Okugawa, Ito among homecoming J1 debutants from Europe

الأحد 9 فبراير 2025, 5:22 صباحًا

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Former Japan national team candidates Masaya Okugawa and Tatsuya Ito have taken unconventional paths toward their J-League first-division debuts in the upcoming season, having each spent nearly a decade playing in Europe.

Red Bull Salzburg’s Masaya Okugawa (K) scores against Bayern Munich during a Champions League group-stage match at Stadion Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria, on Nov. 3, 2020. (Kyodo)

The two have received Samurai Blue call-ups but gone uncapped in an era when Japfan’s ever-increasing talent pool means playing in Europe’s top domestic leagues or the Champions League is no longer an automatic ticket to selection.

Red Bull Salzburg’s Masaya Okugawa (L) in action against Liverpool during a Champions League group-stage match at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on Oct. 2, 2019. (For editorial use only)(Kyodo)

Kyoto Sanga youth product Okugawa left for Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2015, months into his first professional season with the then J2 club, joining his countryman Takumi Minamino, who had just moved to the Austrian outfit at the start of that year.

Unlike Minamino, Okugawa went out on loan several times before finally getting his chance at Salzburg. He made four Champions League appearances in the 2019-2020 season — when his compatriot won a move to Liverpool — and a further three, including one goal, the following campaign.

He got his only call-up to date from Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu in November 2020 but had to quickly withdraw after a COVID-19 outbreak at his club. An impressive eight goals in his 2021-2022 German Bundesliga debut season with Arminia Bielefeld was also not enough to force his way into Japan’s 2022 World Cup squad in Qatar.

“My job is to show how I’ve matured over the 10 years. I’m an attacker, so I want to bring goals to the team,” said the 28-year-old, who left Augsburg in the German second tier to rejoin a Kyoto side looking to improve on a 14th-place finish.

Ito left Kashiwa Reysol’s youth team to directly join Hamburg, then in the German top tier, also in the summer of 2015. The attacker was called up for Moriyasu’s first game in charge in September 2018, as well as the Copa America the following summer, but did not get a minute on the pitch.

Hamburg’s Tatsuya Ito (R) tries to defend the ball from Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi during a match in Hamburg, Germany, on May 12, 2018. Hamburg won 2-1. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The diminutive 27-year-old has joined Asian Champions League entrants Kawasaki Frontale from Magdeburg in the German second tier in search of more regular game time as a starting player.

“I’ve never played in the J-League, so I’m determined to perform well,” he said. “There are lots of games, so my chance will definitely come.”

Hamburg SV midfielder Tatsuya Ito (front) tussles for the ball with Hannover’s Matthias Ostrzolek during the second half of a Bundesliga match in Hamburg on Feb. 4, 2018. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

By debuting in the J1 after moving oversees as teens and vying for national selection, Okugawa and Ito will follow in the footsteps of five-time capped Ryo Miyaichi, who joined Yokohama F Marinos in 2021 also after 10 years in Europe.

Albeit with a much shorter European spell, Gamba Osaka are also welcoming a J1 debutant in winger Kanji Okunuki from another 2. Bundesliga outfit, Nurnberg. The 25-year-old played five J2 seasons with Omiya Ardija through 2022 and won one cap since leaving Japan.

In the absence of Andres Iniesta-esque mega transfers, the returning talents previously on the fringes of the national team fold could add spice to Japan’s already unpredictable domestic football scene.