Yoichiro Kakitani

Yoichiro Kakitani
柿谷 曜一朗

Personal information
Full name	Yoichiro Kakitani
Date of birth	3 January 1990
Place of birth	Osaka, Japan
Height	177 cm (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current team	Cerezo Osaka
Number	8
Youth career
1994–2005	Cerezo Osaka
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006–2014	Cerezo Osaka	129	(37)
2009–2011	→ Tokushima Vortis (loan)	97	(14)
2014–2016	FC Basel	18	(4)
2016–	Cerezo Osaka	8	(2)
National team^‡
2005–2007	Japan U17	9	(6)
2007–2009	Japan U20	8	(3)
2013–	Japan	14	(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12 September 2015. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 10 June 2014

Yoichiro Kakitani (柿谷 曜一朗 Kakitani Yōichirō) (born 3 January 1990 in Osaka) is a Japanese footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Cerezo Osaka.

Club career

Cerezo 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

Kakitani joined FC Basel to the start of the 2014–15 Swiss Super League season.^[3] He made his debut for Basel on 2 August 2014 being substituted in during the 3–2 away win against Thun.^[4] The season 2014–15 was a successful one for Basel: the club won the championship (for the sixth time in a row that season^[5]), reached the cup final and entered the Champions League in the group stage reaching the knockout phase on 9 December 2014 as they managed a 1–1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool.^[6] However, Kakitani failed to make a lasting impression in this season under trainer Paulo Sousa. Of the 65 matches (36 Swiss League fixtures – 6 Swiss Cup, 8 Champions League and 15 test matches) Basel played that season, Kakitani appeared in just 28 – 14 League, 3 Cup, 3 Champions League and 8 test games – scoring a total of 11 goals.^[7]

Return to Cerezo Osaka

Having again been 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.^[8]

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.^[9][10]

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.^[11]

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 November 2016^[12]

Club	Season	League	League		Emperor's Cup		J. League Cup		Continental		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Cerezo Osaka	2006	J1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2007	J2	21	2	1	0	-		0	0	22	2
	2008		24	0	0	0	-		0	0	24	0
	2009		6	2	-		-		0	0	6	2
	Total		52	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	53	4
Tokushima Vortis	2009	J2	27	4	1	0	-		0	0	28	4
	2010		34	4	2	0	-		0	0	36	4
	2011		36	6	1	0	-		0	0	37	6
	Total		97	14	4	0	-		0	0	101	14
Cerezo Osaka	2012	J1	30	11	3	1	7	5	0	0	40	17
	2013		34	21	0	0	8	3	0	0	42	24
	2014		13	1	0	0	0	0	8	4	21	5
	Total		77	33	3	1	15	8	8	4	103	46
FC Basel	2014–15	Swiss Super League	14	3	3	4	-		3	0	20	7
	2015–16		4	1	2	0	-		0	0	6	1
	Total		18	4	5	4	-		3	0	26	8
Cerezo Osaka	2016	J2	21	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	6
	Total		21	6	0	0	-		0	0	21	6
Career total			265	62	13	5	15	8	11	4	304	78

International

As of 2 June 2014

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Japan U-17
	2005	1	0
	2006	5	4
	2007	3	2
	Total	9	6
Japan U-20
	2007	4	2
	2008	2	0
	2009	2	1
	Total	8	3
Japan
	2013	9	4
	2014	3	1
	Total	12	5

International goals

Scores and results list Japan's goal tally first.

Under-17

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	5 September 2006	Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar	Singapore	1–0	1–1	2006 AFC U-17 Championship
2.	11 September 2006	Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar	Iran	1–0	1–1	2006 AFC U-17 Championship
3.	14 September 2006	Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar	Syria	2–0	2–0	2006 AFC U-17 Championship
4.	17 September 2006	Jalan Besar Stadium, Jalan Besar	North Korea	1–2	4–2	2006 AFC U-17 Championship
5.	19 August 2007	Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang	Haiti	3–1	3–1	2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup
6.	25 August 2007	Gwangyang Football Stadium, Gwangyang	France	1–0	1–2	2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup

Under-20

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	12 November 2007	Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok	Myanmar	8–0	8–0	2008 AFC Youth Championship qualification
2.	14 November 2007	Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok	Laos	2–0	5–0	2008 AFC Youth Championship qualification
3.	7 December 2009	Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, Hong Kong	Macau	4–0	5–0	2009 East Asian Games

Senior team

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	21 July 2013	Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	China PR	2–1	3–3	2013 EAFF East Asian Cup
2.	28 July 2013	Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	1–0	2–1	2013 EAFF East Asian Cup
3.	28 July 2013	Seoul Olympic Stadium, Seoul, South Korea	South Korea	2–1	2–1	2013 EAFF East Asian Cup
4.	16 November 2013	King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–1	3–2	Friendly
5.	4 June 2014	Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States	Costa Rica	3–1	3–1	Friendly

Appearances in major competitions

Team	Competition	Category	Appearances		Goals	Team Record
			Start	Sub
Japan	2006 AFC U-17 Championship qualification	U-15	1	0	0	Qualified
Japan	2006 AFC U-17 Championship	U-16	4	1	4	Champions
Japan	2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup	U-17	1	2	2	Round 1
Japan	2008 AFC Youth Championship qualification	U-18	4	0	2	Qualified
Japan	2008 AFC U-19 Championship	U-19	1	1	0	Quarterfinal
Japan	2013 EAFF East Asian Cup	Senior	2	0	3	Champions

Honours

Japan

• AFC U-17 Championship (1) : 2006
• EAFF East Asian Cup (1) : 2013

Basel

• Swiss Super League (2) : 2014–15 2015–16
• Swiss Cup runner up (1) : 2014–15

Individual

• AFC U-17 Championship Most Valuable Player (1) : 2006
• EAFF East Asian Cup Top Scorer (1) : 2013
• J. League Division 1 Player of the Month (1) : May 2013

References

1. "National Team Japan". jfa.or.jp. Japan Football Association. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
2. university correspondence education
3. "柿谷 スイスのバーゼル移籍決定 ("Kakitani - Moving to Switzerland's Basel")" (in Japanese). NHK. 2014-07-07. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
4. Herklotz, Guido (2014). "Der FCB siegt in Thun mit 3:2" (in German). FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
5. Marti, Caspar (2015). "Der Meisterfreitag im bunten Zeitraffer". FC Basel 1893. Retrieved 2015-05-29. (German)
6. "Liverpool 1 Basel 1". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
7. Zindel, Josef (2015). Rotblau: Jahrbuch Saison 2015/2016. FC Basel Marketing AG. ISBN 978-3-7245-2050-4.
8. "Kakitani verlässt den FC Basel" [Kakitani leaves FC Basel]. Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). 4 January 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
9. http://www.fifa.com/tournaments/archive/u17worldcup/korea2007/results/match=58916/report.html
10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egqjhIbHqRc – YouTube
11. EAFF East Asian Cup 2013 Final Competition Score Sheet http://www.eaff.com/img/competition/eafc2013/pdf/m2.pdf http://www.eaff.com/img/competition/eafc2013/pdf/m6.pdf
12. Japan – Yoichiro Kakitani – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway

External links

• Yoichiro Kakitani – FIFA competition record
• National Football Teams
• Japan National Football Team Database
• Player statistics at J.League Data Site (Japanese)