are headers, which is ranked No. 8 in the Zuhu J-League, which shows that he is not bad at the top of the table.
As you can see from the above figures, Toyotoshi Honda has become an indispensable member of Tosu Sandwiches' attacking line, and if his performance in the J-League matches continues to rise, it seems that Tosu Sandwiches won't find it easy to keep him.
2. Kyusei Matsuki (FC Tokyo)
At the beginning of the season, this column mentioned that Jusei Matsuki, who joined FC Tokyo as a rookie and represented the first team for the first time right after graduating from high school, would be a new star to watch out for in the JLF this season. 2022 season has developed into today, and Jusei Matsuki has rewarded the fans' expectations with his performances on the field.
At the age of 19, Jusei Matsuki is already 1.80 meters tall, which is not bad for him to fight with older players on the field. The left-footed Jusei Matsuki is quite skillful in footwork, and often challenges the enemy defenders with the ball on the field; in addition to his ability to cross the field, Jusei Matsuki, who has a heavy foot, often shoots from mid-range, which makes FC Tokyo's front line quite threatening.
Jussen Matsuki has 2 goals and 3 assists this season, which is not bad for his first year in the JLF. As an attacking midfielder, of course, Matsuki will often appear in the top of the enemy penalty area to make a transmission, but it turns out that his long pass is also quite a playmaker, the average will make more than 2 long passes per game, the success rate is more than 60%, so it can be seen that he is good at both long and short passes.
Although Matsuki Jiu Sheng is only the first year to participate in the professional league, but his outstanding performance has been the attention of the Japanese representative team, before he was selected to participate in the Japanese U-22 army to play in the U-23 Asian Cup just held in June, to get the opportunity to play and more so that he tasted the first international tournament, I believe that the days of representing the big national football team will be just around the corner.
The first time he joined FC Tokyo, it was widely believed that he would join a European football club, but his choice to join FC Tokyo was quite a surprise. Matsuki said he wanted to join FC Tokyo to learn more from his senior and idol, Nagatomo Yuto. I believe that Matsuki has already learned a lot from Nagatomo Yuto after this season, and even if he wants to move to Europe in the future, he will definitely be taught by his seniors.
3. Vito Suzuki (Shimizu Heartbeat)
Hidetoshi Nakata, Shinji Ono, Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda, etc. are all the top attacking midfielders in the history of Japanese football, and the two new stars mentioned before are attacking midfielders, which shows that there is indeed an endless supply of talent in this position in the Japanese football world, and Vito Suzuki, who came from Shimizu Heartbeat, is another attacking midfielder star.
At the age of 21, Vito Suzuki has already made 30 appearances in the first season of 2020, making him one of Shimizu Heartbeat's regulars. At 1.75 meters tall, Vito Suzuki is not a big man, but he has good footwork, good speed, good passing vision and accurate timing of the back of the wedge, which makes him an important member of Shimizu Heartbeat in these two seasons.
Vito Suzuki, who has scored 3 goals so far this season, doesn't score a lot, but his flexible advancement and accurate transmission are his key points. Vito Suzuki, who has 2 assists, averages nearly 15 passes per game in the back half of the field, and can create more than 1 goal scoring opportunity per game, which is quite good at paving the way. In addition, Vito Suzuki's success rate of long passes is more than 80%, which is one of the highest in the statistics of the JLF, showing that he has a good achievement in both long and short passes.
Compared to Jusei Matsuki, Vito Suzuki can be said to be a senior, and he certainly has a part in representing Japan's U-22 to play in the U-23 Asian Cup tournament mentioned before; Vito Suzuki played for Japan as a starter in this tournament, and even scored 3 goals, the performance is definitely not bad, come on, whether he is in the JLF or the development of Japan's representative team, it is worthwhile for all the fans to pay attention to.
4. Matsuoka Daiki (Shimizu Heartbeat)
After introducing the three attacking midfielders in one breath, it's time to take a look at the new stars in defense. Next up is Matsuoka Daiki, also a member of Japan's U22 army, who at 21 years of age has already made his debut in the JLF in the 2019 season.
Although Matsuoka Daichi is only 21 years old, Shimizu S Pulse is already his second professional soccer club; as early as the 2019 season, Matsuoka Daichi has already made his debut in Tosu Sandstone, and he recorded 23 appearances that season. Although Matsuoka is only 1.70 meters tall, his accurate positioning and tough tackling, as well as his ability to accurately anticipate opponents' passing routes, made him play well in the midfield position after the fall, and he was recognized by Shimizu Heartbeat in the mid-season of the 2021 season.
transfer to another club (professional sports)
So far.
Taiki Matsuoka has not played much this season, totaling 19 appearances, and the reason for the low number of appearances is largely due to the fact that he had to represent Japan in the middle of the season.
Asian Cup Final Week. Although the playing time is not quite a lot, but Matsuoka Daqi still delivered on the field, an average of 1.5 times per game will make interceptions, and the success rate of more than 60%; more noteworthy is that Matsuoka Daqi, although playing as a defensive midfielder, but the 19 games on the field only got a yellow card, which shows that his way of playing is quite brain eating.
Although Matsuoka Daqi's kicking style is brain-eating, but the role of the defense is inevitable to pay attention to the quality of the body, the height is only 1 meter 70, weight is only 65 kilograms of Matsuoka Daqi, if you want to have a better career or even go out to Europe to develop, it seems that there is a need to practice big, and look at the next zhucheng tight inside the season, Matsuoka Daqi will be better wave at the same time, but also to become a bigger lah!
5. Rukia Fujita (Yokohama Mariners)
Like Daeki Matsuoka, Ruko Fujita also plays as a midfielder and can organize attacks from the back as well as being the first line of defense. In terms of overall performance this season, Ruko Fujita is one of the most outstanding superstars of the season.
At the age of 20, the Nigerian-Japanese hybrid, Ruko Fujita, does not have the Nigerian's tall and strong body, but is only 1.74 meters tall, which makes him a little bit thin. However, like Matsuoka, Fujita does not rely on physical strength to play, but has a good defense skills, as well as a high level of individual skills. In addition to the precise transmission of the back of the field to make counterattacks, he also has the ability to single-handedly bring the ball out of the perimeter, which makes his performance on the field quite eye-catching.
This season's J-League data also proves that Ruko Fujita's performance is outstanding, with an average of more than 22 passes in the back half of the opponent's field in 25 league appearances. In addition, Ruko Fujita's interception success rate this season has reached close to 80%, which has successfully played the role of a barrier for the Yokohama Mariners, so it is no wonder that she has already been attracting the attention of overseas clubs.
Apart from the JLF, Ruko Fujita has gained a lot of experience in other matches this season, which allows him to grow faster. In June this year, she became the captain of Japan's U-22 team and led the team to the final week of the U-23 Asian Cup. In addition, he also played for the Japanese national football team in the final week of the East Asian Cup, and even tried to play for the national football team twice. In addition, he also played for the Yokohama Mariners in the AFC Champions League at the beginning of the season, so Fujita's experience value in the field has increased very quickly, so it is no wonder that his style of play has become more mature, and I believe that he will have the opportunity to go overseas.
Four of the five midfielders mentioned above are Japanese U-22 players.
the national team
They are all members of the 2024 Olympic team, along with Toyotoshi Honda. They will have to perform well in the JLF in order to be selected for the Japanese Olympic team, which will help them in their future soccer career, and it is worthwhile to keep an eye on their performance.
This week's JLF live streaming schedule:
October 8, 1:00 pm: Yokohama Marinos vs. Osaka Hida Foot Cable TV 601/661
Oct. 8, 1:00 p.m. Kawasaki Striker vs. Shimizu S Pulse Cable TV 602/662
October 8, 1:00pm: Hokkaido Sapporo Gonzaga vs Fukuoka Wasps Cable 604/664
October 8, 3:00 p.m. Kashiwa Reysol vs. Sakura Osaka Cable TV 601/661
This week's Sunday B live streaming schedule:
October 9, 12:00 noon: Kofu Kazebayashi vs. Okayama Green Pheasant Cable TV 601/661
October 9, 5:00 pm FC Yokohama vs. Oita Mikami Cable TV 601/661
