They’re the A-Leagues’ historic Japanese cohort: Ten players across the Liberty A-League (three) and Isuzu UTE A-League (seven) eclipsing the record number of Japanese players in the A-Leagues across a single season.
That number was set in the 2020-21 campaign (six), but just a season later the recent loan arrivals of Tsubasa Endoh (Melbourne City, ALM) and Ryo Wada (Brisbane Roar, ALM) have blown that number out of the water.
You may think an increase of the record by just four players is only incremental, but the number is emphatic when you consider only 28 Japanese players have featured in the A-Leagues throughout the history of the two competitions.
In the Isuzu UTE A-League, prior to last season (five players), the second-most Japanese players to feature in a single season was only three, recorded in both the 2005-06 and 2012-13 campaigns.
This season, there are seven in the Isuzu UTE A-League. In the Liberty A-League there’s three – all new recruits – who were plucked from the NPL and have since become mainstays in their respective sides.
Stats collated by Andrew Howe.
The increasing numbers of Japanese footballers on Australian shores hints at the opportunity Australian football has to harness the stength of a footballing market close to home which has not yet been deeply explored.
“One of the unique selling points of our sport is that if you think about the DNA of football, the game in this country has been built on migrant populations coming to the country and assimilating into the community through football,” APL boss Danny Townsend told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“That being the case, why aren’t we leveraging our near neighbours who have a significant cohort of migrants in our country and are football first countries?”
On Friday night (AEDT) the J1 League kicks off for 2022, with defending champions Kawasaki Frontale facing FC Tokyo in the curtain raiser of Japan’s domestic men’s competition.
On the eve of the J1 League’s commencement, we celebrate the record contingent of Japanese stars gracing the A-Leagues in 2021-22.
Kosuke Ota (Perth Glory)
Former Japan international Kosuke Ota has won over the Glory faithful through his 26 games so far, with his infectious personality and slick, sharp play on the left side of a back three or flying up and down the wing.
Born in Machida, Tokyo, Ota clocked nearly 300 J1 League appearances playing for Shimizu S-Pulse, FC Tokyo and Nagoya Grampus, spending two seasons with Dutch Eredivise side Vitesse.
Ota made his senior international debut against Yemen in 2010, and one of his seven caps for Japan came against Australia in a friendly in 2014.
Nanako Sasaki (Adelaide United)
Nanako Sasaki arrived in Australia in 2017 as a high school graduate, telling SBS Japanese improving her English was the sole intention of her overseas move. But becoming an NPL star in South Australia made the 22-year-old impossible for Adelaide United to ignore.
Sasaki spent four seasons with Adelaide City FC before moving to Adelaide Comets in the NPLW SA, and joined the Reds for her inaugural Liberty A-League season after three consecutive seasons being names in the NPLW SA Team of the Year.
She’s played 11 times for the Reds this season, scoring one goal and assisting a further two.
Tomoki Imai (Western United)
Into his third Isuzu UTE A-League season, Tomoki Imai has established himself as one of the competition’s most accomplished central defenders.
Imai arrived in Australia aged 29 in early 2020, with experience accrued at Japanese clubs Matsumoto Yamaga, Kashiwa Reysol and Omiya Ardija in both the J1 and J2 Leagues.
He’s gone on to make 47 appearances for United to date, contributing to four of six clean sheets for John Aloisi’s side this season – a league high.
Reona Omiya (Adelaide United)
Reona Omiya arrived in Australia in 2020, and was Adelaide United’s first Japanese signing of three for the 2021-22 A-Leagues seasons.
SBS Japanese reports Omiya and team-mate Nanako Sasaki were unaware of each other’s presence in the squad until they met in person in Adelaide.
Omiya, 30, has played 11 games for the Reds this season, putting two assists as Adelaide surge toward a club-first Liberty A-League finals appearance.
Cy Goddard (Central Coast Mariners)
English-born Japanese midfielder Cy Goddard moved to the Central Coast ahead of the 2021-22 Isuzu UTE A-League season to strengthen Nick Montgomery’s creative stocks.
The 24-year-old, who grew up as part of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, is one of two Japanese players in the Isuzu UTE A-League to have never featured for a Japanese club.
Goddard, who has represented Japan at youth level, followed his decade-long stint at Tottenham with a move to Italian side Benevento, and arrived in Gosford after winning the league and cup double with Indian Super League side Mumbai City FC.
He’s appeared nine times for the Mariners in the Isuzu UTE A-League this season, scoring his debut goal against Western Sydney Wanderers in December.
Keijiro Ogawa (Western Sydney Wanderers)
Wanderland once played host to Isuzu UTE A-League icon Shinji Ono. Now, Keijiro Ogawa is following in Ono’s footsteps on a one-year loan deal from Yokohama FC.
Ogawa played 176 games for Vissel Kobe before joining Yokohama, featuring alongside Spain and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta. During his time in Japan, Ogawa won the Super Cup, Emperor Cup and J.League Cup.
The 29-year-old’s 10 games for the Wanderers have not yet seen the Japanese forward light up the league, with just one goal scored in the league to date. But three consecutive starts since Mark Rudan’s takeover could hint Ogawa has an important role to play in Wanderland as the season rolls on.
Rie Kitano (Brisbane Roar)
Rie Kitano is the third Japanese midfielder in the Liberty A-League this season, with all three making their league debuts in 2021-22.
Kitano played for Okayama Yunogo Belle in Japan’s top women’s domestic competition, the Nedeshiko League, before signing for Gold Coast United FC in 2019.
She then moved on to fellow Football Queensland Premier League (FQPL) side Souths United in 2021. In total, Kitano has scored 31 goals in less than three FQPL seasons, playing against the Roar in an NPL All Stars fixture in 2020 before joining the club ahead of the 2021-22 Liberty A-League season.
Kitano has featured nine times for the Roar this season to date.
Hiroshi Ibusuki (Adelaide United)
He’s been Adelaide United’s ‘Hiro’ on two occasions since joining the Reds in the January-February transfer window, scoring late goals to earn his side crucial points as they plant themselves firmly in the Isuzu UTE A-League top six.
Hiroshi Ibusuki, 30, is a towering striker who began his career in Spain, plying his trade for Girona, Zaragoza B, Sabadell, Sevilla B, and Valencia B, and debuting for Sevilla’s senior side in LaLiga in 2012.
A stint in Belgium at K.A.S Eupen preceded a return to Japan in 2014 where he represented J1 League sides Albirex Niigata, Shonan Bellmare, and Shimizu S-Pulse.
Since arriving in South Australia Ibusuki has scored two crucial goals: one to equalise late in a 2-2 draw against Melbourne City, and the other in a late two-goal comeback win over Newcastle Jets, with his finish the crucial won in the 2-1 victory.
Tsubasa Endoh (Melbourne City)
Tsubasa Endoh is one of two February arrivals in the Isuzu UTE A-League yet to make his debut. Endoh joined Melbourne City on February 1 on a six-month deal, after a decorated career in MLS in the United States.
Formerly of Toronto FC, Endoh was a member of the MLS outfit’s treble-winning squad in 2017 and played from the start in the MLS Cup Final in 2019.
A product of the Japan Football Association Academy in Fukushima, Endoh spent three years at the University of Maryland before beginning his MLS career.
The 28-year-old joins a star-studded City attack, one season after fellow Japanese import Naoki Tsubaki’s underwhelming City stay.
Ryo Wada (Brisbane Roar)
The most recent Japanese arrival in the A-Leagues is Ryo Wada, who joined Brisbane Roar on loan from J1 League club Sagan Tosu on February 4.
Wada, 26, joins Brisbane for the rest of the Isuzu UTE A-League season after operating on the fringes of the Sagan Tosu squad in 2021, making three J.League Cup appearances and featuring in his side’s J1 League match day squad late in the campaign.
In 2018, Wada played a key role in FC Ryukyu’s J3 League title and promotion, scoring seven goals.
Wada will hope to have a similar impact in Queensland as fellow Japanese forward Riku Danzaki, who top scored for Warren Moon’s side last season.
