Yoshito Okubo

Japanese association football player

Yoshito Okubo (大久保 嘉人, Okubo Yoshito, born June 9, 1982) is a Japanese football player. He played for the Japan national team.

Yoshito Okubo
Okubo playing for Kawasaki Frontale
Personal information
Full name Yoshito Okubo
Date of birth (1982-06-09) June 9, 1982 (age 41)
Place of birth Kanda, Fukuoka, Japan
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
Cerezo Osaka
Youth career
1998–2000 Kunimi High School
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2006 Cerezo Osaka 116 (57)
2005–2006Mallorca (loan) 39 (5)
2007–2009 Vissel Kobe 62 (25)
2009 Wolfsburg 9 (0)
2009–2012 Vissel Kobe 92 (25)
2013–2016 Kawasaki Frontale 130 (82)
2017 FC Tokyo 28 (8)
2018 Kawasaki Frontale 12 (2)
2018–2019 Júbilo Iwata 37 (4)
2020 Tokyo Verdy 19 (0)
2021– Cerezo Osaka
National team
2004 Japan U-23 3 (2)
2003–2014 Japan 60 (6)
Honours
Cerezo Osaka
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2001
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2003
Kawasaki Frontale
Winner J1 League 2018
Runner-up Emperor's Cup 2016
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2002 Busan Team
AFC U-20 Asian Cup
Silver medal – second place 2000 Iran
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of end of the 2020 season

Biography change

Okubo was born in Kanda, Fukuoka on June 9, 1982. After graduating from Kunimi High School, he joined J1 League club Cerezo Osaka in 2001. He played many matches as forward and offensive midfielder from first season. However Cerezo finished at the bottom place in 2001 season and was relegated to J2 League. In 2002 season, he scored 18 goals which was the 2nd top scorer and Cerezo was returned to J1 in a year. From 2003, he scored more than 15 goals in J1. He was also selected "Asian Young Footballer of the Year" award in 2003. In 2005, he moved to Spanish La Liga club Mallorca on loan. Although the club results were bad, Mallorca finished at 17th place and remained La Liga in 2004/05 season. Although he played many matches as substitute forward in 2005/06 season, his opportunity to play decreased from April 2006. In June 2006, he returned to Cerezo Osaka. At then Cerezo won only 1 match in 13 matches and at the bottom place of 18 clubs in 2006 season. Although he played as forward all matches excluding suspension, Cerezo finished at the 17th place and was relegated to J2 again. In 2007, he moved to J1 club Vissel Kobe. He played many matches as left midfielder in 2 seasons under manager Hiroshi Matsuda and scored more than 10 goals both seasons. In January 2009, he moved to Wolfsburg of the Bundesliga. Wolfsburg won the champions 2008/09 season which was first major title in the club history. In June 2009, he returned to Japan and re-joined Vissel Kobe. He played as forward all 19 matches and scored 8 goals in 2009 season. Although his opportunity to play decreased for injuries in 2010, he played as regular player until 2012. However Vissel finished at the 16th place in 2012 season and was relegated to J2 League. In 2013 season, he moved to Kawasaki Frontale. He played more than 30 matches every season and he became a top scorer for 3 years in a row until 2015 season. In 2017, he moved to FC Tokyo. In 2018, he returend to Kawasaki. However he could not as regular player and he mainly played as substitute forward. In June 2018, Okubo moved to Júbilo Iwata. In 2020, he moved to J2 League club Tokyo Verdy. In 2021, he moved to his first club Cerezo Osaka.

On May 31, 2003, Okubo debuted for the Japan national team against South Korea. He played many matches as forward including 2003 Confederations Cup under manager Zico. He was also selected Japan U-23 national team for 2004 Summer Olympics. He played all 3 matches and scored 2 goals. However he could hardly play in the match in senior team from 2004 and he was not selected Japan for 2006 World Cup. From 2008, he played many matches as offensive midfielder under manager Takeshi Okada. In 2010, he was selected Japan for 2010 World Cup. He played as left midfielder in all 4 matches and Japan qualified to the knockout stage. He also played at 2014 World Cup. He played 60 games and scored 6 goals for Japan until 2014.

Statistics change

[1][2]

Club statistics League CupLeague CupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
JapanLeague Emperor's Cup J.League Cup AsiaTotal
2001 Cerezo Osaka J1 League 20 2 3 0 1 1 - 24 3
2002 J2 League 29 18 2 1 - - 31 19
2003 J1 League 24 16 5 4 3 0 - 32 20
2004 22 15 1 0 2 0 - 25 15
SpainLeague Copa del Rey Copa de la Liga EuropeTotal
2004/05 Mallorca La Liga 13 3 - - - 13 3
2005/06 26 2 1 1 - - 27 3
JapanLeague Emperor's Cup J.League Cup AsiaTotal
2006 Cerezo Osaka J1 League 21 6 0 0 0 0 - 21 6
2007 Vissel Kobe J1 League 31 14 2 1 5 0 - 38 15
2008 31 11 1 1 - - 32 12
GermanyLeague DFB-Pokal Premiere Ligapokal EuropeTotal
2008/09 Wolfsburg Bundesliga 9 0 2 0 - 2 0 13 0
JapanLeague Emperor's Cup J.League Cup AsiaTotal
2009 Vissel Kobe J1 League 19 8 1 1 - - 20 9
2010 17 4 1 1 0 0 - 18 5
2011 30 9 1 0 1 0 - 32 9
2012 26 4 1 0 3 2 - 30 6
2013 Kawasaki Frontale J1 League 33 26 4 3 8 4 - 45 33
2014 32 18 1 0 4 2 8 1 45 21
2015 32 23 3 2 4 2 - 39 27
2016 33 15 6 5 0 0 - 39 20
2017 FC Tokyo J1 League 28 8 0 0 2 1 - 30 9
2018 Kawasaki Frontale J1 League 12 2 0 0 0 0 4 0 16 2
2018 Júbilo Iwata J1 League 17 3 1 0 0 0 - 18 3
2019 20 1 2 0 0 0 - 22 1
2020 Tokyo Verdy J2 League 19 0 - - - 19 0
2021 Cerezo Osaka J1 League
Country Japan 496 203 35 19 33 12 12 1 576 235
Spain 39 5 1 1 - - 40 6
Germany 9 0 2 0 - 2 0 13 0
Total 544 208 38 20 33 12 14 1 629 241

[3]

Japan national team
YearAppsGoals
2003 14 0
2004 3 0
2005 2 0
2006 0 0
2007 2 2
2008 12 3
2009 9 0
2010 11 0
2011 0 0
2012 1 0
2013 0 0
2014 6 1
Total 60 6

References change

  1. Yoshito Okubo at National-Football-Teams.com  
  2. Yoshito Okubo at J.League (in Japanese)  
  3. Japan National Football Team Database

Other websites change